Light in the Darkness - The Iranian Church’s Response to Conflict

In this bonus episode, Elam’s Executive Director, David Yeghnazar, shares how the Iranian church has been responding to the recent conflict with Israel.

You will hear encouraging stories and prayer needs for Iranian Christians at this critical time.

Join us in praying for Iran’s church using free prayer resources at www.elam.com/pray-for-iran and by signing up to our regular prayer updates at www.elam.com/subscribe.

To access free resources that will help your Iranian friends share the hope of the Gospel with loved ones still in Iran, visit www.elam.com/send-hope.

Transcript

Introduction to Iran's Church Amid Conflict

Speaker 1 0:13

Welcome to this bonus episode of Jesus Speaks Farsi, where we're hearing from Elam's Executive Director, david Yegnazar, about Iran's church amid the unfolding conflict with Israel. We'll be hearing some of the beautiful and encouraging ways the church has responded to this crisis, what it might mean for their future and how we in the West can stand with them in prayer.

David 0:35

The real hope for Iran is not a political solution, it's Jesus Christ. They have seen that the Lord has truly made a difference in their lives and they are praying for the opportunity for more people in this situation to hear about Christ, and actually we're seeing that happen.

Speaker 1 0:56

We're so glad you've joined us for this conversation. Let's get started it.

Chrissy 1:13

Hello, welcome to Jesus. Speaks Farsi. I'm Chrissie and I'm pleased to be joined today by ELAM's Executive Director, david Yegnazar David hello, hi, chrissie, good to be with you, it's good to be with you.

Emotional Impact and Uncertainty

Chrissy 1:20

Also, it's worth saying we're recording this on Wednesday, 25th of June 2025. So that's 13 days after the outbreak of conflict between Israel and Iran. The situation has been changing rapidly on a daily basis, sometimes an hourly basis, but at this particular moment, as we record, there is a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. We won't be talking too much about the geopolitics of all of this today, david. I think what our listeners would love to hear from you is how the church has responded over this period, what it might mean for the church as we look forward, and how can we stand with them in prayer. So hopefully, we'll have some time to look at those ideas today, but before we go there, can I ask you, david, those ideas today? But before we go there, can I ask you, david, how are you doing? How are you feeling? You know this is your country of birth, the country you've given your life to serving. What emotions have you been feeling over these past 13 days?

Chrissy 2:17

Yeah, thank you. Thanks, chrissy. You know, obviously it's been a really surreal 13 days and obviously it's been a really surreal 13 days and hopefully, as people listen, those points that you brought up would be great for people to hear about how the church is doing and what the opportunities even could be. But the reality is, obviously it's been a difficult 13 days and it's not just what I'm feeling, it's what so many people, particularly on the ground in Iran the believers and the non believers it's been a very difficult time. Different emotions, actually different emotions of, obviously, distress.

Chrissy 2:57

War is very, very frightening for people and you know there you see the pictures from people that we know, whose you know neighbors buildings have been hit, um, we know of people whose family members have were in buildings that were hit, um, so a lot of the stress.

Chrissy 3:20

Sometimes there's hope that there might be some changes in the country that would bring greater freedoms to people. So that's definitely been a feeling for many people. But, yeah, as you live through a situation like this, you end up really at a um different time. You wake up with one feeling, you go to bed with another feeling and people you know following the news on minute by minute basis, really trying to work out what's going to happen and and I think that's one of the the biggest feelings at the end nobody knows what the outcome is going to be, and you try and be as insightful as you can, but at the end of the day, nobody knows what the future is, and that's where you have to just trust the Lord. You have to actually say Lord, we look to you, you are our hope, you are our salvation, and I think, at the end of the day, a situation like this can bring people much closer to the Lord, and certainly that's what I hope will happen for the church in Iran.

Chrissy 4:34

Amen. Thank you for walking us through some of those different emotions that people have been feeling, probably still are feeling a lot of these things. I know you've been in quite a few prayer meetings with people on the ground during this period. Can you give us some insight? What are people grappling with? What are they praying for in this time?

