ICC Note:The Middle East has been home to some of the worst persecution in the world for the last few years. But despite the constant reports of jihad and government crackdown, Voice of the Martyrs reports that Christianity is growing with more and more Muslims coming to Christ. God is at work in the Middle East and his church is very alive and very well.

01/07/2017 Iraq (BosNewsLife): Despite a mass exodus of Christians, “the church” is far from empty in Syria, Iraq, Jordan and other parts of the Middle East as thousands of Muslims turn to faith in Jesus Christ including through radio broadcasts, a Christian group said Thursday January 5.

“There are thousands upon thousands coming to Christ,” said the Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC), which supports Christian broadcasters in the region. “We are in regular contact with our FM stations in Iraq and have talked with many people who have family in the Middle East,” VOMC told BosNewsLife.

“Some of our Middle Eastern broadcasters have shared testimonies [about many turning to Christ] with us, which they hear directly from listeners when visiting there….”

VOMC made clear that that amid war and Islamic attacks in the region, “God has been very faithful.” The group added there are “strong Christian believers remaining” in the Middle East “and tremendous growth is taking place in the lives of new believers who were Muslims.”

VOMC it wants the Lord to “be praised and worshipped with great honour, He is worthy.”

The spread of Christianity has also been reported in Iran, despite a crackdown by the government on house churches and other denominations deemed a threat to the Islamic state. “In 1979, there were less than 500 known Christians from a Muslim background in Iran. Today the most conservative estimate is that there are at least 360,000 believers in the nation,” said mission group Elam Ministries, which was founded by Iranian church leaders.

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