The Front Line Report

Martin and Gracia Burnham were serving as missionaries in the Philippines, where Martin was a pilot with New Tribes Mission (now called Ethnos 360). The Burnhams went away for a few days to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Those few days turned into more than a year in the jungle when they were kidnapped and held hostage by radical Muslim terrorists.

Listen this week as Gracia tells how she wrestled with God and even with her own faith during those dark days of captivity. She’ll also share how she experienced the prayers of God’s people, even as Martin was killed during a rescue attempt.

Gracia says at times in the jungle she couldn’t allow herself to even think about her three children because it was just to difficult. Yet now she knows the full story of God’s faithfulness to them. She will also give an update on how God continues to work in the hearts of the terrorists that held them hostage.

Gracia’s story will inspire you to find ways to glorify God, regardless of what challenges you may be facing.

C. Anderson is a leader in Frontier Missions for YWAM – Youth With A Mission. She’s developed a course based on the principles of II Timothy 2:2 with the aim of developing DMM — Disciple Making Movements.

Anderson was born an MK in Africa, but after traumatic experiences in her youth she decided she would never live anywhere she felt unsafe. Yet God called her to lay down that need for safety to answer His call to missions and gave her the grace to answer His call.

Listen to learn how DMMs are developing and growing, and how the Biblical principles cross national and ethnic boundaries to grow and build the church in many nations, including India, Iraq, Afghanistan and southeast Asia.

The course Anderson developed, “Getting Started in Disciple Making Movements,” is available online. Anderson will tell us how she felt God leading her to develop the course for use online before the coronavirus pandemic hit — and has seen the fruit of the course explode during the past 12 months. She’ll also speak specifically about next steps for those feeling called to missions and equip us to pray for church leaders and church planters all over the world.

Sister Amber spent more than a decade in Tibet, providing vocational training to the people and sharing the Gospel message of Christ’s love. She felt God's call especially to work among Tibet's nomadic tribal people, who jokingly call themselves "the roof on the roof of the world." Amber watched as God brought about a great ministry breakthrough: people who'd been totally closed to her message were now asking to learn more about Jesus. But just days after the breakthrough Amber experienced persecution as police came pounding on her door. Listen as she tells the story. You'll hear how God ministered to her in the hardest moments of her suffering. You'll hear how she was eventually released, and the way God showed her that her persecution wasn't the end of the story. You'll also hear how God laid on the hearts of people around the world to pray for Amber, including one who drew a picture of Amber surrounded by policemen in the interrogation room. Months later, when Amber saw the picture, it matched exactly the setting of her interrogation, but also offered a ray of spiritual hope. Your faith will be challenged as you hear Amber's thoughts on what the New Testament calls the "honour" of being persecuted, and she’ll give first-hand advice on how we can pray for Christians in prison right now.

Sitting in a solitary confinement cell in Iran, Robert Aserian felt God comforting him with these words: “If you are here, it is My plan.” God had prepared him for prison in a unique way: as a pastor he’d counseled many Iranian Christians after they’d suffered imprisonment, so he knew some of the challenge he would face.

Listen as Robert shares the challenges of interrogation, prison and solitary confinement. One way Robert passed the time in solitary confinement was composing and preaching sermons — even though his congregation wasn’t there to hear them. He also tells how every prisoner goes through difficult times in prison, and how he responded during those difficult days.

Robert will also discusses how former prisoners face intense pressure and isolation after they’re released, and tell us that praying for prisoners after their release may be more important even than during their time in prison. Finally he’ll equip us to pray for the nation of Iran and for the church there.

Rev. Robert Aserian serves today as Director for Training at Pars Theological Centre, training and equipping leaders for the Iranian Church.

When Robert Aserian first prayed to Jesus, it was an atheist’s prayer: I don’t know if you are real, Jesus, but if You are please show Yourself to me. Jesus answered that prayer, and Robert has been following Him passionately – and encouraging others, including Iranian Muslims, also to follow – ever since. He even taught a class on Christian theology to Islamic clergy members.