David 4:54

You know, I have been super, super encouraged by the response of Iranian church leaders and also just the regular church members there are so many who you know have when I've been in the meetings. You're wondering how are people going to respond, what are they going to be praying for? And just seeing how number one people genuinely have understood, I think many Christians have genuinely understood that the real hope for Iran is not a political solution, it is a. It's Jesus Christ. They have seen that the Lord has truly made a difference in their lives and they are praying. I've heard people pray passionately for the opportunity for more people in this situation to to hear about Christ and actually we're seeing that happen there. They're not only praying that, but they're actually talking about it, they're doing it.

David 5:52

There's been quite a number of people have come to Christ, even in the last 13 days and um and and people that you know they hadn't expected to come to Christ, maybe people that they shared the gospel with before.

David 6:08

So I think the people that I've heard praying have been praying into a different story really than what they see on the news, and I think that maybe comes from the previous generations of Christians as we've talked about on Jesus Speaks Farsely before. There's so many stories where Christians have sacrificed, they have given their lives, they've been imprisoned because they see a different story that can be written for Iran. And even in this situation, they look at the news, they hear the news, sometimes they hear the bombs and they're praying into a different story and the story of the kingdom of God. They're praying that the kingdom of God will come. And the other beautiful thing actually has been really encouraging. Even yesterday I was on another call, but right from day one, people praying both for the people of Iran and the people of Israel, and then even they start praying for people in war situations all around the world. Wow, that shows me that these people have really understood the gospel, that they've encountered the Lord and their focus on a different kingdom.

Chrissy 7:20

Beautiful as you were speaking. It just reminded me of one of our team members shared this with me the other day. She said obviously people have a variety of different opinions on the ground. Some are hopeful for change, some are just grieved and despairing of it all. But she said, amongst all that the Christians are in the midst of the chaos and the division. The children of God are like lanterns, shining their light into the darkness, the fear and despair, lighting the way for the lost and weary. She was speaking beautifully, very poetically, but it just reminded me of what you were just saying there, that there is all the political geopolitics that people have lots of different perspectives on, but this beautiful extra perspective or overarching perspective that the Christians have, that this is actually still that. Still they have a calling to be the hands and feet of Jesus at this time.

David 8:08

It is interesting to hear how people respond differently. Some of them, as you say, are really are poetic and they speak with those just words that inspire, but also I think it's I've heard a lot of visionary words from people on the ground, people believing that, you know, this is an opportunity for the church and, as much as they're pained and they're suffering, they also see that this is a time where there's actually a big opportunity. And so you hear these different perspectives. Obviously, some, um, you know there's also pain and people are definitely expressing pain, um, but people are expressing hope and definitely vision for the future and david mentioned a few minutes ago about people coming to faith even in this time.

Chrissy 9:01

Are there any stories around that that you could share with us?

New Openness to the Gospel

David 9:05

yeah, there's. There's actually many stories that um can be shared. There's, you know, people on the ground who are genuinely basically praying for the country and they are um, they're going out on the streets, sometimes praying with people on the streets. I think we put in one of our prayer emails a story of a lady who was walking the streets and worshipping and looking for people to pray with and she prayed with the family and led people to Christ there. But I think actually what's been really encouraging is where people want to be together in a time of war. Anybody in the world, whatever background you're from, when you're in war you want to be with people you know and love and you feel safe with. So families have been getting together and um Christians have been, you know, maybe in extended family groups of 15, 20 people, and I've heard this on three or four occasions now where people have gathered together with their family and with people they've never had the opportunity to share the gospel with before. Suddenly, they're speaking to the whole group of people and one of the ladies said that she went. I think there were about 20 people in the family and she ended up the whole evening talking to them about the gospel. So she sent a message to one of our colleagues and said hey, I'm going back home to go. She was in, I think, the parents' home. She went back to her home to get new testaments to give to everybody. Everybody wanted a new testament.

