Iran (MNN) — Iran’s widespread internet filtering and restrictions make it difficult to receive updates about evangelization efforts within the country. Edwin Keshish Abnous with Heart4Iran says on top of this, many Iranians regularly face poor internet connectivity.
“That means that downloading the videos, audio, and all sorts of resources that Iranian or Western ministries are preparing for Iranians inside the country are not easy to consume.”
The regime’s constant monitoring of digital activity means that consistent, meaningful communication with people inside the country is a challenge for ministry partners outside of it. When Iranians do communicate online, they do so through virtual private networks (VPNs), which serve as pipelines to Biblical resources. But Abnous says this is a channel that isn’t always open.
“VPN is the only way for them to be able to communicate outside the country, but if the internet is shut down, the VPNs are basically useless.”
In the absence of internet connection, one of the most common ways Iranians access Biblical resources is through satellite television. Censorship of this medium is not widespread in Iran, and Abnous says there is no way for Iran to track viewership. Thus, Biblically faithful TV programming remains an open door for reaching Iranians.
Image courtesy of Heart4Iran
Another door opener is Artificial Intelligence.
“Either on TV or social media, there are ways for us to use these new technologies to not only minimize the challenges of the security of Iranians but also be more efficient and effective when we’re sending content inside Iran,” Abnous says.
Recently, Heart4Iran has been employing a version of ChatGPT trained to operate with a Biblical worldview.
“We have tested multiple times, and we’re getting constant feedback,” Abnous says. “As an Iranian Christian or an Iranian seeker inside the country is asking the question, the answer they get is Biblical.”
Abnous says the other beautiful aspect of using AI is to be able to clean, categorize, and tag data in an analyzable format.
“That is of great value for ministries outside the country because we’re dealing with a country that is very restricted. So to have these tools at our disposal, we will have better insight inside the country to see who is consuming, the demographic, the type of content they’re interested to consume.”
Looking forward, the team at Heart4Iran hopes to ensure personal connection by introducing internet searchers to Christians who can pick up where AI leaves off.
Please pray for the security of Iranians inside the country as well as ministry partners interacting with them.
Pray for anointed decision-making that will bring forth fruit in places that were once desolate.
Pray for Heart4Iran to wisely steward its resources.
Pray that God would pave the way for more ministries to partner with Heart4Iran in reaching this closed country.
“Especially these days with the advancement of technology,” Abnous points out, “you’re always excited to try every new thing that comes in the market, but we want to have that discernment to make sure what is needed now, how to use it, how to master it, how to educate our team members to use it best.”
Photo courtesy of Transform Iran; header photo courtesy of Markus Winkler via Pexels
