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Kingdom Voice: Bishop Douglas J.

Scripture: Colossians 4:5-6 (KJV)-King James Version

"Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

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Audio Scripture Project: Bishop Douglas J.

In April, we asked VOM Radio listeners to  to Christians living in restricted nations and hostile areas. This week, Ty Scott, VOM’s Regional Leader for East and Southern Africa, tells us about the work and effort involved in actually placing Bibles into the hands of Christians living in cities and villages in Sudan, Tanzania, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Statistically, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania are majority-Christian nations. Yet each has communities where almost every person is a Muslim. How is the gospel spreading in such places? And how are new followers of Christ treated by their families and the wider Islamic community? Ty will share about family persecution in Comoros, a country we’ve never discussed on VOM Radio, where Christians comprise only tenths of a percent of the population. Listen as Ty and VOM Radio Host, Todd Nettleton, discuss places where ethnic identity and Islam are completely intertwined. As gospel workers share the hope of Christ in those places, they don’t ask people to leave their ethnicity but to fulfill what God would have them be. Hear the amazing testimony of a young man who brought his father, an imam (Islamic prayer leader), to faith in Christ, and how the gospel brought many into Christ’s kingdom through his father’s witness. Ty will also share specific ways you can pray for Christians in eastern and southern Africa. &nbsp;for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as providing&nbsp;free&nbsp;access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your&nbsp;&nbsp;or&nbsp; device today.

AFRICA: Bibles, Partnerships and Equipping the Next Generation For Gospel Work

Miguel Angel Angeles, executive director of , shares the history of a ministry that started with one Christian asking a radio station to play audio cassettes of his sermons on the air. As the radio ministry encouraged and built up the church, it expanded into Venezuela, Colombia, and other areas. Today, Bethel is a network of hundreds of radio and television stations, based in Peru and reaching Spanish speakers all over Latin America and the world. Miguel will share about his own start serving in IT with Bethel TV, and how he came to understand the importance of bringing awareness of the persecuted body of Christ through Bethel programming. “My first time listening about the persecuted church was when Petr Jasek came to a conference in Peru to share his testimony,” Miguel said, “and it created a hunger for me to learn more.” After hearing  speak at a conference about his own arrest in Sudan, Miguel’s church began to meet every Monday to pray for the persecuted church and to learn more about fellow believers facing Christian persecution. Week after week, God prepared Miguel’s heart as it was continuously stretched by the stories of bold faith in the face of hostility and persecution. After reading&nbsp;Tortured for Christ, by Richard Wurmbrand, the founder of The Voice of the Martyrs, Miguel knew he needed to share about persecuted Christians with the broader church in Latin America and with his radio audience. Listen as Miguel shares the heart of his church for missions. Churches dedicate one Sunday a month to focus on missions and missionaries. You and your church will be encouraged to make missions and praying for persecuted Christians a regular part of your worship gatherings as well. Pray this week for Miguel, his family, and Bethel Radio &amp; TV as they continue serving the Lord and sharing the voice of persecuted Christians with Spanish-speaking people around the world. &nbsp;for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as providing&nbsp;free&nbsp;access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your&nbsp;&nbsp;or&nbsp; device today.

Bethel Radio & TV: Echoing the Voice of Our Persecuted Family in Spanish

“I have claimed this land for God.” The words were written by John G. Paton and adorn the grave of his wife and child. It was a declaration of faith that God would bring the people of the New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, to Himself. The islanders were thought of as savages; in fact Paton slept on the grave to prevent the bodies of his wife and child from being eaten by cannibals. Paton famously said, “If I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms.” Today the islands are full of churches—even some very close to the site of Mrs. Paton’s grave.  is the producer and director of a six-part video series called Missionary, which includes an episode about Paton, as well as others which tell the stories of famous missionaries. Listen as he tells why the church today needs the example of men and women sent by God and obedient to the Great Commission. Watch this  of Stephen and the team tracking down Paton’s legacy in Vanuatu. He'll also share about filming in England on the path of William Tyndale, as well as stories of David Livingston, Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor and William Carey. Stephen also shares what he wants viewers and churches to take away after viewing the . &nbsp;for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as providing&nbsp;free&nbsp;access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your&nbsp;&nbsp;or&nbsp; device today.