David 10:41

Another story is of a man and this is important because this is a brother who's telling a story of a man, relative I believe who he had witnessed to before, very hardline in his own religious faith, muslim faith and was never interested in the gospel. And so over the last two, three years he tried to share the gospel with him and really felt like he never made any headway. Well, this man, in Tehran, he saw buildings to the north, to the south, to the east and the west being hit, and so he called our friend and said you know, please tell me more about your God. Basically, that happened in the last few days, in the midst of the war, and you know what that makes me realize, and I said this to a group of friends yesterday.

David 11:40

There are, you know, many, many people have come to Christ over the last few years. There are also many who have heard to Christ over the last few years. There are also many who have heard the gospel over the last few years and I think one of the things that people can pray for actually and we need to get this message out don't just pray for the church and believers, but pray for those who've heard the gospel over the last two or three years. I'm sure is a great example of many, many, many people who, at this time, are remembering conversations they had with friends, with relatives, maybe a New Testament they received and they read a few pages. I believe you know one of the things we can pray for. Many people have the New Testament. Many people gave their lives to Christ, but some haven't yet given their lives to Christ.

David 12:22

They'll be reading the scriptures right now, so I think there's many seeds that were sown that could really bear fruit in the next few days and weeks and months.

Chrissy 12:44

David. That makes me think of what a lot of our colleagues here at ELAM have said. You know they've been being able to pray with relatives over the phone in a new way in this period because there is that openness. There's something about the fear and the vulnerability opens people's hearts to realize they need help, they need Jesus, they need help and so, yeah, we'll keep praying that all those people who are open. It actually reminds me of something I was able to witness almost firsthand.

Chrissy 13:13

You know, here in Manchester, where I am, we have Iranians in our church and on Saturday I was able to pray with one of my friends who's not yet a Christian. You know she was. You know she was tearful, she was deeply worried because she hadn't been able to contact her family in Tehran for a week. You know, the internet's been down, the connectivity has been so bad she has been. You know she came to me at the beginning of our international cafe session and said look, I haven't been able to sleep, I haven't been able to stop thinking about them, wondering how they are. You know, I'm just so worried about my family.

Chrissy 13:50

And at the end of the session I was able to pray with her, which felt beautiful, beautiful gift from the Lord for someone who doesn't describe herself as a Christian. Um but, and then a few hours later, I got a text from her saying you know, it's a miracle, I've been able to speak to my, to my parents, thank you for praying with me. And I just felt like what a privilege that's this tiny, like tiny nugget compared to what's going on inside the country. But people here in the West are open as well because of this situation.

David 14:16

I mean, that's beautiful and it's a great example, which you've seen yourself, of what's happening in Iran with Christians, people that they their neighbors, their people along the road, even traveling, a lot of people evacuating to Iran.

David 14:32

Those types of conversations, in fact, one of the things that we've said for a long time is one of our goals we want to make Jesus the biggest conversation in Iran and I think, in the midst of all the politics and all the different things on social media, christians are actually sharing Christ. There are many, many conversations about christ at this time in iran, just like that somebody's saying would you pray? And and, in fact, one of the interesting things is that there have been a lot of prayer meetings and a lot of online prayer meetings and there's a lot of people saying can we join your prayer meetings, the peace that you have in your meetings, and so people who are not Christians, non-christians you know, one of the ladies who was sharing in one of the meetings said that she, you know, for years she'd shared the gospel with her family sisters who were were not, you know, just seem very committed to their way of thinking.

The Church's Preparation and Future

David 15:26

And but then she posted on Instagram that her local church, which is outside of Iran, iranian church is having a prayer meeting for Iran. And so her sisters saw the post and said, can we join the prayer meeting? Because they've heard that Christian prayer is powerful and it's different, and when they come to those types of gatherings they sense a beautiful peace. So, actually, people in prayer meetings where Christians are praying in a very different way for Iran, for the people, for the leaders, for peace, it's just so different and they definitely sense something in just the way that people speak to the Lord. So, you know, in the midst of all of this, it's really important for our friends to know that. You know there's actually there's hope. There's hope that many more people will come to Christ, there's hope that many more people will become disciples of Christ, and actually it says people become disciples of Christ, that the country will be, that we'll see love, we'll see peace, we'll see joy spread, and it's the seeds of the gospel at this time that I think are really, really important.

