Pray for the Movement of God in Iran

I’ve just returned from a visit to the Middle East. I made it out just in time.

I spent a week interviewing Iranians who had temporarily left Iran for training—men and women from Muslim backgrounds who are now followers of the Messiah.

During the training, I’d grab someone and take them out for an interview. It’s not safe to release the audio, but I will be writing the stories up for my next book.

I was impressed with how ordinary these people are. They’re not superheroes; they’re legitimately afraid of what could happen when they return to Iran. Each one could seek refuge in the West. They don’t. They go back because they want to share the Jesus whom they have met with their friends and family. They’ve started over 2,000 churches.

Their churches are small. It’s safer that way. They don’t draw attention to themselves. The gospel spreads through tight relational ties—from friend to friend and relative to relative.

All they have are the Scriptures, sometimes just the New Testament, and a simple pattern of discipleship. This is a movement, so the newest disciple is a disciple maker. They know what to do because someone has trained them.

I dropped by to say goodbye the day they left for Iran. We sat down and read the story of Paul’s shipwreck on the way to trial in Rome (Acts 27). I asked them, “What’s God up to in this story? Why is he allowing his messenger to suffer?”

It was a holy moment. I was there as their teacher. The wise old guy who writes books about movements. They were there, with Paul, in the hurricane, trusting God to get them to Rome, where they would bear witness to the Lord Jesus.

We said goodbye, unaware that the war with Israel was about to explode.