Iranian Christian Imprisoned for Preaching the Gospel

For the first time, Iran’s Islamist regime has made it a crime to watch Persian-language Christian television programs.

Under a new espionage law, select Persian-language Christian satellite channels including Iran Alive Ministries’ TV channnel have been designated as “hostile organizations.” Simply watching or sharing a Gospel broadcast can now be treated as cooperation with an enemy of the state. Yet even as authorities try to silence the Gospel, Iranians are still hearing about Jesus Christ—and some are risking their freedom to share Him with others.

Nila is one of them.

Her journey began during one of the darkest periods of her life. After her abusive first husband divorced her and took their two daughters, Nila began palm reading and fortune telling to make a living.

Then one day, she felt compelled to walk to a park. There, a Christian shared the Gospel with her and told her about Iran Alive Ministries’ television network. Nila initially resisted, but she could not forget what he had said. She returned the next day, and the same believer gave her a Bible and an Iran Alive Ministries Gospel film called God Is Love.

That encounter changed the direction of her life.

When Nila returned home, she says the Lord met her. She gave her life to Jesus Christ and walked away from the fortune telling and occult practices that had provided her income.

Nila later remarried, and she says God transformed her new husband’s life as well. Together, they connected with Iran Alive Ministries’ Persian Christian TV channel, became part of its online church, and grew in their faith through house church fellowship.

Soon, Nila was no longer simply receiving the Gospel. She was taking a risk to share it with others.

She felt called to minister to women, especially those in rural villages. Nila and her husband began holding house church gatherings in their home, while she traveled to different villages sharing the Gospel. They knew there could be consequences. When they sensed danger or received threats, they moved to another village—but they did not stop.

This is the multiplying power of reaching one person with the Gospel.

Nila’s story demonstrates why the work of Iran Alive Ministries is so important. With satellite TV, the Gospel can cross borders and reach people searching for hope, even in places where following Jesus can come at tremendous cost.

And you can help reach Iran with the Word of God.

For Nila and her husband, the danger eventually reached their own front door.

One Friday night, 23 people were gathered in their home worshiping the Lord when members of the Revolutionary Guard raided the house. Nila, her husband, and another Christian couple were arrested.

The very message that changed Nila’s life—and that she risked her freedom to share—is the message Iran’s government is now intensifying its efforts to silence.

As best as we know, Nila is still imprisoned for her faith in Christ. Please join us in prayer for her release. She, like many others, courageously refused to renounce Jesus, even when the cost was very high. May the Lord bless her and reward her for such faithfulness.

And may her testimony of a Savior so real and a transformation so powerful that she refused to be quiet draw others to salvation also. 

There are many more people across Iran who need to hear the Gospel, encounter God’s Word, and grow in their faith.

When you give to Iran Alive Ministries, you help to:

• Keep Gospel broadcasts on the air

• Provide Farsi-language Bibles to Iranians searching for truth

• Disciple believers as they grow in their faith

• And much more

They can criminalize watching. They can threaten those who share the good news. They can imprison believers.

But they cannot stop the life-changing power of God from transforming the hearts and lives of those who believe. 

Please give right now to help reach Iran with the Gospel.