Chrissy 16:44

Great, let's dig into that a little bit more. A lot of our listeners will be wondering what does this mean now? What does the future hold for Iran, for Iran's church? I know it's hard to say anything concretely no one really knows. But what do you foresee as the role of the Christians in Iran? Have actually been prepared?

David 17:11

And you know this has been what we've said, I've shared multiple times with leaders. The Lord has prepared them. We've been very excited about what the Lord has done over the last 35 years. I think we've celebrated 35 years of Elam and it has been wonderful, ilan, and it has been wonderful. But actually, whatever happens, if there is a greater measure of freedom in Iran, if there's not, or possibly even greater persecution, the people that we're talking about have been prepared for this time, and not just the leaders.

David 17:45

There are Christians, just like we've been talking about, literally that, um, you know, are just regular church members, people or people who have given their lives to christ. They're maybe in a small group of four or five people, or maybe some of them are even isolated, but the lord has prepared his church and and if we can actually just begin this whole uh reflection on um, on the situation, by saying thank you, lord, that you have a church in iran, in the midst of this war, in the midst of all the tensions, he actually has been building a church that he has. He has people there in cities, in towns, in villages, people who have actually encountered Christ, and so they're going to be speaking about him. So I would encourage people just to pause and say thank you, lord, that there is a church and this church loves you. They actually love the Lord and they want other people to play their part. So I think it's to me, I feel, very hopeful.

David 18:54

I'm not hopeful that necessarily it will be easy days, you know. Of course, the church in Iran has suffered, and I think one of the things that people have maybe got hopeful about is that maybe there would be some easier days for the church and and you know where it's not under so much pressure. Possibly, we don't know, at the end of the day, we don't know what's going to happen, um, but I'm definitely hopeful that the gospel message will continue to spread and the way that people have been praying, it's doesn't feel like it's, you know, just oh, we just want to tell people and get some new converts. It's this hope that actually, if people in Iran encounter Christ, his love, the transformation he brings, that's actually what will bring the joy and life. And just to add that you know, within that it's not just words.

David 19:52

People are serving the poor, serving people. They're, you know, feeding people. They're opening their homes to people who've had to evacuate. They're helping each other. I believe the church in Iran could actually enter a really powerful season of witness, of discipleship and even gathering in small groups in ways that we've not seen, at levels we've not seen before. So very hopeful for that side, for the growth of the church. What happens politically, that's not under our hands and I'm not necessarily sure that it will work out um, at least in the in the short term, um easier for the church sure.

Chrissy 20:40

Well, thank you, lord, that there is a church in iran as you just said. That was beautiful how you explained that, david. Thank you, lord, that you've been building a church in Iran and, as you say, we trust you will continue to build your church. So, yeah, praise.

Chrissy 20:53

God that there is a church there acting already as hands and feet of Jesus, as you mentioned, feeding people, welcoming people into their homes as they flee. You did mention that, in the short term at least, this might mean an increase of persecution for christians, I presume other minority groups. Can you mention that for another minute? What, what do we?

David 21:15

mean by that?

David 21:15

and why I think it's really important, you know, for me and the work that we do and the church, you know we're focused on proclaim our strapline is the love of christ for Iran and beyond, and I believe the Christians that we're serving they really want to proclaim the love of Christ and so actually, what's happening politically is not the agenda of the church. Of course, the church has suffered, there's no question about that. There has been persecution and we speak about that, and we would obviously welcome a day where, whatever regime there is in Iran there is, the church is given greater freedom to just, you know, the basic human rights of being able to worship and to practice their faith. So, whatever regime in Iran, I think that's important that that happens. But we do know that. So obviously, israel attacked Iran and one of the things that a lot of Christians, when they're arrested, they're actually accused of being Zionist, and most of them I mean all of them, as far as I know, there's no, that's just not on the agenda of the Christian they become.

