Executions have taken place nearly every week since mid-March. In the last month, 16 men – eight political prisoners and eight protesters – have been hanged in Iran.

At the same time, a 54-nation UN panel chose the Islamic Republic to oversee a committee that shapes human rights policy. The United States was the only member nation to object to several selections, including Iran’s.

(Photo courtesy Transform Iran)

“It’s just so obviously ridiculous,” Lana Silk of Transform Iran says.

“On what level does this make sense?: A country that is one of the world’s worst perpetrators of human rights violations, particularly for women’s rights, sitting and influencing human rights on an international level.”

UN watchdogs are calling on member nations to explain themselves. “The timing is extremely suspicious,” Silk says.

“Iran has been a violator of human rights for 47 years, but aggressively so in the last few months. Why is this (UN appointment) happening now?”

Faith grows amid rising persecution

More than 1,600 people were executed by the Iranian regime last year, breaking a 1989 record. While atrocities advance, so does the Gospel. “Even just this morning, I was speaking to one of our ministry leaders about some missionary trips that we’re lining up for the next few weeks,” Silk says.

“People are active and wanting to spread the Gospel, and those hearing it are responding positively.”

Read about life inside Iran during the ceasefire here.

Transform Iran supports indigenous Gospel workers on several fronts, including evangelism and church planting, as well as relief and recovery. Learn more about its efforts here.

“In some of these harder spaces, where all this ugliness is going on, we see darkness. Behind the scenes, God is redeeming people, and we are seeing salvations constantly in Iran,” Silk says.

“What would be good for us is to dig beneath the surface, learn about ministries working in these spaces, allow our spirits to be encouraged by the good work that God is doing, and then join in – help advance it, empower it, pray for it.”

Header image depicts Iranian security forces opening fire on street protestors in January 2026. Header and story images courtesy of Transform Iran. 

Rita el-Mounayer with SAT-7, a Christian satellite television ministry in MENA, says in Egypt and Lebanon, for example, the Christian church is respected; and ministries like SAT-7 are relatively protected. But in other countries across the MENA region, the work of ministry must be carried out almost, if not entirely, underground. 

In these situations, el-Mounayer says the goal is to protect underground Christians by reducing their exposure to potentially antagonistic people. 

“This happened in Morocco,” she says. “One person took photos of all the underground people in the church and posted them on Facebook, and suddenly there was a big problem in Morocco and then the government wanted all the missionaries to go.” 

Thus, across North African countries, SAT-7 ministry team members take the role of engaging spiritual seekers via social media while minimizing overt social networking. 

“When it comes to the underground church, we’re very careful,” el-Mounayer says. “So what we do is let the church contact these people but not the people contact the church.” 

Iran, on the other hand, is a different story entirely. 

“In Iran, our only contacts are Iranian expatriates with Iranians inside the country. A lot of times we won’t have the privilege or opportunity to connect with the Christians in Iran,” el-Mounayer explains.

She says those from a Muslim background are especially hard to engage, as this group faces extreme backlash from the Iranian government and their own communities. 

Still, untold numbers of Iranians are trading the fear of Islam for the love of Jesus. Even among young people who are not explicitly choosing to follow Christ, many are questioning their religious upbringing. 

A 2020 survey of Iranians found the following: 

“Approximately half of the population reported losing their religion . . . Around 6% of the population said they had converted from one religious orientation to another.” 

Confusion around matters of religion presents the underground church and Iranian ministries with immense opportunity and responsibility. 

As people across the MENA region continue their search for truth, would you pray that the Holy Spirit will lead them through His church to Jesus Christ? 

Courtesy of Raandree via Pixabay. Featured image courtesy of Moaztobok via Pexels. 

Those working in recovery settings consistently observe a pattern. Brandon Bower of The Lighthouse Recovery Center says many men battling addiction lack an active father figure in their lives.

“Majority of men who are struggling with substance abuse do not have fathers, and or if they do have fathers, their fathers are distant and not active in their lives,” says Bower.

Man sitting (photo courtesy of Fagner Silva via Pexels)

Many of the men in recovery carry deep wounds from childhood. Bower says many experienced childhood sexual abuse and, without parental protection, turned to substances to numb the pain.

