5 Creative Ways to Kickstart Your Role with the Assist Team
Welcome to the Assist Team! Your passion for service and hospitality supports the Persecuted Church through SOM International! You find joy in creatively meeting needs and connecting with others. Here are five practical steps to get you started: 1. Seek Divine Guidance and Identify Potential Collaborators Ask God for wisdom and direction to find people eager to support
5 Dynamic Ways to Dive into the Advocate Team
Welcome to the Advocate Team! Your passion for global outreach and support for our persecuted family takes center stage. Your mission is to get people moving. Here are five steps to jumpstart your journey with the Advocate Team: 1. Seek Divine Guidance and Build Your Network Ask God for wisdom as you seek like-minded people eager to support
Why Are Christians Persistently Persecuted?
Christians face daily threats around the world in countries where freedom of faith is a far cry from reality. For example, international leaders in India and North Africa have power structures to acquire and maintain power, and minority groups are pushed aside. SOM International has witnessed this dynamic for over a decade on multiple continents around the globe. Christians are
Notorious Persecutors Then and Now
The favorite “hobbies” of some government and religious leaders yesterday and today involve oppressing, intimidating, and killing Christians, much of it for sport. Persecutors from the early years include figures such as Nero, who burned Christians as lanterns to light the way of Rome. Emperor Diocletian, the instigator of the “Great Persecution” that began in AD 303, demolished churches, burned
Believers Pleading for More Resources
By SOM Colombia Staff Thousands of pastors and congregations are urgently requesting our materials as the unprecedented harvest of souls continues to respond to the Gospel. Our latest Spanish Study Bible has an updated concordance and Bible dictionary designed to aid both the novice and the mature Christian as they study the written Word of God. Along with a key
India: Interrogations Are a New Way of Life
While working hard to teach the Word and serve in the sewing work, sewing workers in India are facing a new challenge. Police are increasing the number of interrogations among these workers to scrutinize and antagonize the work. One of the SOM India regional leaders reported that a Sewing and Discipleship leader was recently stopped and questioned by police
God Answers Prayer for Disciple Makers
Many of the communities the SOM Mexico team serves are in very remote areas, through difficult terrain. They visited a recent village, consisting of twelve families, and the only access to medical attention or education is a five-hour hike through the difficult mountainous area, including crossing four rivers. In order to meet their daily needs, they rely on the rainfall
Persecuted but Not Abandoned
By Dave Arden What a great joy and honor to meet face-to-face with our persecuted brothers and sisters in India. While the SOM USA team was in India for November graduation, we met two Sewing and Discipleship School leaders. This instructor has raised many Sewing and Discipleship leaders over the years. In her region, she serves as an advisor and
From Doubter to Devoted – Northwest Africa Testimony
A team from the United States with an African translator, (today the SOM-NW Africa Director), came to my village. The team shared with the villagers that they were followers of Jesus Christ and desired to tell their story. My mother was there and did not speak French or English. Therefore, she did not understand. So she communicated that I, her
Bangladesh Outreach Faces Threats and Arrests
In the middle of January, two million Muslims gathered for the Bishwa Ijtema, one of the largest Muslim festivals in the world. Their focus was on prayer, unity, and the reciting of the Quran. The SOM Bangladesh team of witnesses courageously stepped out to share the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. The SOM Bangladesh Director has a huge heart
Federico’s Testimony
Before I met Christ, I was an alcoholic and drug dealer who caused much trouble. However, alcohol and drugs were not my biggest problem. For one year straight, I was drunk or high constantly, not knowing anything about myself. I began to have heart problems and faced many difficulties that caused me to stop drinking little by little. Demonic Visions
Church Planter in India Refuses to Run
From Hiding to becoming a Thriving Part of the House Church Network Born into a Hindu community, SOM India church planter spent many years without knowing the power of Jesus’ name. His family of origin was clouded for decades by death. Of nine children born, six died due to illness and dark circumstances. His mother was a village Hindu prophetess
Killed at Church, the Nightmarish Reality
Sacred to Jesus' followers is the gathering and connecting as a close family of believers each week. The adoring worship of God is the embodiment of life, experienced in joy and love as we hear the very words of Christ. From an American mindset, the idea of being murdered at church is a nightmarish reality that most of us struggle to
Off-Grid Adventures: Delivering Portable Water Treatment Systems
My father told me the story of Moses praying over the mountain with his hands lifted up while Joshua and the people of Israel fought against their enemies. By telling the story he shared an example of how the body of Christ should operate (Exodus 17:11-13). My father reminded our family, “There are people in the frontline of the battle
Imprisoned Indian Church Planter Leads Fifteen to Christ
A story about how an imprisoned Indian church planter leads 15 people to faith in Jesus while behind bars My wife and I came to Christ joyfully in the middle of 2020. Later, I met forty people in a small community nearby and shared the Gospel with them. All forty of them came to Christ! They asked me, “Why don’t
