ishtartv.com - christianitytoday.com
January
4, 2018
What’s
the state of the church in one of the hardest places in the world to be a
Christian?
For
more than a week, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to protest
their government. Spurred by anger over a weak economy and increasing fuel and
food prices, their grievances accompany frustration that loosening economic
sanctions have had little effect on their everyday lives. Nearly all the
protesters are Muslims—no surprise in a country where 99 percent of the
population adheres to Islam.
Despite
Muslims’ numeric dominance, some researchers say there’s no country in the
world where Christianity is growing faster than in Iran today, according to
David Yeghnazar, the executive director of Elam Ministries, a nonprofit that
serves Iranian Christians.
“Iranians
have become the most open people to the gospel,” said Yeghnazar.
Unlike
in other parts of the Middle East, the country’s historic churches have
increasingly taken on an evangelistic role and committed themselves to praying
for nonbelievers in their country, he says.
Yeghnazar
joined associate digital media producer Morgan Lee and editor in chief Mark
Galli to discuss how Iranian Christians feel about the latest protests, how
recent political history has opened the country to the gospel, and how long
Christianity has existed in Persia.
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