Arrest of Brother Hamed Pishkar
August 17, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
I have just received news that brother Hamed Pishkar from Rasht, Iran was arrested yesterday. Please pray for him, his wife and child.
False Accusations of FCNN Against PTM and Message Churches in Iran
August 16, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
http://www.fcnn.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2060:the-arrest-of-several-cult-leaders-in-iran&catid=127:iranian-christian&Itemid=593
They are stating it is false to say that Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani is the leader of the Church of Iran. In the broad sense, yes, he is not the leader of every evangelical church in Iran. But the Church of Iran is the name of this particular group of house churches that fellowship together. It is a non-denominational group that has several networks where each individual network is sovereign to itself, but as pastor Behrouz planted the majority of the churches they look to him as a person in a leadership position.
They charge that it is a cult. It is no different than the other evangelical non-denominational churches. They believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, that he is the Son of God and that salvation comes through belief in the Gospel. The hold to the bible is the final authority in all matters of doctrine and practice, not church creeds or confessions.
The main difference is that they do not hold to the immanent trinitarian doctrine that God exists in eternity as three separate and distinct persons. They hold to an economic view of God, that in time he has revealed himself as Father, in his Son and through the Holy Spirit. Father, Son and Spirit are three different dimensions or aspects of the one true God not three successive modes or persons.
They do not hold to the Jesus only or modalistic monarchian viewpoint. They believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that he was born through a supernatural birth and that as a human being he is the Son of God. He is not a second God or a second person of an immanent trinity, but he is the man in whom and through whom the fullness of God was revealed, he is the visible manifestation of the one true God in human flesh.
They write in the article in regards to their relationship to my ministry, “Those who claim to very close to the leaders of this cult claim that these titles and offices have been given to Mr. Khanjani and others like Behnam Irani and Yusof Naderkhani by a ministry in the Mid-western US city of Minneapolis called the Present Truth Ministries – A predominantly African American group. Others members of this cult, Yusof Naderkhani and Behnam Irani, who were active in the towns of Lakan and Karaj, have been arrested and still remain in detention.”
This is false on many facets;
1. I have never spoke with Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjnai, Benham Irani and Youcef Nadarkani.
2. I have never been to Iran.
3. I have no authority to grant offices and titles to a church anywhere.
4. I am a white American. I have no African-Americans involved with my ministry. Two Liberian brothers have accompanied me to Minneapolis in my mission work, but that is the only involvement of Africans of any kind.
Please tell us who the people are that claim this? Give us some names because it literally has ZERO basis in fact. It is based upon false accusations, conjecture and outright lies.
I ask for a response from FCNN to these false accusation and for them to print an article based upon facts. Please interview brother Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Behnam Irani and Youcef Nadarkani yourselves. Do not base this on reports from someone who is clearly a false witness. Speak with me, the founder of Present Truth Ministries directly before you print these things.
Please read John 8:44. Did you purposely lie in this article or was it a mistake?
Mission to Cedar Riverside
August 9, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
Yesterday we had a great service in the Seward area of Minneapolis. Even though we worked to promote it unfortunately not one Somali showed up for the showing of the Jesus film in Somali. But believers who have a burden for the Somali’s did come and we had a good time of worship, testimonies, prayer and I shared a short message on following God’s will regardless of the results that we think we should get.
This is a very different and very difficult work to undertake. I ask for your continued prayer as we move forward in the will of God. I encourage all of you to move forward when God speaks to you and follow his will and keep following it regardless of the results that you see. We don’t always understand his will and his purpose, but he is doing more than we can ever comprehend. In due time we’ll understand, whether in this life or the life to come. Our job is to believe and obey, the results are up to him.
In Christ,
Bro. Jason
A young mother convicted of her Christian faith
August 6, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
A young mother convicted of her Christian faith In the Islamic Republic, judges and politicians can condemn people without the support of the law. So Ms. Fatemeh Passandideh (Nadarkhani), wife of Pasteur Youcef Nadarkhani has been sentenced on August 3rd to life imprisonment by the court of Rasht for a thought crime. The court of Rasht ruled that this young mother of two boys was guilty of “apostasy” in a trial where she did not have the assistance of an attorney.
The sentence was announced on August 3, 2010. Passandideh Fatemeh’s arrest, known to Christians under the name “Sister Tina”, was intended initially to increase the pressure on her husband pastor Youcef who has been in prison since October 12, 2009. They had asked Sister Tina several times to reject the Lordship of Jesus and return to Islam.
Observers of Iran note a deterioration in living conditions for Christians following UN, then US sanctions to punish the Mullah’s for their nuclear ambitions. This sentence reflects Iranian officials’ anger following the recent approval by the European Union of sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Also, remember that Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani (Passandideh Fatemeh’s husband) and Pastor Behrouz Khanjani are in prison for thought crimes and they are waiting for conviction and sentences that will not be lenient.
Passandideh Tina’s conviction marks a new stage in the repression of the Iranian Christian minority whose demographic experienced severe erosion since the beginning of the revolution. This erosion worsened in the last two years following the decision of Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Janati to eradicate Christianity in Iran.
According to estimates, over 80% of Christians of different confessions fled Iran after the arrival of the Islamic Republic.This condemnation is all the more troubling given that it is not based on any legal text. It contradicts the Iranian Constitution whose principles are in the spirit of the human rights, but are not being applied. Thank you for your prayers for this family who live in a testing time.
