VOM's President, Cole Richards, joins us to talk about communism and how this old philosophy is motivating new persecution of our Christian brothers and sisters. Why is communism so directly opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ? We'll look specifically at China and steps President Xi Jinping and his government are taking to bring every aspect of Christian worship and practice under Communist Party control.

Richards will also share how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting VOM's work, and how Christians can respond in the midst of an international health crisis.

We'll look at what China's Christians face right now, through the experiences of Early Rain Covenant Church, which is the focus of the feature story in the March edition of VOM's free magazine. Their pastor has been sentenced to nine years in prison, and yet this church continues serving and evangelizing—church leaders even train members to see police interrogations as opportunities to witness for Christ!

You can download the Special Report about communism from VOM that is discussed in this episode. Also, learn more about the church in China in previous VOM Radio conversations with Bob Fu, leader of China Aid Association, and with "Brother Enfu," pastor of an unregistered church congregation in China.

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Cole Richards is the President of The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). In addition to leading VOM's service to persecuted Christians abroad, Cole serves as Publisher and Executive Producer of VOM's publishing and media initiatives. Cole joined VOM in 2006 after living and ministering in a restricted nation, one of the least-reached in the Middle East, where he, his wife and their children reached out to Muslims and supported persecuted Christians.

Cole holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering as well as two master's degrees: one in missiology, with a focus on evangelism in the Muslim world, and one in business administration (MBA) in the context of organizational leadership. Before entering full-time ministry, Cole served as a USAF officer, focusing on the rise of Islamic terrorist groups in the Middle East.