The Front Line Report

Jesus told his followers, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). As a leader involved in discipleship in the Middle East, Mamdouh Lawendy sees many Muslims repenting of sin and putting their faith in Christ. Often this is happening through the witness and example of believers around them. Muslims ask questions. They are curious why...

“You can help persecuted Christians, but they can help you more.” Richard Wurmbrand, the founder of The Voice of the Martyrs, shared this truth with Steve Cleary and it changed forever his perspective about being in fellowship with our persecuted family. Cleary, founder and president of , was an early staff member at The Voice of the Martyrs, including traveling to churches and other events with R...

Ben Barrett and his wife were open to go wherever God wanted them to go. Ultimately, God called them to go on mission to one of the world’s most concentrated areas of lost people – North India and Nepal. It wasn’t always an easy transition, but God instilled a deep love for the people in their heart and a desire to reach them with the gospel. Ben is VOM’s new Regional Leader for work with persecut...

October 7th, 2023 is one of those dates that will always be remembered. On that terrible morning, Ben Barrett was working for VOM with persecuted Christians in the Middle East and leading the ministry’s work in Israel, including Gaza and the West Bank. His phone began to light up with messages from both Messianic Jewish believers and Arab Christians—even before the terrible attacks were announced...

After serving many years as a gospel worker in Turkey (now called Türkiye), Pastor Andrew Brunson spent two years in Turkish prison. He was accused, among other “crimes,” of helping plot a coup against President Erdogan’s government and being a leader in the CIA. The reality is that Andrew was in Turkey as a missionary and pastor, working to spread the gospel. Brunson recounts how God was teaching...

Pastor Andrew Brunson, author of the book God’s Hostage, was imprisoned two years for his Christian work in Turkey (now called Türkiye). He says every single day was a battle to overcome fear, grief and anxiety. One who inspired him in these battles was Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, the founder of The Voice of the Martyrs. Brunson explains how Wurmbrand inspired him to dance inside his prison cell bef...

Pastor Matthew is a long-time pastor in the communist nation of Vietnam. Since coming to faith in Christ he’s been persecuted by family, neighbors and by police. Matthew came to Christ through the witness of an American missionary mentor. He heard the gospel message, but he also saw the life she lived and the love she showed to the people around her. He couldn’t know, at the time, the high cost he...

“When people are not discipled, they are frail. Their faith is not strong.” Dr. David Kasali, founder and president of , is determined to disciple more Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a place where they are being specifically targeted for persecution by terrorist groups and radical Islamists. Listen as David tells about recent attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), incl...

Seventy percent of Sri Lanka’s people are Buddhists, and Buddhism is given “foremost place” in the nation’s constitution and laws. Officially, there is religious freedom for people of other faiths, including Christians. Yet new believers in Christ often face pressure and persecution from family members or their local community. Mayukha Perera, managing director of , joins VOM Radio this week to sh...

astor Nouh Yattara was born into a nomadic Muslim family. He became a believer through the work of missionaries in his home country of Mali—and through his desire to own a ball-point pen. After living in fear of superstitions, demons and death, Nouh found new life, and an end to fear, in Christ. “I knew if I accepted Jesus that he has the power against all of that,” Pastor Nouh says. It wasn’t an...

“By God’s grace, I endured a few years in prison in exchange for an eternity with Him.” Ebrahim Firouzi, a Christian convert from Islam, spent seven years in prison in Iran. Now he is enjoying eternity with the Lord, experiencing the fulfillment of that promise following his death in February. This interview was recorded about four years ago—after Ebrahim’s release from prison while he was serving...

Luke and Kate, medical gospel workers who’ve served in Myanmar, shared how God called them to Myanmar to share the hope of Christ. This week, in Part 2 of our conversation, they reveal the loss and devastation their family experienced as they were forced to leave the place God had so clearly called them to. “It was devastating,” Kate says, “and we still sometimes have to process through that again...

Luke and Kate had both felt God’s call to missions. But they were still waiting to know where that call would take them. They went through training. They travelled to serve in different countries. And all the while, they asked God where he wanted to send them long-term. His answer finally arrived after a 12-hour bus ride to a rural village in Myanmar where there were no other foreigners. Kate and...

