What the Iranians Taught Me

I spent a week in Istanbul interviewing Iranian disciples who had come out for training. Men and women living under the threat of arrest and imprisonment for their faith in Christ.

The people I spoke to were leaders. Each had thirty to over one hundred churches in their streams of multiplication. The churches are made up of 4-5 people.

They represent one network in a movement of God across the Islamic Republic, which is unprecedented in the 1400 years since Islam conquered Persia.

I’ve been listening to the recordings of my interviews with these brave people. Here are some of the recurring themes that provide insight into how God is at work.

1. Disillusioned with Islam

No matter how religious or secular their home, they all went to schools that imposed Islam by threat and intimidation.

They had to learn to recite the Quran in Arabic, pray and fast. Outwardly, they complied; inwardly, they rebelled.

Long before they became aware of Christ, their hearts had grown cold towards the faith of their birth. What I saw went beyond disillusionment to anger and antagonism.

A generation of Iranians has turned their back on Islam and are doing just enough to avoid getting into trouble.

This should be obvious to anyone who has met Iranians in the West. Many are as secular as Europeans.

With these Iranians, forget about using the Quran as a bridge to the Gospel. They’re ready to hear about Jesus.

2. Personal crisis

Iranians face the same struggles we experience in life. A medical crisis, financial insecurity, marriage breakdown, bouts of depression, and the death of a loved one. Life happens, and these issues shake them to the core, just as they do to us.

They ask, “Why?” Or “How do I get through this time?” They turn to God, hoping they are not alone. In desperation, they pray. But they are not praying to the god of Islam.

When her parents divorced, one Mahsa moved in with her grandparents. Mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, she was empty.

Her husband, Arash, struggled with depression, and the couple felt a great burden over their lives. Due to economic sanctions against the regime, Arash was in and out of contract work. Then their son required urgent medical treatment, which they could not afford.

When a relative shared with her, Mahsa turned to Christ. Arash could see the change, but was not sure if he could commit. As their son was being prepared for surgery, Arash received a message confirming he had been offered a position with a company in Europe. He fell to his knees, weeping and acknowledging that God had heard their prayers.

3. Searching for God

Unmoored from Islam, many went on a search of different religions, including Christianity. They went to the library, and they scoured the internet. One man asked his uncle, who lived overseas, to send him a Bible in Farsi. Another served in the military with Armenian Christians who lent him a small Bible to read. Others watched movies about Jesus on smuggled CDs.

One man bought a box set of CDs about the Kurdish warrior Saladin, only to discover upon arriving home that the CDs were actually about the life of Jesus in Farsi!

Many were impressed when they discovered that Jesus was a man of peace, who died a violent death for the world’s sin.

Often, these searches were kept secret even from friends and loved ones, out of fear of the regime.

4. Signs along the way

At least one in four of the people I interviewed had a dream that pointed them to Jesus. One woman dreamt of a huge mountain with a figure of light pointing to a Cross on a lake. She heard thousands calling her to go towards this sign.

Someone else remembered visiting a historic church building and seeing a painting of Jesus and Mary; he experienced a deep peace, which he didn’t understand but couldn’t forget.

One man remembers a beloved uncle who gave him a Cross as a piece of jewelry. He always cherished it and wanted to know the meaning of the Cross and who Jesus is.

Another remembered how his father had always spoken well of the Christians he grew up with.

5. Someone they love

Universally, the final breakthrough came when someone they loved and trusted took the risk to share with them. A cousin, a colleague, a husband or wife sat them down and told them how Jesus had changed their life, explained the gospel, then challenged them to repent, believe and be baptized.

When their loved one explained, the response was often immediate: “I want what you’ve got!”

I noticed that one name kept coming up, we’ll call her “Nadia.” She had been the starting point for so many people in the room. Yet everyone in the room could tell the stories of the people they led to Christ because someone had trained them to pass it on.

Amin said, “I was very desperate, disappointed. I had financial problems, family problems, and Nadia shared the gospel with us. We’ve known her from childhood, and I trust her with all my heart, so the moment that she shared the gospel with us, we both accepted it. Now we’re doing for others what she did for us.”

Invariably, the gospel goes from new disciples to their world of relationships, but carefully. They test and see whether it’s safe. Sometimes parents who are strict Muslims don’t know of their adult children’s new faith. One disciple had not shared with his mother until a health crisis shook the family. She turned and believed, and he baptized her.

This list is not a formula. It’s a recurring pattern of how God is working to bring salvation to the Iranian people, inside the country and around the world.