MONGOLIA: “Was I called? Was I chosen? And did I obey?”

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The Voice of the Martyrs

Christianity, Martyr, Vom, Persecution, Gospel, Pastor, Persecutedchurch, Apologetics, Islam, Christian, Church, Missions, Missionaries, Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

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Summary

Brian and Louise Hogan, missionaries and church planters in Mongolia, responded to God’s call with obedience. They arrived in the city of Erdenet in the early 1990s; there were no churches in the city. After the conversion of 14 teenage girls, they witnessed the birth and growth of a church community.

However, as Scripture reminds us, forward motion in God’s kingdom often awakens spiritual resistance. As Brian noted, "Throughout history, whenever the Kingdom has advanced, someone has had to pay a terrible price."

For the Hogans, that terrible price was the sudden death of their newborn son, who passed away on Christmas Eve due to sudden infant death syndrome.

In the depths of grief and isolation, Brian and Louise felt God's closeness. They were aware that Christians around the world were praying for them. Louise found strength through a question inspired by Elisabeth Elliot: “Was I called? Was I chosen? And did I obey?”

She says it should not matter what God does with our obedience; we are simply called to obey.

Despite their loss, the Hogans chose to remain in Mongolia, grieving alongside their Mongolian Christian family. Their suffering became a powerful testimony of hope and resurrection in a culture unfamiliar with such concepts. In their loss, they were able to share unshakable Christian hope: “We are going to see our son again.”

Brian is the author of There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub and An A to Z of Near-Death Adventures.

Listen also as VOM Radio host Todd Nettleton shares information about how you can send VOM Action Packs to persecuted Christians around the world.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brian and Louise Hogan were planting churches in Mongolia.
0:04.0	Over a couple-year period, they experienced a time of great spiritual harvest.
0:10.0	14 teenage girls gave their lives to the Lord.
0:13.0	And they began to win their friends to Christ, and these groups grew and multiplied.
0:17.0	So very quickly, this church grew. By the first year, we were 120 baptized
0:22.6	believers. Signs and wonders broke out through a visiting short-term team. We had months and
0:27.6	months of this outpouring continuing. A friend of mine said throughout history,
0:32.6	whenever the kingdom advanced, someone first had to pay a terrible price.
0:37.6	I awoke to Louise's screams from where our baby had been in bed.
0:46.2	Jesus never promised his followers an easy path.
0:49.2	In fact, he told his disciples that the world would hate them.
0:52.8	He sent them out as sheep among wolves. Jesus's
0:56.1	words came true in the life of the apostles, and they're still coming true today in the lives
1:00.8	of his followers around the world. Join host Todd Nettleton as we hear their inspiring stories and learn
1:06.4	how we can help right now on the Voice of the Martyrs radio network welcome again to the voice of the
1:11.7	martyrs radio my name is todd nettleton we are going to hear one of my all-time favorite conversations
1:17.0	on v-home radio this week our guests are brian and louise hogan they are a part of wiam
1:24.1	frontier missions they've been involved in church planting in the country of Mongolia.
1:30.4	And then since then, they've been involved in training church planters around the world,
1:35.5	including some hostile areas and restricted nations, places where the voice of the martyrs works.
1:41.4	So in those places, our work kind of crosses over. Brian is also the author
1:46.3	of a couple of books. They have fantastic titles, easy to remember. One of his books is called
	...

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