VOMRadio The Voice of the Martyrs

“When people are not discipled, they are frail. Their faith is not strong.”
Dr. David Kasali, founder and president of Congo Initiative, is determined to disciple more Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a place where they are being specifically targeted for persecution by terrorist groups and radical Islamists.
Listen as David tells about recent attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), including one where a Christian man was murdered on the spot just for acknowledging his faith in Christ and another where a nearby church was bombed during services. Such attacks are becoming more and more common in DRC.
Born into a pastor’s family, David shares about his heritage and his father’s love for the Lord and for his people. He’ll tell of his father’s efforts to win an entire village to Christ and plant a church there.
David shares how he helps prepare Congolese Christians for persecution and the importance of standing strong in Christ during hardship and suffering. Desiring to see the next generation equipped for spiritual victory, David disciples Christians to read the Bible and pray everyday. He says when we take the Bible and apply it into the context of where we are living, then we can face any challenges of the culture around us.
When you do that, David says, “You’re creating disciples and creating people to know what they believe and why they believe it.”
Hear David share how the ADF knew a Christian pastor was praying against the activities of their forces, and learn how you can pray for the church in the Congo and how The Voice of the Martyrs is helping provide Bibles and serve persecuted Christians there.
Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and receive daily reminders and specific ways to pray for persecuted Christians—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Seventy percent of Sri Lanka’s people are Buddhists, and Buddhism is given “foremost place” in the nation’s constitution and laws. Officially, there is religious freedom for people of other faiths, including Christians. Yet new believers in Christ often face pressure and persecution from family members or their local community.
Mayukha Perera, managing director of Back to the Bible Sri Lanka, joins VOM Radio this week to share about the challenges facing persecuted Christians in Sri Lanka and about his work sharing the gospel with Buddhists and preparing new Christians to face persecution.
Mayukha encourages Christians to be deeply rooted in Scripture and to know that persecution for following Christ has been commonly endured by believers for centuries. Their response to that persecution is key: Perera has seen Buddhists drawn to know more about Jesus after seeing Christians stand firm in their faith despite persecution.
Mayukha explains the work he and others do with Back to the Bible in Sri Lanka, including sharing the biblical gospel through radio broadcasts and resources, equipping believers to understand and apply scripture, and training church leaders in a country where 85-95% of pastors have no training in biblical leadership.
“We want to get the people into the Word,” says Mayukha, “and get the Word into the people.”
Learn how Back to the Bible prepares pastors and leaders for persecution and how they share the gospel lovingly with people of other faiths. Listen as Mayukha explains stumbling blocks in the Buddhist religion to the gospel and offers advice as you share Jesus with Buddhists you know. He’ll also share specific ways to pray for Sri Lanka this week.
Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and receive daily reminders and specific ways to pray for persecuted Christians—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Pastor Nouh Yattara was born into a nomadic Muslim family. He became a believer through the work of missionaries in his home country of Mali—and through his desire to own a ball-point pen. After living in fear of superstitions, demons and death, Nouh found new life, and an end to fear, in Christ. “I knew if I accepted Jesus that he has the power against all of that,” Pastor Nouh says.
It wasn’t an easy path. Nouh experienced Christian persecution from family members, teachers, kids at school, and his community. In spite of the pressure against him, Nouh stood firm in God’s grace and moved forward in faith.
Today, Nouh is the pastor of a church and leader in Mali’s evangelical association. He uses his own story—and the stories of other persecuted Christians—to prepare new believers to endure in their faith despite pressure and persecution.
Listen to hear what Christians in Mali are facing and learn how you can pray for them. You’ll also hear Pastor Nouh’s encouragement to be in fellowship with other believers, encouraging each other on in faith. He’ll also give advice on how you can share the gospel with Muslims in your community.
Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and receive daily reminders of specific ways to pray for persecuted Christians—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

“By God’s grace, I endured a few years in prison in exchange for an eternity with Him.”
Ebrahim Firouzi, a Christian convert from Islam, spent seven years in prison in Iran. Now he is enjoying eternity with the Lord, experiencing the fulfillment of that promise following his death in February.  