David 22:38

These are Iranians who become Christians by meeting Jesus Christ and they simply want to tell other people about Christ. And you know that is not a Zionist agenda. But now, because, because the attacks happened from Israel. There is obviously concern that if the regime does remain, they'll obviously be looking for scapegoats, they'll be looking for people to blame, they'll be looking for people that they consider a threat, mistakenly, very mistakenly think that people who've become Christians in Iran are working for, you know, the Israelis or whatever, and that's just simply not true in any way. These are people who've just met Jesus and they're sharing their faith. So there's a potential that the Christians could face greater persecution or face the wrath of the government because they assume that they're somehow connected with Zionism. So that obviously is a concern, something that people must pray for, that the Christians who are living their lives and want to share their faith don't get wrongly accused of being somehow spies or whatever, working for what the Iranian government would call enemy governments.

ELAM's Work Moving Forward

Chrissy 24:19

So we'd love to invite our listeners to pray into that theme, praying for those who may be most vulnerable in these days and weeks to come. David, we also would love to talk a little bit about ELAM, and you know, how has these past 13 days affected ELAM's work in the country and how, how do you foresee it affecting us going forward?

David 24:51

yeah. So I mean, like I said, I'm I'm very hopeful actually and I believe I mean, like I said, I'm very hopeful actually and I believe I mean this is actually going to be a huge amount of work that lies ahead, whatever happens. You know, if Iran does open up in new ways and greater freedoms are given to the church, obviously that would open up a huge amount of work on the ground in the country. The church obviously that would open up a huge amount of work on the ground in the country. If that doesn't happen, the war continues or the regime just carries on. I believe something still fundamentally has shifted significantly in Iran. It will have affected the people. There is a great, you know, we're already seeing just the greater openness, like I said in some of the stories. Whatever way I look at this, I believe we have a huge amount of work to do and that will be simply just enabling Christians to share the gospel. That includes giving out the scriptures and it also will mean that there will be I believe there's going to be so many more new believers. So the work of discipleship and then also helping Christians meet together in small groups. We've said this before that you know the church has grown. Persecution is a real. It's harsh, it's painful, but actually the biggest threat to the church in Iran is not persecution, but it's the isolation of Christians. And so we will just keep going with helping Christians meet together and they've actually said that, meeting together in the last 13 days, praying together, they've seen how valuable it is, how important it is and I think actually, whatever happens with the current situation, there are many people who've understood the value of being together, not just being isolated. So I think we could see a lot more churches planted. Like I say, we're definitely moving into a season, whichever way it is know just having a lot to do.

David 26:59

On a practical level, we have to prepare for all kinds of scenarios. If Iran opens up, that's one thing and we have been thinking and praying and preparing for that day. If that ever happens, the church has more freedom in Iran. And also if the current situation continues and there's just a longer, harder journey ahead for the church, we prepare for that time as well. So we've got two or three different scenarios that we've got to prepare for.

David 27:29

People can pray that the Lord gives us wisdom and that we hear his voice in that. We hear his voice in that. But whatever happens, I've seen the commitment, I've heard the voices, I've heard the testimonies in these last 13 days and I'm absolutely convinced God has prepared his people in Iran to shine his light, to bring a very different story, that um will will build the kingdom of god. And what is the kingdom of god? The kingdom of god is where all things are made right, where um actually what people are looking for is found in the righteousness. But that righteousness is where everything is right right with god, right with people, right with each other it's the church that can bring that.

David 28:20

It's where there's peace, deep soul settling peace, peace that only christ can give from a different, from a different world. So, whatever outcome politically, the, the peace the world doesn't understand only comes from christ through his church, um, and then there's joy and love and one of the things actually there was one house church that was meeting together. They invited their families, they gathered together and then they invited some extended family came to see and participate who weren't Christians and they couldn't believe the joy and the peace. They literally saw the kingdom of God in this small house church and were deeply, deeply impacted. I think that's the kind of thing that will happen in Iran, and so we're going to have a lot of work, whatever happens you just painted, david.

