|
Why Iran?
For starters, 1400 years after the Islamization of Iran and especially the last 44 years under an oppressive Islamic regime, Iranians are more ambiguous than ever toward Islam. They are tired of Islam, and they are leaving in droves.
A 2020 survey by GAMAAN, a Netherlands-based research group, found that just 40% of Iranians identify as Muslim, and an even more significant number—about 47 percent—said they were "none," atheists, spiritual, agnostic, or humanist. Another 8% claim Zoroastrianism. Of the 40% identifying as Muslims, only 2% regularly practiced their faith. Despite the push by the Islamic government to portray Iran as a majority Muslim nation, reliable outside data prove otherwise.
According to Operation World, Iran has the fastest-growing evangelical movement in the world. The Joshua Project puts the annual growth rate at an estimated 19.6%. This movement is so remarkable that Shay Khatiri of John Hopkins University puts it this way: "Islam is the fastest shrinking religion in Iran, while Christianity is the fastest growing religion there."
According to GAMAAN, the number of Christians in Iran is "without a doubt in the order of magnitude of several hundreds of thousands and growing beyond a million." Something like this has never before happened in a Muslim-majority nation. As Christians, we must take immediate action and get involved. We must seriously consider what is our part in this great movement taking place right now in Iran.
Iran Needs You Now
The Christian growth in Iran is solely due to Evangelical house church movements supported by the Western churches in US and Europe. Unfortunately, the Adventist church has been slow to grasp the vision of what we could have achieved in Iran and for Iranians had we focused our attention on them from the start. But it's not too late to act now. At Advent Lighthouse Ministries (ALM), we focus all our attention on this unique people group and the Christian movement that is reshaping the demographics of that country. Below, I will share exactly how we are evangelizing Iran for Christ and what you can do to help us.
What are we doing?
The board at ALM has approved a new fascinating project we call Project Kouosh North America and Europe. Kourosh is Persian for Cyrus. This project is one of the most comprehensive and focused of all our projects to date. We aim to plant 50 new house churches in Iran in the next five years. Here is a breakdown of what we are organizing as I write this article.
- Weekly Zoom Bible studies with up to 50 Persian-speaking individuals in Iran and Turkey. We want to increase that number to 150 individuals by next year.
- Create new engaging video and audio messages for upload on all Persian-speaking social media platforms.
- Create a brand new robust Persian website.
- Church plant amongst Iranian diaspora in Houston, Texas, the New England states of Massachusetts, and New York, including evangelistic seminars in Persian.
- Church plant amongst Iranian diaspora in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Nuremberg, Germany, and possibly London, UK, including evangelistic seminars in Persian.
- Train and prepare Bible workers on the ground in Iran, whom we will assist with a stipend so they can work and promote the three angel's messages to their neighbors, friends, and strangers, establishing and leading new house churches across the country.
Some Stats
More than one million Persian-speaking people live in North America and Europe. And the time is just ripe for us to reach them with the message of God's grace. Let's work together and fill God's Kingdom before we run out of time.
What can you do to help us reach our goals?
All that is missing is you supporting us every step of the way. We need your prayers and financial support to keep us moving forward. We are in this together, and with your assistance, we can do faithful work for the Lord at home and in that region of the world. We need a considerable financial commitment from faithful believers like you. Our ministry's total needs, including project Kourosh, are $27,000 a month. These monies will help cover all the local expenses, salaries, Bible worker stipends, and travel expenses related to the ministry and the project. Remember, we want to plant 50 churches in Iran in the next five years, and this project will continue to support our Bible workers in Iran indefinitely. We will continue to plant new churches as they become needed. I know this is a significant amount, but if everyone pitches in and commits a specific dollar amount every month, we can quickly raise the funds needed. We so much appreciate every one of you for your continued support of Advent Lighthouse Ministries. God bless you all!
| 
