ICC Note: According to reports from Elam Ministries, 200 Iranian and Afghans were recently baptized into faith in the closed country. Estimate numbers of believers in Iran are now at 300,000 to 400,000 Muslim background believers. The growth is spectacular considering the government push back and restrictions.

11/15/2016 Iran (Mohabat News): Just recently, more than 200 Iranians and Afghans were baptised in a location just outside Iran, the Elam Ministries reported. The service was attended by people from eight different Persian-speaking churches, the group said.

During the event, the newly baptised Christians shared testimonies on how Jesus has changed their lives. One man said he had been suicidal, but Jesus intervened and brought him new hope.

Another new believer shared: “I never thought I would find freedom from my past, but Jesus has set me free.”

The growth of Christianity in Iran has been described as spectacular. In fact, several statisticians noted that the Iranian church may be the fastest growing church in the world, according to God Reports.

“Twenty years ago, everyone thought there were 2,000-5,000 believers in Iran,” says Elam Ministries’ Mark Howard.

But now, he said “the conservative estimate” is 300,000 to 400,000 Muslim-background believers in Iran, with others saying that the number could be as high as one million.

“The word that a lot of our senior leadership team has been using recently is momentum, the Lord is really doing something,” Howard said.

“We see incredible opportunity,” he said, “reaching Persian speaking refugees in Europe, planting churches in Iran — people are so open right now.”

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