This interview was recorded about four years ago—after Ebrahim’s release from prison while he was serving out two years of “internal exile,” living in a remote area along the border of Iran and Pakistan. We’ve chose to re-air it on VOM Radio to commemorate our brother’s faithfulness and honor his memory.
With the recent death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in a helicopter crash, this is a particularly strategic time to pray for the nation of Iran.
Ebrahim Firouzi was first arrested in 2011 and given a ten-month sentence. After his release, he continued boldly sharing the gospel at every opportunity. He was always looking to bring hope to the people of Iran through sharing the gospel.
“My only priority was that people would be able to hear and receive the Word of God.” Firouzi said.
He was arrested again in 2013, ultimately serving a total of seven years in prison, followed by two years internal exile, during which time he was required to regularly check in with local police.
While he was in prison, the stories and examples of persecuted Iranian Christians before him encouraged and impacted Ebrahim to remain faithful.
This interview was originally conducted in Farsi by Joseph Hovsepian, the son of martyred Iranian church leader Haik Hovsepian. We are thankful to Joseph and our friends at Hovsepian Ministries for allowing VOM Radio to broadcast this interview and share Ebrahim’s testimony.
Please pray for pastors and other Christians imprisoned in Iran and other nations.
Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or you can listen each week—and get reminders to pray for persecuted Christians—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Last week Luke and Kate, medical gospel workers who’ve served in Myanmar, shared how God called them to Myanmar to share the hope of Christ. This week, in Part 2 of our conversation, they reveal the loss and devastation their family experienced as they were forced to leave the place God had so clearly called them to.
“It was devastating,” Kate says, “and we still sometimes have to process through that again.” While returning to their village home is not an option right now, Luke and Kate are clear that the Lord has not released them from their calling to the people of Myanmar.
Listen as they talk about wrestling with what God’s will is, and how they have walked through this disappointment and displacement alongside their children. They’ll also offer advice for others feeling a call to serve as missionaries or other overseas ministry service.
Though there has been deep grief in leaving their home, there has also been joy. Since Luke and Kate left Myanmar, three people in their village have been baptized as new believers. They are thrilled to see local believers taking the reigns of ministry and leading others to Christ.
Please pray for Luke, Kate and their family as they consider two opportunities—outside the country—where they could continue to serve the people of Myanmar.
The Bible commands us to remember those in prison as if we were with them (Hebrews 13:3). Please pray for freedom for Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel and Pastor Haile Nayzgi, two pastors in prison in Eritrea. May 23rd, 2024, marks the 20th anniversary of their arrest in Asmara. Pray also for the release of 350+ other Christians imprisoned in Eritrea right now—including more than 80 arrested so far in 2024. Speak out and share their story with others who will stand with these persecuted Christians in prayer.
Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or you can listen each week—and get reminders to pray for persecuted Christians—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Luke and Kate had both felt God’s call to missions. But they were still waiting to know where that call would take them. They went through training. They travelled to serve in different countries. And all the while, they asked God where he wanted to send them long-term. His answer finally arrived after a 12-hour bus ride to a rural village in Myanmar where there were no other foreigners.
Kate and Luke both felt it clearly: “This is it. This is home. This is where I want you.”
God put a deep love for the local people in their hearts. Their calling was confirmed when a village elder asked them to stay and serve with their medical skills. That clear sense of God’s calling would prove vital in helping them stand firm in serving through challenges, Christian persecution and even the 2021 coup.
In Myanmar (formerly Burma), each person’s religion is printed on their ID card, and it is illegal to change one’s religion. It’s illegal for a Buddhist woman to marry a man from another religion. Ethnic divisions are baked into everyday life as each person is expected to look out primarily for their own people.
In the midst of that challenging environment, listen to how Luke and Kate shared the gospel and how Jesus brought people from different ethnic and tribal groups together as fellow members of the Body of Christ as their house church includes four different ethnic groups unified in Christ.
Luke and Kate also share the story of a Buddhist background believer who was severely persecuted by her own mother, but endured faithfully and eventually led her mother to Christ. They’ll also share how they talk about persecution while sharing the gospel so that those who respond and become new believers are ready to count the cost of following Christ.
Pray for followers of Jesus in Myanmar and for Luke, Kate and their family. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or you can listen each week—and get reminders to pray for persecuted Christians—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.