Recovery: physical, emotional, and spiritual

Recovery in this context goes beyond physical sobriety. Men are not only working through detox and rehabilitation, but also rebuilding their understanding of God as Father.

The ministry holds about 16 support groups each week, including one that specifically focuses on the father wound, the mother wound, and learning how to be a godly man.

Bower notes the emotional intensity many men face in the process: “There are times where guys get so angry in those groups, because there’s so much pent up anger and angst towards their family.”

Recovery of God’s image starts with an introduction to His love: “It starts with the Gospel. God loved you so much that He sent His Son to die for you,” says Bower, adding that sometimes it takes weeks or months until people fully understand the message.

Representative photo of a man praying (photo courtesy of RDNE Stock project via Pexels)

One 52-year-old man had gone through multiple rehab programs. At The Lighthouse, he finally confronted childhood sexual abuse his father failed to protect him from. That moment of confession released years of bottled-up anger — and brought hope.

Bower quotes him saying, “I’ve been to 20 other programs, and no one has addressed my sexual abuse as a child. Maybe that’s what I need to stop drinking.”

Bower explains that no other program was addressing the root causes and that they were only trying to deal with the addiction itself.

A call for churches to fill the gaps

Healing also includes practical restoration, as the ministry team teaches men everyday life skills.

“There are days,” says Bower, “where I’m in the bathroom showing a 21-year-old man how to shave, because no one has ever shown him how to shave.”

They also teach men how to manage finances, dress, and function in society — gaps often left by absent fathers. Bower says this is where the Church is called to step in, caring for the fatherless as Scripture commands and filling those gaps with love and practical skills.

Visit The Lighthouse to learn more and support their work helping men rebuild their lives in God’s fatherly love.

Header photo: Help sign (Photo courtesy of RDNE Stock project via Pexels).

Lana Silk of Transform Iran doesn’t expect peace between the warring powers anytime soon.

(Graphic courtesy Transform Iran)

“We (the U.S. and Iran) define the word in different ways,” Silk says. “We have completely different objectives on how we want to coexist with each other.”

A war of words keeps the world on edge, with each side agreeing to talks mediated by Pakistan – and then backpedaling. The U.S. and Iran take turns escalating rhetoric – and then proposing peace.

“You can see so much political power play happening, and ‘Let’s see who dominates in the end.’ I pray it’s the Americans,” Silk says.

“We have more work to do to have any kind of long-term stability and peace with Iran that spills over beyond the Middle East. If we leave things as they are – if we slap a peace sticker over the situation as it is today – then the situation has not changed,” she explains.

“All we have done is buy the Iranian government time and a deeper resolve to continue down the same path they were on two or three months ago.”

Growing pressure

Transform Iran supports indigenous Gospel workers who are sharing Christ and making disciples inside Iran. More about that here.

Believers report that, “The situation in Iran is, if anything, worse than what it was a couple of months ago. If the government is left unchecked, all they’re going to do is strengthen their position,” Silk says.

(Graphic courtesy Transform Iran)

“In the last few days, a senior cleric called on citizens to financially support the war efforts, saying [Iran needs] wealth sacrifice campaigns to dedicate assets for missiles. This is apparently during the ceasefire,” she continues.

“Iran is not changing its story or objectives, but it might play along for a bit to catch its breath and regroup.”

As politicians play their games, life on the ground gets harder. Pray believers will have strength to endure. Pray desperate souls will find hope in Jesus.

“Under the cloak of ceasefire within Iran, we have ramped up executions. We have foreign militia invited in to further harass and threaten the Iranian people,” Silk says.

“We have businesses coerced to cooperate with the IRGC. We have young people – 12, 13, 14-year-old boys – forced into military action.”

Header and story images courtesy Transform Iran. 

“The little food that they do have right now is just very expensive, and people can’t afford it. They’re living from day to day,” says Roseline DeHart with For Haiti With Love.

Haitian community (Photo courtesy of Heather Suggitt via Unsplash)

Many Haitians rely on a basic, carb-heavy diet when they can access it. Beans are the main source of protein, but not everyone can afford them. Recent flooding also prevents farmers from sowing seeds.

“And they just can’t plant anything,” DeHart says.