Sister Tina of Rasht, Iran Update
August 5, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
With a heavy heart I report to you that sister Tina of Rasht, Iran, the wife of pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been sentenced to life in prison. She is a young mother of two children and is simply there for being a Christian and converting from Islam. She is a victim of the Mullahs’ desire to eradicate any other thought besides their fanatical Islamic cult. The Ayatollah just declared himself the representative of Muhammed and the 12th imam on earth.
Please pray for her, for her children and for pastor Youcef and pastor Behrouz along with the rest of the believers to have strength to overcome.
Iranian Christian Prisoner Update
July 28, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
God has been working in hearts and lives in Iran in various. All prisoners have been released besides pastor Youcef Nadarkani, his wife Tina and pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani. They remain in custody. I ask that you continue to hold them up in prayer and seek God to provide for their release.
The execution of pastor Youcef has been approved by two judges and they are seeking the approval for a third to do so. They have been seeking this for over a month now. Some have informed me that they are seeking the death penalty for pastor Behrouz.
Pray for their safety, but also pray for God to enable to continue doing his work no matter where they are.
Jason
Updated List of Iranian Prisoners
July 2, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
After the sanctions were announced by the UN there was a new wave of arrests of this Christian group in Iran. I suspect there will be more after President Obama signed into law US sanctions on Friday July 2, 2010. Please pray for the safety of believers there.
Here is a list of the prisoners;
Rasht: Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani (in prison since October 12, 2009) and his wife Fatemeh Pasandideh
Tehran: Fatemeh Kojouri Tork (the wife of Pastor Behrouz), Mehdi Karbalaee Ali and Mina Karbalaee and their mother, Nahid Karbalaee, Afshin Vafadar, Omid Kaleybar, Alireza Seyyedian
Shiraz: Pastor Behrouz Sadegh (2nd time in prison this year)
http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2061344&id=1069777082&ref=mf
These are pictures of many of them. A few of them have attorneys, but most of them do not.
Prison Conditions in Iran and Request For Help
July 2, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
The attached document will tell you the details of how prisoners are treated in Iranian prison. It is 9 pages, but I ask that you read the entire piece and find out how the treat people. No, it is not this extreme in every case, but please read and understand what the Christians who are in prison in Iran are dealing with. Keep in mind that the women that are in prison were previously threatened with rape.
We need your prayers and they need financial support for their attorneys, they have only received financial support from 3 different churches and a small handful of believers and it has been a relatively small amount. I know some have said attorneys don’t work in Iran, but just as you first pray and ask God to heal you you also go to the doctor. The believers there in Iran believe that attorneys will help the situation. Recently the attorney for Behnam Irani was able to arrange his bail and he is now free.
The person who worked in the behalf of others (in lieu of an attorney) to make arrangements, bail, etc. is pastor Behrouz Khandjani and he is now in prison. Of course, it is much more difficult for the attorneys to work in Iran versus in the US because of the rampant corruption, but nonetheless attorneys do have some level of success in working to secure their release.
I feel very strongly that we should help our brothers and sisters in any way we possibly can to ensure their release. It is important to work on every level, first prayer because God is stronger then men and he can work to move and change anyones heart. Secondly, we should work together to support them financially so that they can get attorneys to work for them and have them continue on for some time in the work.
Please Help Pastor Youcef and His Wife
July 1, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
Currently, due to a lack of funding, he has no access to legal representation.
On June 8th, his wife, Fatemeh Pasandideh, was taken into custody and is currently in prison on charges of apostasy. Their children are now with a relative, but they have been threatened with the death sentence and told their children will be taken and given to Muslims to raise them.
Certainly, the legal system is not perfect in Iran and corruption is rampant, but there are some who claim that lawyers will not help at all. This is clearly not the case as the lawyers work to co-ordinate trials, bail and stand on behalf of the accused. As members of a non-denominatal Christian group these believers have received only a very small amount of financial assistance and no help from groups like Elam, Voice of the Martyrs or Open Doors.
They have been cut off from the lawyers these groups have access to as they do not accept the traditional doctrine of the trinity of persons. Then there are some who have said that lawyers will not help that we must pray only. We must pray daily for them and this is our primary weapon. As Christians we should do everything we can to help. Just as you pray and also go to the doctor when you are sick so these believers need our help to get legal counsel.
This is not true, a lawyer recently helped to arrange bail for the release of Pastor Behnam Irani in Karaj, Iran. The secret police threatened this pastor that he should not be using a lawyer. This is the same idea that some Christians have. Though clearly if those of us who live in countries like the USA and Canada were jailed on false charges we would pray, but also seek legal counsel.
I am asking that you consider giving to their legal fund that I am working on gathering. Pastor Youcef and his wife desperately need your prayers and legal counsel. If you wish to give to their legal fund please click on Give above and inform me that you are giving for this purpose.
Three things you can do to help;
1. Pray for God to free them from the prison and to work on every level for them.
2. Give to their legal fund.
3. Share this article with friends, family and other Christians that you know.
Release of Behnam Irani
June 30, 2010 by Jason DeMars
Filed under Missions Updates
The great news we have is that brother Behnam Irani, a pastor in Iran has been released from prison on bail after being in prison for two months.