Brother Job thought it would be just another day. He was walking to work at a church in North Africa when he was accosted by four men with knives. The terrorists forced him into a vehicle and drove him away. “It’s my last day on this earth,” Job thought to himself. Growing up in a Muslim family in North Africa, Job knew there would be persecution when he left Islam to follow Jesus. He came to fait...

There are 500,000 evangelical churches in Latin America, but only 6% of Latino congregations are involved in missions. As executive director of , and in his previous work with Operation Mobilization Latin America, Brother Julio wants to increase that percentage! He desires to bring about collaboration between churches and missionary organizations to equip and send out Latino missionaries. Listen f...

A Christian and pastor from Central Asia, Brother Silas constantly interacts with Muslims. He says many are seeking truth and looking for answers to their deepest spiritual questions. Brother Silas and Tom Houser, executive director for , share this week what new Christians in Central Asian nations—including Muslim background believers—experience when they become followers of Jesus. “The moment yo...

Many Muslims are ready to hear the gospel and experience the love of Jesus Christ. For more than two decades Peter Smith has prayed for the nation of Iran and connected with ministries reaching people and supporting persecuted Christians in the nation he and his wife “adopted.” Seeing the gospel go forth in the Middle East reminds Peter of the good soil that produced 30, 60 and 100-fold harvests i...

Within two months of Brother Kevin and his wife beginning gospel work in India, more than a thousand people had come to Christ! The fruit of the gospel was immediate. Local missions leaders asked them to stay on and help disciple these new believers. They saw the opportunity, and the incredible growth of the ministry. But Kevin couldn’t dismiss an urge to visit China before agreeing to stay and mi...

Last week, Brother Kevin shared how he came to Christ and how God gave him a passion to reach the 13 million Hui people in China. For members of this people group, to be Hui is to be Muslim. Those who become Christians are considered traitors, bringing shame to their family. Hui Christians face social, psychological, and sometimes financial persecution, typically enforced by members of their own f...

When Jeff Woodke said those words, he didn’t know that he would be taken hostage from his home in Niger in 2016. But Woodke, a long-term relief and gospel worker in West Africa, did know there were risks. Risk wasn’t such a big issue in the early years of the ministry of Jeff and his wife, Els, in Niger with Youth With a Mission (YWAM). They worked in church planting, discipleship, and evangelism...

David Paul fell in love with Muslims as a college student visiting Turkey (now Türkiye) to share the gospel. After getting married, he and his wife thought they’d go where Muslims are — the Middle East. God changed their plans, reminding them that millions of Muslims live in South Asia, yet very few mission workers go there. They knew God was calling them, and without ever visiting, they moved to...

Last week, Brother Philip, a field minister for The Voice of the Martyrs in West Africa, shared how witnessing stories of trauma from persecuted Christians and addressing their spiritual needs is a gift. He shared the characteristics of resilient individuals who coped well after persecution and how scripture can bring healing to their hearts and minds. This week, you’ll hear how Christians may exh...

This episode will be a little different than most as we have two conversations instead of one. First, we’ll hear from Steve Lisby about a group of pastors and church leaders imprisoned in Nicaragua after being part of a large-scale evangelism effort. Next we’ll hear from Brother Philip, who helps The Voice of the Martyrs provide trauma care for persecuted Christians in Africa. Steve Lisby is the r...

Paul Dangtoumda, a part of the global eldership counsel for Youth With a Mission (YWAM) and the leader for YWAM’s work in Nigeria, comes from a family with a history of Christian persecution. In fact, he bears the scar of persecution his parents faced even before he was born. Listen as he shares the amazing testimony of God’s protection over him and his parents—and how their example inspires his m...

ASIA PACIFIC: The Value of Knowing Christ Carter Gates, The Voice of the Martyrs’ Asia Pacific Regional Leader, says he is always humbled as he observes and fellowships with persecuted Christians who regularly take up their cross joyfully despite that risk. They know walking with Christ is worth the risk. Listen this week as Carter shares what the church is experiencing in Brunei, China, Laos, and...