Listen to Robert’s story of coming to faith, then experiencing God’s call to ministry. Robert will share about different martyrs of the church in Iran he knew and learned from and describe how their legacy emboldened him to serve Christ inside the Islamic Republic, no matter what persecution he might face – including the day authorities came to his house early in the morning to take him to prison.

Today, Rev. Robert Aserian is the Director for Training at Pars Theological Centre, training and equipping leaders for the Iranian Church.

In the midst of his persecution, Pastor Dmitry “David” Shestakov remembered Christ on the cross and determined in his heart that if Christ suffered willingly, David also would persevere through his time of suffering.

As a young man, David was a criminal and a drug user. His mother’s desperate prayer to God – even though she was an atheist – led to Shestakov surrendering his life to Christ. Once surrendered, he immediately began to tell others about Jesus. He knew, early on, that such witness would be costly.

Listen to how God used letters written by VOM readers via www.PrisonerAlert.com to bless and protect David while he was in prison in Uzbekistan – even saving him from being beaten by guards. You’ll also hear how the Uzbek government tried to add years to his sentence, but God miraculously moved and David was released, as he says, “like a Scripture came to life.”

David will also help us know how to pray for Christians currently in prison, and for their family members.

The phone message was clear: “We know you are there! And we’re going to kill you!”

Todd Lafferty received that phone message as he was preparing to host a meeting of Christian leaders in his home. He had to decide how much risk he was willing to take to continue spreading the Gospel.

This week we continue our conversation with Todd about his experience as a missionary in Southeast Asia and his work now helping lead the International Mission Board.

He’ll share a story of God’s work among an unreached people group in Southeast Asia, and how not even persecution could stop the spread of the Gospel. What powered that work? Todd will share about a women’s prayer group that agreed to pray specifically every day—and how God answered their prayers.

Listen to Todd share how every listener can reach out to Muslims – and gives advice about how to prepare for those conversations. He’ll also talk about the first steps for people sensing God’s call to missions and equip us to pray for Gospel work around the world.

If you missed it, listen to the first part of our conversation with Todd. Please share this episode with your Christian friends; especially those considering a call to missions or Christian service.

Todd Lafferty came to Christ as a USA college football player. It wasn’t long after coming to faith that he sensed God’s call to go and tell others. He and his wife answered that call, serving in the United Kingdom and eventually in Pakistan.

Today Todd helps lead the International Mission Board, equipping and sending missionaries to tell the story of Jesus’ love all over the world, including places where Christians face persecution.

Listen to hear Todd tell about arriving in Pakistan, fighting through the culture shock and temptation to pack up and return to familiar surroundings. He will also equip you to pray, especially for newer missionaries going through some of those same challenges today.

Finally, Todd will share the story of an Islamist Pakistani assassin who became a believer in Christ and then a bold evangelist, in spite of threats and danger.

Please share this episode with your Christian friends; especially those considering a call to missions or Christian service.

Margaret Court is an Australian tennis player who dominated women’s competition in the 1960s.

In 1995 she founded a Pentecostal Christian church outside of Perth, West Australia, where she serves as pastor.

Margaret talks to a VOM Oz Radio host about how her faith has impacted her tennis career as well as her personal life.

Sister Nilufar” (not her real name) is ministering in the name of Jesus and sharing the Gospel inside the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Listen as Nilufar tells the story of a young woman, Eldora, who became a follower of Christ – leaving behind a difficult life and becoming a bold witness among members of her family. God revealed the pain in her past and rescued her from a life of depression and addiction.

Eldora immediately began to bring friends and family members to meet the Saviour who had rescued her life, and God revealed to Nilufar that He had significant plans for one of Eldora’s friends, Sara, like the Samaritan woman in John 4.

You’ll be encouraged and amazed as you hear stories of God working in miraculous ways inside Iran – inspiring Christians with specific ways to share the Gospel and reach out to their countrymen.