MIDDLE EAST: Leaders Arising Amidst Christian Persecution

Middle East Concern was founded in 1991, in response to needs expressed by Christian leaders in the Middle East and North Africa. Through a network of ministry partners, Middle East Concern seeks to help Christians facing persecution across the Middle East and North Africa. They work to come up with strategies to improve conditions and protect rights of Christians with a goal of seeing Christians able to live out their faith in Christ freely. Brother Rob, a researcher for MEC, shares with VOM Radio this week about his work and about persecution faced by Christians in the MENA region. One of Rob’s areas of interest is Iran, and he will tell us about recent large-scale research that shows how many Iranians are questioning and even rejecting Islam since the Islamic Revolution. Many of those have become followers of Jesus Christ—despite the risk of persecution. Rob also tells how God is bringing good out of Christian persecution in Türkiye (formerly Turkey) as Turkish Christian leaders are stepping up to shepherd the church after the expulsions of numerous foreign Christians. The Turkish government’s strategy since 2019 has been to designate Christians from other countries living in turkey as a “threat to national security” and force them to leave, causing upheaval to many families who’ve lived there for decades. David Byle was one of those pushed out of Türkiye after fighting the expulsion order through the court system. Israel is another country where Rob monitors religious freedom and you’ll hear about challenges to gospel outreach there. Brother Rob will also share how we can pray for Israel, including Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and Gaza, as there is so much conflict there. “The Christian community in this part of the world,” says Rob, “are the light and salt in these lands.” Prayer is the central part of the ministry at Middle East Concern as they continue to seek God’s wisdom in each sensitive situation. Learn how you can pray specifically for Christians in Israel, Iran and Türkiye as Rob shares the needs of the church in these nations. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the VOM Radio podcast.