MISSIONARY: Obeying the Great Commission

Last week , trainers to church planters and former missionaries to Mongolia, shared about their efforts to plant a church in Mongolia—and the high cost they paid for serving there when their infant son died. This week, listen as they unwrap some of the principles they learned in that process, lessons they are now teaching to pastors and church leaders around the world, including hostile areas and restricted nations where VOM works. Brian, the author of  and , says that many in Western churches want to “buy a box” and follow a checklist for church planting, skipping the difficult process of seeking the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and guidance. He challenges church planters to empty themselves of their own culture and learn the people and culture of where they are church planting, while always keeping in step with the New Testament. “If we don’t see it in the New Testament,” Brian says, “then we’re not going to institute it on the nations.” Brian and Louise also share how generous and missions-minded the church in Mongolia is. They ask, “What can we do to obey Jesus?” As Brian &amp; Louise train Mongolian missionaries to go out to the nations, these radical church planters know that the core of missions is the church. They are not willing that anyone should be unreached. A nation that once sent out violent conquerors is now sending missionaries committed to conquering hearts with the Prince of Peace. Please pray for Mongolian Christians, and for church planters throughout the world as they work and sacrifice to bring every tribe, tongue, and nation into fellowship with Christ. Listen also for a special testimony from a former prisoner for Christ in Uzbekistan, Dmitry “David” Shestakov. Hear the difference it made when Christians around the world wrote letters to him in prison, then go and write letters to Christians in prison right now at . You can also hear Shestakov share his story in . &nbsp;for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as providing&nbsp;free&nbsp;access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your&nbsp;&nbsp;or&nbsp; device today.

MONGOLIA: Church is the Core of Missions

Neda was born in Iran to a Muslim family. She grew up as a Muslim and married a well-known Iranian athlete. But their marriage was on the rocks. At 22, feeling broken and empty, Neda called out to Allah for help. But she found no solace, and grew angry and disillusioned with a god that refused to answer her prayers. As Neda’s heart continued searching, God supernaturally told a family member living in the Netherlands to go back to Iran and share the gospel of Jesus. Neda came to faith in Christ through her relative’s witness and her life was radically transformed. Her husband, surprised and amazed by the change he saw in her, placed his trust in Jesus too. God faithfully restored their marriage and called them to ministry. Neda drew strength from the stories of other persecuted Christians. She read a story in a book from The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) about a girl who was assaulted and became pregnant. Yet she responded with remarkable faith by entrusting everything, even her body, to God. God used this story to teach Neda about the importance of obedience and sacrifice despite fear of persecution and threats of imprisonment and violence. Over the next thirteen years, Neda and her husband faced increasing persecution from the Islamic government. In one incident, officials&nbsp;raided their home and threatened her husband at gunpoint. She and her husband ultimately decided to leave Iran, yet they continue to serve from abroad . Neda encourages every Christian to lay down their own desires and fully surrender to God's will—even when it means taking up their cross and enduring suffering and persecution. She also shares specific ways to pray for Christians in Iran during the current turmoil there. &nbsp;for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians—in Iran and other nations—throughout the year, as well as provide&nbsp;free&nbsp;access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your&nbsp;&nbsp;or&nbsp; device today.

IRAN: “What you intended for evil, God used for good”

When it comes to evangelism, a surprising number of Christians find themselves fearful, lethargic, confused, and out of their depth. We can find it hard to make clear connections to the Gospel, or to see the light of Christian truth in relation to the everyday interests of strangers and neighbours alike. 

Is this due primarily to a lack of conversational wisdom or a lack of spiritual boldness? Andy and Aaron both spoke on the different sides of this "coin" at the 2025 Cedarwood Festival. They reflect here that what may appear to be opposing perspectives can actually be complementary, challenging us to overcome cowardice whilst making the best use of our witness, ever mindful of what God can do even in the midst of our most feeble efforts.

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Episode 94 - Evangelism: Building Bridges or Breaking Barriers?

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