For the safety of the pastor, we cannot mention his real name and instead call him Ahmet. But we won't reveal his identity by writing that he is from a country in Central Asia and that he was thrilled to be in Danmark. He was happy that it's so clean here, and Danish design with its simplicity and functionalism was right up his alley.
Ahmet is a warm person
He is funny and tells one joke after another. With his informal and relaxed style, it's easy to see that he has a great leadership responsibility in a church that is under severe pressure from the authorities. The reason for the persecution is that the church shares the gospel with Muslims, and the regime wrongly perceives it as a threat to the country's cultural identity and security if Muslims convert to the Christian faith. The converts themselves, however, say they become more loyal citizens when they become Christians.
Son rejoiced in the freedom of Danmark
Ahmet says: "My son attended a youth camp in Danmark and together with the young people he handed out invitations on the street. We couldn't do that at home. My son was delighted. And for me it was a big surprise that you can freely hand out invitations.
With us, you must have the equivalent of several thousand kroner to pay the fine you get if you do this. You must not give up the freedom you have. The Western church must realize that they must use their freedom to reach out to people and be visible about their faith."
Thank you for using freedom
To the supporters of the Danish European Mission he said: "And thank you for using your freedom to help us. Pastors and other imprisoned Christians can easily feel abandoned, but when someone raises their voice and does something, writes letters, prays, they don't feel alone."
He continues: "It is very important to help. Jesus said in Matthew 25:36: I was in prison and you visited me, And in Hebrews 13:3 it says: Remember those in captivity as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you too have a body."
The church in the former Soviet Union has become ripe for persecution
Pastor Ahmet realizes that we are in what the Bible calls the end times. He states: "Jesus is coming soon. The Bible says there are many adversaries, but the doors are open, so we should not look at the adversaries but focus on the open doors. When there is persecution, there can also be an open door. If we only focus on opposition and problems, we don't see the open doors."
Fired because of his faith
"The young church that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union was not ready for persecution. Back then, our theological understanding was that the word 'suffering' for the name of Jesus was not in the Bible. But Jesus promised persecution, and now the church is ready for it.
For example, some people experience being fired from their jobs because they are Christians. In the church, we have a woman who lost her job as a secretary for the prosecutor's office because she is a Christian. We also have a man in the church who works in the public sector. The KGB has threatened him with dismissal because of his voluntary work in the church.
In addition, the KGB intensively monitors Christians and has spies and informers in the churches, and Christians risk imprisonment based on false accusations."
The church reaches out to the weakest in society
The Danish European Mission has extensive work in the country. In order not to reveal the identity of the pastor, we cannot describe the projects in detail. But as in so many other countries, we support persecuted Christians in reaching out to the poor and needy in society and thus being a practical witness of God's love. Through this, many come to faith in Jesus.
