Some really great news coming out of Iran, the church is growing and the women are hungry for the word of God:
Despite the hard-line Islamist regime in Iran the underground church is growing, Release International has reported.Join me in praying for the church that it might grow into a steady stream that undermines the foundation of this repressive regime as it did in the Soviet Union.
Evangelists are sharing their faith in towns and villages and planting new churches, according to the international persecution watchdog.
Iranian partners of Release International, which supports the persecuted church, report significant growth in the activities of the house churches - including outreach.
RI is supporting the underground church in Iran through leadership training seminars and by encouraging women's fellowships.
“Newly-trained house church leaders then pass on their training to others and Christian women are growing more confident in their faith in this repressive society,” RI explains.
Observers have said women’s rights are being rolled back by Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Reports have suggested that leaders in the underground church have been active in evangelism in cities, towns and villages. Many have been working successfully to share their faith in remote areas away from the watchful eye of the authorities, RI reports.
One young leader travelled out to a village to visit a family of six who had just become Christians and needed to be taught about the faith.
She found them living in a poor damp house with only a few old pieces of furniture. When they heard she was a Christian they gave her an excited welcome, and explained: “We were asking God to send someone to bring a Bible and teach us.”
They continued: “Jesus has revealed himself to us. And we have realised the character of Jesus is different to the character of so many other prophets we know of. He is superior to all of them. He is exceptional.
“We believe that Jesus is alive today and we are so much in love with him,” they told her.
