NICARAGUA: A Battle Between the Gospel of Christ and the Powers of Evil
VOMRadio
The Voice of the Martyrs
4.9 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 11 April 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
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Summary
"What is key is that many of these pastors and leaders have understood the true gospel."
Despite government threats of exile, prison, or death, Pastor Chico, a front-line worker in Nicaragua, says pastors are still preaching the truth of God's Word—no matter the cost. They know, as the Bible says, that "faith comes by hearing" (Rom. 10:17).
The price of their preaching can be high. Listen as Chico shares about a pastor who lost his Nicaraguan citizenship when he left the country to attend a Christian conference, and pastors imprisoned without a trial or any legal process in which to defend themselves.
"The main struggle…for people in churches in Nicaragua is that they are afraid to obey the Lord," Chico says. He encourages us that, as followers of Christ, each of us need to decide who is the Lord in our lives.
Nicaragua's government is actively working to co-opt and control churches. Christians who won't cooperate are labeled "terrorists." Listen as Chico explains government efforts to influence and control churches, and why every believer in Nicaragua needs a Bible in their hands.
Chico and other Nicaraguan Christians have been inspired by the story of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand and his wife, Sabina, the founders of The Voice of the Martyrs. At a meeting where the communist government of Romania was trying to influence church leaders in the 1940s, Sabina famously challenged Richard to speak out by saying, "I do not wish to have a coward for a husband." Chico says there are many pastors' wives in Nicaragua similarly encouraging their husbands to boldly proclaim the gospel despite the danger of Christian persecution.
Chico says, "The best testimony we can have as Christians is: Am I really committed to following Jesus as my Lord and Savior?"
Hear how you can pray for specific needs of persecuted Christians in the restricted nation of Nicaragua, and request your free copy of VOM's 2026 Global Prayer Guide to help you know how to pray throughout this year for Christians in India, Iran, Nigeria and many more hostile areas and restricted nations.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In 2024, there's a documentary called the Persecuted Church. |
| 0:05.9 | At that point, there were 70 churches in Nicaragua, and there's about 70 pastors that have been put into jail. |
| 0:12.9 | Right now, there are many organizations that are doing the statistics, and they're showing over 2,500. |
| 0:18.5 | 2,500 pastors in jail. |
| 0:22.6 | Wow! Wow! Wow! |
| 0:24.6 | Jesus never promised his followers an easy path. |
| 0:28.6 | In fact, he told his disciples that the world would hate them. |
| 0:32.6 | He sent them out as sheep among wolves. |
| 0:35.6 | Jesus' words came true in the life of the apostles, |
| 0:39.1 | and they're still coming true today in the lives of his followers around the world. |
| 0:43.3 | Join host Todd Nettleton as we hear their inspiring stories and learn how we can help. |
| 0:48.0 | Right now on the Voice of the Martyrs Radio Network. |
| 0:50.8 | Welcome again to the Voice of the Martyrs Radio. |
| 0:52.7 | My name is Todd Nettleton, and we are in our |
| 0:54.8 | studio today in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, with another of our one-name guests. We are simply going to |
| 1:00.3 | call him Pastor Chico. He is a frontline worker in the country of Nicaragua. And we're going to |
| 1:05.9 | talk about Nicaragua as of this year, 26, Nicaragua is listed in the Voice of the Martyrs Prayer Guide as a restricted nation. |
| 1:14.5 | That means the government is driving persecution in Nicaragua. |
| 1:18.4 | We are going to talk about what that means. |
| 1:20.2 | We're going to talk about what it looks like. |
| 1:22.3 | Brother Chico, welcome to Voice of the Martyrs Radio. |
| 1:25.5 | Thank you for having me. |
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