{"id":5433,"date":"2025-12-17T16:48:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/pakistan-my-parents-showed-how-to-be-a-true-follower-of-christ\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T16:48:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:48:26","slug":"pakistan-my-parents-showed-how-to-be-a-true-follower-of-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/pakistan-my-parents-showed-how-to-be-a-true-follower-of-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"PAKISTAN: My Parents Showed How to Be a True Follower of Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Yousaf Sadiq was born into a Christian family in Pakistan. He will share how his ancestors came to faith in Christ in India out of Hinduism. While his parents never had the opportunity to go to school and learn to read and write, Yousaf shares how they saw education as a <em>privilege<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>His mother worked as a cleaner at a local school so that Yousaf and some of his ten siblings would have an opportunity to be educated. In the evenings, he would help his mother clean the school where he was a student during the day. Despite their deep poverty, Yousaf gratefully recounts how his family&#8217;s needs were always met.<\/p>\n<p>Today <a href= \"https:\/\/www.wheaton.edu\/academics\/faculty\/yousaf-sadiq\/\">Yousaf<\/a> is a professor at Wheaton College and co-leader of the <a href= \"https:\/\/lausanne.org\/network\/lausanne-persecuted-church-initiative\"> Lausanne Persecuted Church Initiative<\/a>. He remembers how his parents invested time and energy in training their children to walk with the Lord, and how they led by example.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There was a strong training and guidance by our parents,&#8221; Yousaf said, &#8220;They would wake up early in the morning to pray, showing us that prayer was vital.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Yousaf also shares what it looks like to live in <a href= \"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/globalprayerguide\/pakistan\/?_source_code=VOMRadio\"> Pakistan<\/a> as a Christian. There are many pressures within the society, but Yousaf understood at a young age that Christian persecution is part of following Christ.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I felt not only strengthened but also <em>privileged<\/em> that this was happening,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>Pray for persecuted Christians in Pakistan and be encouraged by the faith our brothers and sisters display. You can learn more about Christian persecution in Pakistan through VOM Radio interviews with <a href= \"https:\/\/www.vomradio.net\/episodes\/detail\/deep-knowledge-of-god-helps-christians-endure-persecution\"> Dr. Michael Reeves<\/a>, <a href= \"https:\/\/www.vomradio.net\/episodes\/detail\/pakistan-strong-faith-amidst-the-ashes\"> &#8220;Brother Johanna&#8221;<\/a> and <a href= \"https:\/\/www.vomradio.net\/episodes\/detail\/pakistan-sharing-christ-from-streets-to-seminary\"> Kenneth Charles<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/app\/\"><strong>The VOM App<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as provide\u00a0<u>free<\/u>\u00a0access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your\u00a0<a href= \"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/vom-app\/id432550884\"><strong>iOS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.persecution.VomPrayerCalendar&#038;pli=1\"><strong>Android<\/strong><\/a> device today.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vomradio.net\/episodes\/detail\/pakistan-my-parents-showed-how-to-be-a-true-follower-of-christ\" target=\"_blank\">Listen to this episode on VOMRadio.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Yousaf Sadiq was born into a Christian family in Pakistan. He will share how his ancestors came to faith in Christ in India out of Hinduism. While his parents never had the opportunity to go to school and learn to read and write, Yousaf shares how they saw education as a privilege. His mother worked as a cleaner at a local school so that Yousaf and some of his ten siblings would have an opportunity to be educated. In the evenings, he would help his mother clean the school where he was a student during the day. Despite their deep poverty, Yousaf gratefully recounts how his family&#8217;s needs were always met. Today Yousaf is a professor at Wheaton College and co-leader of the  Lausanne Persecuted Church Initiative. He remembers how his parents invested time and energy in training their children to walk with the Lord, and how they led by example. &#8220;There was a strong training and guidance by our parents,&#8221; Yousaf said, &#8220;They would wake up early in the morning to pray, showing us that prayer was vital.&#8221; Yousaf also shares what it looks like to live in  Pakistan as a Christian. There are many pressures within the society, but Yousaf understood at a young age that Christian persecution is part of following Christ. &#8220;I felt not only strengthened but also privileged that this was happening,&#8221; he says. Pray for persecuted Christians in Pakistan and be encouraged by the faith our brothers and sisters display. You can learn more about Christian persecution in Pakistan through VOM Radio interviews with  Dr. Michael Reeves,  &#8220;Brother Johanna&#8221; and  Kenneth Charles. The VOM App\u00a0for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as provide\u00a0free\u00a0access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your\u00a0iOS\u00a0or\u00a0Android device today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vom-radio","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>PAKISTAN: My Parents Showed How to Be a True Follower of Christ - Stories<\/title>\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\/pakistan-my-parents-showed-how-to-be-a-true-follower-of-christ\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PAKISTAN: My Parents Showed How to Be a True Follower of Christ - Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dr. Yousaf Sadiq was born into a Christian family in Pakistan. He will share how his ancestors came to faith in Christ in India out of Hinduism. While his parents never had the opportunity to go to school and learn to read and write, Yousaf shares how they saw education as a privilege. His mother worked as a cleaner at a local school so that Yousaf and some of his ten siblings would have an opportunity to be educated. In the evenings, he would help his mother clean the school where he was a student during the day. Despite their deep poverty, Yousaf gratefully recounts how his family&#039;s needs were always met. Today Yousaf is a professor at Wheaton College and co-leader of the Lausanne Persecuted Church Initiative. He remembers how his parents invested time and energy in training their children to walk with the Lord, and how they led by example. &quot;There was a strong training and guidance by our parents,&quot; Yousaf said, &quot;They would wake up early in the morning to pray, showing us that prayer was vital.&quot; Yousaf also shares what it looks like to live in Pakistan as a Christian. There are many pressures within the society, but Yousaf understood at a young age that Christian persecution is part of following Christ. &quot;I felt not only strengthened but also privileged that this was happening,&quot; he says. Pray for persecuted Christians in Pakistan and be encouraged by the faith our brothers and sisters display. You can learn more about Christian persecution in Pakistan through VOM Radio interviews with Dr. Michael Reeves, &quot;Brother Johanna&quot; and Kenneth Charles. The VOM App\u00a0for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as provide\u00a0free\u00a0access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. 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