The Front Line Report

In this episode, Tom Hardy of Release International speaks with Lazarus Yeghnazar of the organisation of Transform Iran. Inside Iran, protests are met with brutal crackdowns, yet something extraordinary is happening beneath the surface. In this powerful episode, Lazarus shares stories of courage, persecution, and a growing underground church, with over a million turning to Christ – many through dreams. As fear of famine and further devastation looms, he calls for prayer, hope, and attention. Release International UK is a sister office of VOM Australia

God Answers Prayer that a Fellow Pastor Would be Arrested After spending months in prison for sharing the gospel with Hindus, Pastor Paul’s health began to deteriorate. In desperation, he prayed that God would allow another pastor to be arrested and sent to the same prison so they could encourage one another. Four days later, Paul read in the newspaper that a pastor had been arrested. Two weeks after that, the pastor arrived at the prison and brought Paul great encouragement, telling him that his church had been praying for him. With renewed faith, the two pastors prayed together regularly. Other prisoners soon began asking them for prayer, and even prison guards noticed their devotion. When asked what they were doing, the pastors replied that they were praying for the guards as well. Eventually, around 70 prisoners came to them seeking prayer and wanting to learn about Jesus. Go to www.PrisonerAlert.com to learn how you can pray for other persecuted Christians still imprisoned for their faith. Write to and encourage Christians imprisoned for their faith and their families.

Pastor Paul was doing gospel outreach in northern India when police arrested him and accused him of forcing Hindus to convert, even though he was only sharing with people who wanted to hear the truth. When officers arrived, Paul and his co-workers were simply eating a meal, but they were still taken into custody. Paul and three fellow Christians suffered greatly in detention. Police repeatedly threatened them and promised freedom if they renounced their faith in Jesus. They were placed in a filthy cell used as a latrine and even allowed a mob of radical Hindus to beat them. Despite the suffering, Paul prayed for courage and asked God to help him not fear. During his imprisonment, he found opportunities to share the gospel with other prisoners, demonstrating the hope he had in Christ even as some of his co-workers eventually renounced their faith.

Isaac Santiago, Regional Leader for The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) in Latin America, describes the growing challenges Christians face in countries such as Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Colombia. Since 2018, Nicaragua has introduced laws and government pressure that heavily restrict the church, similar to persecution seen in communist countries like Cuba and China. As a result, Nicaragua is now listed as a “Restricted Nation” in VOM’s 2026 Global Prayer Guide. Many Nicaraguan Christians are struggling to adjust to these new restrictions, while believers in Cuba have lived with similar limitations for more than 60 years. Santiago also discusses Venezuela, where recent leadership changes have coincided with a spiritual revival, and in the past two years, he has seen the gospel spreading and churches growing in many parts of the country. Click here [https://vom.com.au/about/persecuted-christians/] to view VOM's Global Prayer Guide.

This week, listen as John Burrough, CEO of Partners International, shares how taking a mission trip completely changed his outlook and how that experience could impact and change your perspective in every area of life. John will share how Partners International invests in local ministries and church networks advancing the gospel in the 10/40 window, and how they come alongside locals to help them go further and faster in achieving the mission God has given them. "All missions begin with prayer", John says, and shares how the Lord is mobilising prayer for the unreached in restricted nations and hostile areas. Listen for the amazing story of a former Boko Haram member in West Africa who came to Christ while spying on a Christian leadership training session. The former terrorist is now advancing the gospel among the people he used to work with.

In Part 2 of our interview with Pastor Hassan Abduraheem Taour, he shares how his heart remained upbeat, even as the judge pronounced him guilty and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. He'll talk about how reading the Bible is different inside prison than when you're free. Hassan says he experienced persecution as a blessing from God – a blessing that brought him tears of joy. "It is really a privilege to be persecuted," he says. Pastor Hassan recounted how fellow members of the Body of Christ in Sudan encouraged him in prison with faith that the Lord would release him. His prayer life also grew in prison, as he became a prayer warrior, quoting Bible verses as he prayed with tears.

Pastor Hassan Abduraheem Taour helped train Sudanese pastors to be ready for persecution. He didn't know that he was also preparing himself for the day he'd be arrested in Sudan, charged with aiding espionage alongside VOM's Africa Regional Director, Petr Jasek, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. There were difficult days in prison, yet Pastor Hassan experienced the joy of the Lord—joy so powerful it brought tears to his eyes. It is because of that joy, and because of the ministry God gave him in prison, that Pastor Hassan looks back on those long months as "one of the best times of my life." Click here [https://soundcloud.com/vom-oz/petr-jasek-10th-anniversary-of] to listen to Petr's interview on the Front Line Report

We look back on some of the most moving moments shared on The Front Line Report in 2025. Be inspired and encouraged by the way the Lord is at work in restricted nations and hostile areas. Highlights include: - Michael & Mona share what it looks like to be a Christian in North Africa, where they are often treated as second-class citizens. Yet Mona says she loves the Muslim people who are victims of a false religion. - Kevin works among people trapped in fear-based animistic practices in Southeast Asia. He'll share how gospel workers combat that fear with the love of Christ.

