{"id":5365,"date":"2025-11-29T17:47:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T17:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?p=5365"},"modified":"2025-12-10T17:56:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:56:19","slug":"christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/","title":{"rendered":"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The Islamic Republic of Iran restricted all access to God\u2019s Word. But despite great risk, Iranian believers are sharing the gospel on the street with unprecedented boldness.<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Two years after placing her faith in Jesus Christ, Fareena still hadn\u2019t told a soul. Like most new Christians in Iran<\/a>, she feared the backlash she would face if her family learned she had left Islam. Since doing so is illegal in the Muslim nation, new Christians are often imprisoned after going public with their faith. And many more are beaten for bringing shame to their Muslim family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aware of these possibilities, Fareena decided to read her Bible only in secret. Then, one day she saw something that shocked her. \u201cWhen I woke up and headed to the living room, my father was sitting on the floor reading a Bible thoughtfully,\u201d she said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fareena returned to her room in a panic, thinking her father, Bilal, had discovered her Bible. After realizing the Bible he was reading was a different color, she asked him what he was doing. \u201cI am reading an amazing book,\u201d Bilal replied. \u201cI found it in the mailbox today. It was wrapped in wrapping paper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iranian Christians had gone house to house, placing Bibles in mailboxes<\/a> throughout the neighborhood. Each one included a note saying the book was a gift for Nowruz, the Persian New Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Fareena, the gift was a miracle. Using contact information included with the gift, she learned how she and her father could join a house church. \u201cGod called my father into His family,\u201d she said. \u201cMy father has been reading the book every day and talks about it joyfully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stories like Fareena\u2019s and Bilal\u2019s are common. God\u2019s kingdom is growing faster in Iran than anywhere else in the world. And Christians there are taking advantage of a distracted government to share the gospel with disillusioned Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Random Encounter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When the coronavirus pandemic began, Aref and his wife, Liana, were happy to follow Iran\u2019s lockdown because their age put them at risk. But one day while getting some fresh air in a local park, they were approached by a man who talked to them briefly about God and gave them a Bible. Aref gave it a quick look and, when he got home, placed it on a bookshelf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Months later Aref had a dream about a light shining brightly from the bookshelf and a voice saying, \u201cI will reveal the true way to you. You will find Me there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe next morning, I thought about my dream,\u201d he said, \u201cand then I went to the bookshelf and grabbed the Bible after eight months. I opened it with more passion, and curiously, I remembered also the guy who gave me this book.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After reading some passages in the Bible, Aref returned to the first page and found contact information for the man who had given it to him. \u201cI grabbed my phone and called the number to ask about my dream and questions that came to mind about God,\u201d Aref said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aref is connected to a ministry that answers his questions and prays with him, leading him closer to Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Family<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When her husband divorced her, and her father considered her a disgrace because she was unable to have children, Jasmine went to find an old friend. But when she knocked on the door, an older woman named Huma answered and told her that her friend had moved. Seeing the anxiety on Jasmine\u2019s face, Huma invited her in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After talking for a while, Huma, who lived alone, invited Jasmine to stay with her for a few days. Jasmine accepted, and while there, she watched curiously as small groups gathered to sing and pray. \u201cI found that they were Christians and they gave their heart to Jesus,\u201d Jasmine said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few days turned into two years, and during that time Jasmine adopted two young girls, giving her the children she never expected to have. Around the same time, Huma invited Jasmine to attend a baptism. Jasmine had already started reading the Bible regularly and learning more about Jesus, and the secret baptism moved her deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went to Huma and told her I wanted to get baptized,\u201d Jasmine recalled. After talking and praying with a pastor, Jasmine confessed her sins, acknowledged the saving work of Christ and received baptism. She said she never would have come to know Him if not for Huma\u2019s generous heart. \u201cHuma and my new family in Jesus helped me to grow in God\u2019s Word,\u201d she said. \u201cGod blessed me with this new family to heal me and show me the way to righteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huma died a short time later, leaving her home to Jasmine and her two daughters. But Jasmine, overwhelmed by grief, felt anchorless and slowly stopped attending church. Then, one of her daughters found a package in the mail and Jasmine\u2019s grief turned to joy. A Christian worker in Iran had sent her several Bibles and a Christian magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was overwhelmed by this gift,\u201d Jasmine said. \u201cI thought to myself, \u2018It\u2019s been awhile since we attended a church group.\u2019 I was about to forget that I\u2019m a believer, but our Lord never forgets His children. He sent me this gift to remind me what He has done in my life and why I have been here in this house. I want to say thank you to the people who sent us this gift that opened my eyes again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiplying Access<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jalil has been involved in a house church in northern Iran for three years, and the Bible is central to their time together. \u201cThere is so much trust and intimacy in our group,\u201d Jalil said. \u201cWe study the Bible and have fellowship with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Bibles are difficult to obtain in Iran, the group shares one Bible. While they are grateful to have even one, group Bible study is a challenge. \u201cWe passed this one Bible to each other to read, and we took notes or pictures of the verses,\u201d Jalil said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, VOM workers smuggled a large supply of Bibles into Iran, and local house church leaders distributed them to Christians who did not own one. Jalil\u2019s group recently received a package of the Bibles, and now every member has a personal copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod blessed us through your ministry!