Living a quietly dangerous life, followers of Jesus in countries like Iran are seeing God move powerfully wherever there is room for them to gather. And when your faith has been pushed to the margins of society, the only room left might be your living room.
Despite the dangers, house churches in Iran continue to grow and multiply. Believers face public exclusion, discrimination and even arrest if they are at all public with their faith. Staying off radar can be very difficult, especially when neighbours and local authorities are watching and waiting to catch you out. But into this precarious situation God’s Spirit is sweeping.
Dina, a SAT-7 viewer from Iran, recently shared with us, “By the grace of our loving Lord, every Saturday we have a house church meeting in our home. Praise God! In the last few months, more people have come to faith in this house. We were five and now we are nine. Please pray that our house church will be protected.”
SAT-7’s ministry is especially valuable to secret Christians. Heavenly Worship, a live weekly worship programme, is a perfect example of this, giving the gift of beautiful Persian praise songs to those who long for a soundtrack to their faith. This programme, among others, is invaluable to isolated believers who cannot worship freely and struggle to find Christian resources in their dialect.
A male viewer, Babak*, wrote in to say, “I sing the songs with all my mind and heart, and take part in the worship along with the musicians. I thank each and every one of you, beloved of God, who brings the praise and worship of the Lord to our hearts and homes.”
*Name and image used for representation purposes only.
PRAY
- Praise God that believers in Iran, faced with so many difficulties, are still meeting in their homes to pray and worship together!
- Pray for Heavenly Worship viewer Babak, that he would continue to enjoy our programmes and grow in faith.
- Praise Jesus that He is with us whenever and wherever we gather.
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20, NIV)