Iran (MNN) – As unrest persists in Iran, International Media Ministries (IMM) offers Gospel hope.
The war in Iran produced some changes in leadership. However, Denise Godwin with IMM says that many are anxious about the current regime. Killings remain commonplace and people feel unsafe.
“There’s just a very overwhelming desire among the expat Iranian community for this regime to fall. There seem to be discussions also that there are people inside who desire that fall that they have to guard themselves for the right moment, so that they’re not killed before a new regime can be put in place.”
Openings for the Gospel
Godwin says people are exhausted with the conflict. The need for rest is one reason there are fewer uprisings and protests at the moment. People struggle with the pain of seeing loved ones killed and the homes they love in turmoil. However, Godwin sees God at work.
“What I think is interesting is these kinds of disruptions to normal services also cause people to look beyond their circumstances for hope. This gives an incredible opportunity to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That includes the people on the ground. That includes media partners who are using online platforms or Zoom platforms [or] satellites. While connections are erratic and interspersed, people are working on connecting with the outside world. They want to know what’s happening.”
A Story of Hope from Ancient Persia
In this time of unrest, IMM is working on post-production for the story of Esther. This project, Esther: Queen of Hope will be a six-part series that focuses on God’s work in His people and in the Persian Empire. This project has the potential to speak hope clearly to the Iranian people as they see God at work in the kingdom of their ancestors.
(Image courtesy of IMM)
“As we continue to edit the story of Esther: Queen of Hope, I am surprised and amazed at how God puts stories in the Bible that are actually reflected again and again through history,” Godwin says.
“What we see is Haman in the story of Esther as an outsider who’s been in the empire of Persia for a long time. He chooses to influence the situation in a way that is against their principles. They were not a society that did genocide. Well, you fast forward to today, and the people you speak to – especially who are outside the country, who have the freedom to share what they feel and think – say they feel like Persia (the original place that is now Iran) has been hijacked by a radical Islamic regime that is not reflecting the norms of Persians, of the people. That’s a pretty incredible, if you want to call it, coincidence from the Bible to today.”
IMM plans to release the first episode this summer and then have the final five episodes completed in the fall. They pray that this historic story not only will inspire hope for Iranian Christians today, but that it will open doors for believers to share that God has worked in Iran before. He cares about Iranian people.
Sharing the Gospel with the Unreached
(Image courtesy of IMM)
Godwin shares that one of IMM’s goals is being able to serve unreached people with Bible stories that occurred in their cultures. “To serve people who are unreached people groups that have so little content in their language – that we could serve them in a way that maybe bigger media organizations can’t. That’s just the beauty of being a media missionary group. We want to invite people to join us in praying and giving and connecting people, so we can do more and get to the ends of the Earth with the word of God sooner.”
If you’d like to join the work of IMM, click here.
Header image courtesy of International Media Ministries.