MOVING MOMENTS: This week, we look back on some of the most moving moments shared on The Front Line Report in 2025. Be inspired and encouraged by the way the Lord is at work in restricted nations and hostile areas. MOVING MOMENTS OF 2025 - PART 1 Highlights include: - Hope & Nagy have been called by God to live in some very difficult places. They were serving Him in Libya when civil war broke out; they stayed and thrived under the Lord's protection. Then they heard the Lord call them to a new and equally challenging land. - Abraham & Sara minister to Muslim refugees in the Middle East who are open to the gospel. They see the hunger to know Jesus, and the Lord is revealing Himself to these refugees through dreams, visions, and the love of Christ, as seen in the example of Abraham, Sara, and their team.

Ten years ago, Petr Jasek travelled to Sudan on behalf of Voice of the Martyrs to meet with and encourage Sudanese Christians. At the airport on his way out of the country, Petr was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison. His first prison cellmates were ISIS fighters – men who hated Christians and quickly began to persecute Petr. Petr Jasek spent 445 days in Sudanese custody. Listen as Petr shares about his first night in a jail cell, how God uniquely prepared him with a dream and how he discovered that his cellmates were radical Muslim ISIS fighters. In prison, Petr felt the Lord's presence very near, as once he received a Bible – he spent hours every day reading the Bible and praying. In Petr's lowest moments, God brought to his mind the names and faces of other persecuted Christians – men and women Petr had met during his years overseeing VOM's work in Africa. He began to pray for other persecuted believers, and his spirit lifted as his focus changed from his own difficulties to praying for other Christians. The story of Petr's imprisonment – and the ministry God allowed him inside – is told in his book, Imprisoned with ISIS: Faith in the Face of Evil (https://vom.com.au/product/imprisoned-with-isis-faith-in-the-face-of-evil-petr-jasek-with-rebecca-george/)

There are more mobile phones in the world than cars, toilets, or people. What if each of those phones could be turned into a Bible? Using their backgrounds in electrical engineering and software development, David and Josiah Palusky have developed technology tools to help Christian workers spread the gospel in places where people are unreached, and there is often Christian persecution. David is the founder and president of Renew Outreach. He will share how the ministry began and the tools they've developed to help provide unreached people in remote places with access to God's Word. Josiah, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Renew, explains efforts to help persecuted Christians around the world share the gospel using emerging technology.

A nationwide crackdown on urban house churches in China has drawn worldwide attention after nearly 30 members of the Zion Protestant Church were arrested in seven cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. In this episode of the Front Line Report, VOM Canada’s Greg Musselman is joined by Dr Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid, to explain the reasons behind these recent arrests and why the international media is finally paying attention. During the interview, Dr Fu also discusses the Chinese Communist Party’s escalating campaign against Christians – and why this wave of persecution is considered the most severe crackdown since the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

In 2018, Huldah's husband was martyred for his Christian witness. Family and friends urged Huldah to leave the village, to retreat to a safer location. She refused, and seven years later, she is still living and serving the Lord in the same village. "My God is great, and He will take care of me," she says. Listen as Huldah shares how God has cared for her since her husband's death, often using members of Christ's body to serve and support her in times of need. She'll also talk about the process of forgiveness. Huldah still sees the people who killed her husband, yet she doesn't hold a grudge in her heart but instead has forgiven them. Hear what Huldah's ministry looks like today in the village, and how she lives out Matthew 25:40's call to serve the Lord by caring for the least of these.

Over the last fifteen years, living and ministering in South Asia, Brian, a leader with Operation Mobilisation, has witnessed numerous changes. One aspect that hasn't changed is openness to the gospel. Brian explains where Christian persecution usually begins and how it can feature a mix of family, community, and/or the government coming against the church and against new followers of Jesus. Emphasising that God is the one who changes hearts and minds, Brian shares how, when we read the New Testament, we see that God is sovereign even over the persecution He allows His children to endure. "[Christian persecution] causes believers to grow in their faith." Brian says, "I think it's a real witness that this faith is so much bigger than what is happening to me in this world."

“I just want the Bible. How much does it cost?” First, the young Druze woman tried to access and read her own religion’s holy book. But she wasn’t allowed to read it. Then she tried to find a Koran. Finally, she came to a church and asked to purchase a Bible, worried she wouldn’t have enough money to pay for it. The pastor told her that God’s Word is priceless, but that he would give it to her without cost. Shocked, she took the Bible and began to read, eventually giving her life to Jesus. Brother Michael, a gospel worker in the Middle East, will share more of this young woman’s powerful story and the Christian persecution she faced from her family while standing firm in Christ. In spite of persecution, even locked in a room, she continued to share the gospel. Learn what it’s like to live as a Christian in the Middle East, and what believers face after leaving Muslim or Druze backgrounds to follow Christ. As believers engage in conversations with family and friends, they carefully plant spiritual seeds while testing their listeners’ hearts to see if they are ready to go deeper. Brother Michael also shares how he trains and leads discipleship through Discovery Bible Study groups, which are multiplying as new believers share their personal testimonies with family and friends. One group started with nine believers but today has multiplied into more than twenty groups with 150 believers! Hear how you can pray specifically for Brother Michael and our persecuted Christian family in the Middle East.