Wednesday, March 20, 2024

In January we requested prayer in light of a wave of arrests of Christians in Iran over the Christmas period and into the new year.

There have been developments for some of the individuals highlighted in our January Persecuted but not forsaken prayer resource.

Monday, January 22, 2024

Christmas was both a joyful and a challenging time for the Iranian church.

Many people came to church meetings in the Iran region and heard the Gospel for the first time, invited by Iranian Christian friends and neighbors.

Thursday, September 28, 2023

Three Christians detained for their Christian faith and ministry in Iran have been released in recent weeks. Meanwhile, a fourth has begun serving a 10-year sentence in Evin prison.

Through August’s Persecuted but not forsaken prayer resource, we requested prayer for Joseph Shahbazian (who had been serving a two-year sentence in Evin Prison), and for "F" and "B" (who had been detained since mid-July).

Friday, August 25, 2023

Recently, Elam's executive director, David Yeghnazar, had the privilege of talking in depth with a courageous church planter, Morad*, who spent months in detention for his faith earlier this year.

Morad shared that whenever he was allowed out in the prison yard for his daily exercise, he would pray and worship. “In the Spirit,” he explained, “I could clearly sense the prayers of other believers with me… this really carried me.”

Thursday, July 27, 2023

More than 50 Christians are known to have been arrested in Iran in the past few weeks by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence. Some of the Christians have been released following interrogation, while others remain detained.

Monday, June 26, 2023

Thank you for praying for Christians suffering for their faith in Iran using our monthly Persecuted but not forsaken resource. We are delighted to report good news regarding three individuals.

In April, we asked you to pray for Homayoun and Sara, a married couple preparing for retrial. Sara was serving an eight-year sentence while Homayoun, who suffers with severe Parkinson's disease, was serving two years because of involvement with house churches. Wonderfully, they were both acquitted and released on May 9th by the appeal court.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Thank you for praying for the Iranian church over Easter. Wonderfully, a number of Iranians put their trust in Jesus at special Easter gatherings. One of them was teenager Parvaneh, who lives in a country in the Iran region.

Parvaneh's parents are mature Christians and graduates of Elam's three-month course. They were heartbroken that their daughter's heart was hard to the Gospel. Having been counseled by their pastor, they persevered in prayer.

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Some readers may find the following distressing.

Christian believers in Iran are facing increasingly severe persecution for their faith. A tightening of the penal code in 2021 means more believers are facing harsh sentences, and - although exact numbers are difficult to establish - it seems more Christians are being arrested and interrogated.

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress”
Psalm 91:2

We invite you to use this month’s Persecuted but not Forsaken resource to pray for three brothers who are currently imprisoned for their faith in Iran, and to praise God for two people who have recently been released.

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Each November, on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, the global Church unites to pray for Christians who are enduring persecution. This year, Christians will be interceding on Sunday, November 6th.

Christians suffer persecution or discrimination in countless places around the world, as do other religious minority groups. In some places Christians are targeted with violence from hostile non-state assailants, such as in Nigeria. In others, Christians face discrimination and persecution directly from the government, such as in Iran.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

We rejoice that Christian prisoners Nasser Navard Goltapeh and Fariba Dalir have recently been released from Evin prison, Tehran.

61-year-old Nasser was pardoned by the Supreme Leader and released on October 17th after spending nearly five years behind bars. This surprising development comes after Nasser was repeatedly denied retrial or parole over the past few years.

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Christian prisoner Mehri has recently been informed that her request to join a scheme that would allow her to see more of her three children (aged 7, 11 and 16) has been denied.

Sakine (Mehri) Behjati began serving a two-year sentence for “spreading ‘Zionist’ Christianity” in April

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

We praise God that more than 100 Iranians and Afghans went through the waters of baptism recently.

At a large service in a country near to Iran, these new believers - many of whom had come to faith as a result of recent Persian New Year outreach - made a public declaration of their faith. Among their number was Ali.

Monday, February 28, 2022

Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh is a Christian convert who has been in Evin prison since January 2018. At age 60, he is serving a ten-year sentence for 'action against national security' because of his house church activities. A new development in Nasser's case means now is a significant time to pray again for him: in January 2022, Branch 9 of Iran's Supreme Court agreed to review his case. We can pray...

Thursday, October 28, 2021

For the last several decades, Afghanistan has been a deeply hostile context for Christians from a Muslim background. It's very likely this will only increase under the new Taliban government. Even so, there is still a courageous Afghan church inside the country that is willing to risk persecution in order to reach and disciple other Afghans.
We believe God will...

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

The international Christian ministry, Open Doors, has placed Iran as number 8 in its annual World Watch List, which ranks nations based on the persecution of Christians, with number 1 being the most oppressive.
Iran has consistently been in the 'top 10' of the World Watch List over the past decade, but Open Doors' 2021 findings are that the level of threat faced...

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

At Christmas, the Iranian authorities often ramp up pressure on Christians. There tend to be more raids of house church gatherings and arrests of believers at this time of year. So now is the time to refresh our prayers for our brothers and sisters who are facing - or could face - persecution.

 Pray for protection, courage and joy for house churches this...

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Shepherds and wise men are coming to worship Jesus.
It happened 2,000 years ago. It’s happening today in Iran.
Hassan and his family are sheep farmers. This year, they came to faith in Jesus and are faithfully sharing the Gospel with the shepherds who work for them. At night, Hassan sits out in the fields with the shepherds and shares about Jesus...

Monday, November 30, 2020

On 15th November, Zaman Fadaei - known as Saheb - was given 80 lashes as punishment for drinking wine as part of Holy Communion. Saheb's friend Youhan had similarly received 80 lashes in October in a move which was widely condemned by international observers.
Saheb, Youhan and one other from the 'Church of Iran' (a group with an unorthodox understanding of the...

Monday, November 30, 2020

When Nader left his rural life to find work in a nearby city, he had no idea that God would use him to bring the Gospel to his remote, tiny village.
A few months ago, Nader became friends with a Christian whom he met after moving to the city. Convinced by what his friend said about Jesus, Nader became a believer and was discipled through the Safar discipleship journey...