\u201d Jalil said. \u201cToday, not only do we have our own Bibles, but we also can give them to our friends and family and share the love of God with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With each gift of a Bible in Iran, God\u2019s kingdom advances in one of the world\u2019s most restricted nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Islamic Republic of Iran restricted all access to God\u2019s Word. But despite great risk, Iranian believers are sharing the gospel on the street with unprecedented boldness. Two years after placing her faith in Jesus Christ, Fareena still hadn\u2019t told a soul. Like most new Christians in Iran, she feared the backlash she would face if her family learned she had left Islam. Since doing so is illegal in the Muslim nation, new Christians are often imprisoned after going public with their faith. And many more are beaten for bringing shame to their Muslim family. Aware of these possibilities, Fareena decided to read her Bible only in secret. Then, one day she saw something that shocked her. \u201cWhen I woke up and headed to the living room, my father was sitting on the floor reading a Bible thoughtfully,\u201d she said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe my eyes.\u201d Fareena returned to her room in a panic, thinking her father, Bilal, had discovered her Bible. After realizing the Bible he was reading was a different color, she asked him what he was doing. \u201cI am reading an amazing book,\u201d Bilal replied. \u201cI found it in the mailbox today. It was wrapped in wrapping paper.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-5365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-field-stories","tag-iran","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nChristians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness - Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Christians in Iran are taking advantage of a distracted government to share the gospel with disillusioned Muslims.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness - Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Christians in Iran are taking advantage of a distracted government to share the gospel with disillusioned Muslims.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-29T17:47:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-10T17:56:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1385\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Megan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Megan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Megan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a\"},\"headline\":\"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-29T17:47:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-10T17:56:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/\"},\"wordCount\":1134,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Iran\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Stories from the Field\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/\",\"name\":\"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness - Stories\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-29T17:47:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-10T17:56:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a\"},\"description\":\"Christians in Iran are taking advantage of a distracted government to share the gospel with disillusioned Muslims.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1385,\"caption\":\"Bible distribution in Iran\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Stories\",\"description\":\"VOM\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a\",\"name\":\"Megan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3a90350e5bc57191a502794c311240907fffa912111a78187004d24109bf7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3a90350e5bc57191a502794c311240907fffa912111a78187004d24109bf7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Megan\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness - Stories","description":"Christians in Iran are taking advantage of a distracted government to share the gospel with disillusioned Muslims.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness - Stories","og_description":"Christians in Iran are taking advantage of a distracted government to share the gospel with disillusioned Muslims.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/","og_site_name":"Stories","article_published_time":"2025-11-29T17:47:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-10T17:56:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1385,"url":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Megan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Megan","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/"},"author":{"name":"Megan","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a"},"headline":"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness","datePublished":"2025-11-29T17:47:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-10T17:56:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/"},"wordCount":1134,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Iran"],"articleSection":["Stories from the Field"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/","url":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/","name":"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness - Stories","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-29T17:47:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-10T17:56:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a"},"description":"Christians in Iran are taking advantage of a distracted government to share the gospel with disillusioned Muslims.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CUS202008BP_0026_rev_pub_Iran-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1385,"caption":"Bible distribution in Iran"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/christians-in-iran-share-the-gospel-with-boldness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Christians in Iran Share the Gospel with Boldness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/","name":"Stories","description":"VOM","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a","name":"Megan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3a90350e5bc57191a502794c311240907fffa912111a78187004d24109bf7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3a90350e5bc57191a502794c311240907fffa912111a78187004d24109bf7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Megan"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5368,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5365\/revisions\/5368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}