These days, Iranian convert Christians, supported by Danish European Mission improvers and donors, are preparing an effort for people in Iran who have lost their homes and are wounded. In the effort, vulnerable people will receive food, first aid, women will receive hygiene products etc.
Local Christians not only demonstrate the love of Jesus in action, but also discreetly share the gospel, hope and peace of Jesus during relief work.
Great spiritual quest in Iran - despite persecution
I recently met with Iranian underground Christians in a neighboring country to Iran. They are active in the underground churches, knowing that it carries a risk, ultimately imprisonment. At the time of writing, at least 10 Christians in Iran are serving prison sentences.
Persecution is part of everyday life for Iranian Christian converts, but despite this, there is a search for the Christian faith in Iran. One of the people I meet tells me: "People in Iran see Islamic clerics as Pharisees. More people in Iran love Jesus, and there are examples of even Muslims wearing a cross around their necks and in their cars. They may have a picture of the Last Supper in their homes. They may love and respect Jesus, but they need to hear who Jesus really is. What the story behind the cross really is."
Jesus as an alternative to legal religion
In his time, Jesus did away with the legal religion of the Pharisees. And many Iranians see in Jesus' love, grace and forgiveness an alternative to the Ayatollahs' rigid form of Islam.
The priesthood has imposed rules on the population in all areas of life. For example, women must be covered in public and risk long prison sentences if they are not.
Pressure breeds counter pressure for the benefit of the underground church
The pressure of the Iranian clergy begets counter-pressure. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, an estimated 500 Muslims had converted to the Christian faith. A 2020 survey by the secular Dutch polling institute Gamaan indicated that there are 1.2 million Christians in Iran. That number is far higher than the latest official figure of 117,500, which only includes Christian ethnic minorities such as Assyrians and Armenians.
Meeting the Iranian underground Christians was deeply moving. I interviewed a woman who had married at the age of 14. She told me: "I grew up in a strict Muslim family. My father was so religious that we weren't allowed to listen to music and we had to cover all our hair." It hit her hard as an older sister when her father found a second wife and left his first wife and their children. She said she started going to parties with alcohol and drugs and stopped praying. "I forgot about God and didn't believe in anything religious. It was a big shock for the family."
And the story could have ended here, as it does for some Iranian youth who illegally party, drink alcohol and rebel against the Ayatollahs. But this woman's brother became a Christian and shared his new faith with her. A process began in which she also watched Christian TV and visited a church.
In the Christian faith she found healing and told me: "If our earthly father leaves us, our Heavenly Father will not abandon us. People in Iran are searching for true love because they are so thirsty."
Provide humanitarian aid to the vulnerable in Iran
You can ensure that the vulnerable receive food, first aid, women receive hygiene products, etc. Local Christians not only demonstrate the love of Jesus in action, but also discreetly share the gospel, hope and peace of Jesus.
You can lend a helping hand to spiritual seekers in Iran. It only costs 60 kr. to ensure that a copy of the New Testament can be printed, smuggled and distributed in Iran and imported into neighboring countries where Iranians live.
You can also help Christians imprisoned in Iran and their families. Defendants receive legal aid to help them navigate the Iranian judicial system. In addition, families of Christian prisoners of conscience receive financial support to buy food, get medical care, and help cover the costs of rent, water, electricity and heating. Legal and practical assistance costs an average of 18,451 kr. as needed.