How to Pray and Support

Chrissy 29:17

It feels like a good place to start wrapping up our conversation. I think, as you said, that idea of the deep peace, maybe the shalom of the Lord, and how it is different to a political peace, is maybe a key theme that we can ask our listeners to pray into. That this Lord's peace would increasingly cover Iran. But how else can our listeners pray at this time and is there anything we can do? Like I, for example, have the Iranians in my church here in Manchester on my heart, how can I pray for them, how can I support them and how can me and the listeners pray into this situation?

David 29:51

Yeah. So I would say that, as we said, thank God that there is a church. And as the news unfolds and you hear it again, thank God that there is a church. And as the news unfolds and you hear it again, thank God that there's a church and pray for that church to play its part. Another thing that I would say to our listeners there are many, many Iranian Christians around the world. There are thousands and thousands of them. Sometimes there's one or two in a church, sometimes there's a group of 10, 20, 30, maybe 50 in a church, but often there's a handful of people.

David 30:21

If you have them in your church, number one, many of them are just going to be worried, afraid. Encourage them, just put your arm around them and let them know you're praying. And then also, we really believe that there is something that every Christian can do. Whether you know, even if this situation carries on, there's a role that every Iranian Christian around the world has to play, and that is simply sharing their faith with their friends and family back home, and they can disciple new believers and they can even help small groups of believers meet together. So if, if our listeners have any iranians, even one, in their church, um, we'd love to somehow connect with them.

David 31:09

Let us know about your church and the iranians and we'll do what we can to encourage those, uh, believers in your churches to play their part. So do let us know. Or, if you know of Iranians in another church, connect them with us, or connect us with them so that we can encourage them and show them how they can play their part in sharing the love of Christ in obviously a very, very difficult and painful situation. But you know, if, in my mind, if thousands of Iranian Christians, even more than ever before, if they, you know, make those calls and pray with people, there's no question in my mind that there will be a huge gospel impact Great.

Chrissy 31:54

And if you're listening and you think that sounds interesting, we'll put in the show notes how you can reach out and get in contact and get involved with that. And also, please do sign up to our prayer emails. We are going to be sending out latest prayer needs by email and you can do that easily at elamcom forward slash subscribe. Again, we'll put that in the show notes, but I think it's worth saying as we close, david, how thankful we've been to our listeners, to our prayer partners around the world, who have just been overwhelming in the way that they have stood up and stood in in prayer for the iran region at this time yeah, it was great.

David 32:29

Last week we just sent an email out to our partners and said let's have a prayer meeting. I think we had. We had hundreds and hundreds of people join a Zoom call, which was beautiful, so encouraging, and some of our Iranians who were on the call as well were just amazed that so many people turned up online to pray. So, yeah, if people are not on that email, they can sign up to join future prayer meetings where we come and actually just pray together for a few minutes or for a while. So, yeah, it's uh, it's amazing. There are so many people and on that call I remember seeing a couple on the zoom who've been praying for iran and praying for us for over 30 years, and so there's so many people who have a part to play, have been a part of the story that God's writing for Iran, and we're deeply grateful.

Chrissy 33:26

Amen, david, it's been a real joy to talk with you today. Thank you for bringing us this perspective of hope and the Iranian church's perspective amid all that's going on. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you, chrissy God bless and church's perspective amid all that's going on. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you, Chrissy.

Speaker 1 33:42

God bless. Thank you so much for joining us for this encouraging conversation. We have real hope in the power of the gospel of Christ for Iran, israel, the region and the world, even in times of darkness. We encourage you to keep praying for Iran in the days and weeks to come. To sign up to our prayer emails, please visit elamcom, slash, subscribe, and there are also specific prayer resources for this particular situation available for free on our website.

Speaker 4 34:17

If you've enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, and if you haven't already, would you take a moment to subscribe to our podcast or leave us a rating or review? We'd love for more people to learn what Jesus is doing amongst Farsi speakers. Today, jesus Speaks Farsi is produced by Elam Ministries, a nonprofit ministry whose mission is to strengthen and expand the church in the Iran region and beyond. For more information, resources and ways to partner, visit elamcom.