Persecution and Ministry in 2023: Be At Peace

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The Voice of the Martyrs

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🗓️ 7 January 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

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Summary

When terrorists invaded the church service and pointed guns at his head, the pastor could have said many things to his congregation. Led by the Holy Spirit, he told them simply, “Be at peace. Soon we will be with Jesus.” Instead of committing murder, the attackers put their guns down and left the church, leaving the pastor and his flock alive and well.

This true story, from persecuted Christians on the Arabian Peninsula, is just one of those you’ll hear this week from Jonathan Ekman, VOM’s Vice President of International Ministry. Join the conversation as Jonathan looks back on VOM’s work in 2022 and looks ahead to challenges and opportunities for persecuted church ministry in 2023.

Listen as Jonathan discusses regions where persecution is changing, and what the next year may look like for Christians in restricted and hostile nations. He’ll also suggest some less-well-known countries, such as Northern Mozambique, Malaysia and Brunei, where persecuted Christians need your prayer.

Are there nations where VOM’s work is likely to change in 2023? Jonathan will talk about the spread of radical Islam across Africa, and what it means for churches and Christian leaders in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic and other African nations. He’ll also look at some of the many unknowns faced this year, including intensified Christian persecution in China and upcoming elections in Nigeria and India. Your prayer list will grow as you consider the persecution being faced by Christians around the globe.

One way you can pray more knowledgeably for persecuted Christians in the new year is to request a complimentary copy of VOM’s 2023 Global Prayer Guide. For an in-depth discussion of Christian persecution and current events in China, listen to this recent VOM Radio conversation with Dr. Bob Fu.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	A small underground church congregation was meeting on the Arabian peninsula in a country
0:05.7	hostile to Christianity. Jonathan Eckman tells us about some of the persecution this church
0:12.9	experienced last year. On a Sunday morning during the servicers 10 or 11 people in this church
0:20.1	and their meeting and men came into the room with guns and they began to threaten them and yell at
0:27.1	these men pointed their guns at the pastor but his response showed the peace that
0:33.5	only Jesus can give. In that moment what he without led to say was he said to his church
0:39.6	be it peace soon we will be with Jesus. Jesus never promised his followers an easy path.
0:48.0	In fact he told his disciples that the world would hate them. He sent them out as sheep
0:53.2	among wolves. Jesus' words came true in the life of the apostles and they're still coming
0:58.5	true today in the lives of his followers around the world. Join host Todd Nettleton. We hear
1:03.6	their inspiring stories and learn how we can help right now on the Voice of the Martyrs Radio Network.
1:09.3	Welcome again to the Voice of the Martyrs Radio. My name is Todd Nettleton. Happy new year 2023
1:14.5	has arrived and we are thankful for you. Thankful that you're spending part of your weekend with us
1:19.8	here at Voice of the Martyrs Radio. Our guest today is Jonathan Ekman. He really needs no
1:25.1	introduction. He has been here before. He leads Voice of the Martyrs International Ministry work.
1:30.2	So all of the work that goes on outside of the United States that's sort of in his department
1:36.0	and under his supervision. Jonathan welcome back to Voice of the Martyrs Radio. Happy new year.
1:41.6	You as well Todd. Thank you. We're going to look forward to 2023 but I want to start by looking
1:46.0	back to 2022. Are there changes that you have seen? Are there places that are different than they
1:52.4	were a year ago this time? What has happened in in persecution of our Christian brothers and
1:57.8	sisters in the last 12 months? Well I think probably there are two countries that really come to mind
2:02.4	when we think about in this situation really increased persecution and certainly in one context
	...

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