Nearly half the population faces acute food insecurity. High fuel prices and gang violence continue to disrupt food transport. Poverty also fuels gang recruitment of children, perpetuating the cycle.

“They’re God’s people and they’re beautiful people, and they need help just like anybody else. They can’t be forgotten,” urges DeHart.

The ministry provides food to up to 2,000 people across different parts of Haiti. “We go out to several places, go out in the countryside, go out in rural areas, in the cities, so we can help as many in need as we can,” DeHart says.

View of Haiti taken during ISS Expedition 20 (photo courtesy of ESRS Unit, JSC via Wikimedia Commons)

However logistics remain a major challenge. Shipping costs have risen to as much as $15,000 for a container of nutritional food packets, yet the need is hard to overestimate.

People are in urgent need of both provision and hope for another day. This is where the Gospel meets their deepest needs.

“If you have the food [and Gospel] with you, you feed the soul and you feed the body at the same time,” DeHart says.

Please pray for provision for the next container of food for Haitians and for sustainable peace in the country. Consider partnering with this ministry to meet these needs.

Visit For Haiti With Love to learn how you can support people in Haiti and Gospel outreach efforts.

“Haiti needs change, and only God can do that,” DeHart says.

Header photo: Houses built on the mountains just outside of Port-au-Prince (Photo courtesy of Heather Suggitt via Unsplash).

From the beginning, God encourages people’s thirst for knowledge. At the same time, Scripture places a high level of responsibility on those who teach: to model Christlike behavior, remain faithful to the truth, and both encourage and correct others.

Jason Taylor with Set Free Ministries says this is why building up teachers is so important in their ministry.

Photo courtesy of Set Free Ministries

That focus is behind the Teachers Training Conferences in Uganda, starting in the beginning of May. “Every year we’ve made a priority to build into our teachers and develop them,” explains Taylor.

Taylor says they will meet with around 230 teachers from their school network across the country. And in this ministry, fellowship and training go hand in hand.

“We all come together,” says Taylor, “to encourage one another, to worship together, and to receive teaching from the Word that will fuel the fire for the rest of the year.”

The teachers are skilled in their work, but they also need to be poured into. That’s why discipleship is central to the training, because discipled adults are better equipped to disciple children.

Photo courtesy of Set Free Ministries

“We see it as a way to develop the whole person, the whole the men and women that teach in our schools,” adds Taylor.

Through its network of 12 schools, the ministry is reaching more than 5,000 students — and that number continues to rise.

“We’re in a season of growth right now,” he says. Yet Taylor notes that growth can be challenging. Pray for the team to have the resources they need to manage the increasing demand for education.

Visit Set Free Ministries to learn more about their work in the region and around the world.

Header photo courtesy of Set Free Ministries.

Pahlavi was in Germany in mid-February too, as part of the Munich Security Conference, just a few weeks before the United States-Israel war on Iran began. The 65-year-old is the son of Iran’s former shah deposed in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He has proposed to lead a transitional democratic government in the event of Iran’s regime falling.

HIH Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran (Photo By FDD – FDD Maximum Support: Operationalizing the Other Iran Policy Event, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Talk of regime change has become familiar to Heart4Iran’s team, says Edwin Abnous, the ministry’s executive director. The team feels the tension between their spiritual mission and the political hopes of those they serve. Yet in these tensions, the ministry holds to a few guiding principles. 

“We want to make sure that our approach is Christ-centric, and we want to make sure we care about the good of the nation, rather than siding with certain political opposition,” Abnous says. “We want to make sure that we are outspoken and echoing the realities on the ground anytime there is an injustice, especially for the Church.”

This requires sensitivity. Abnous explains that Iranians in the diaspora can risk political statements that those within Iran can’t. That is especially true for Christians in Iran. Under the nation’s Islamic theocracy, calling Christ Lord is seen as political opposition. 

“[Christians] cannot call Khamenei or his son ‘Ayatollah,’ which means ‘the sign of Allah’ or ‘appointed by Allah,’ because they do not believe in Allah. They do not believe that Allah will assign someone to oversee the country,” Abnous explains. 

Christians are especially vulnerable after uprisings or external threats are removed — such as the extended reprieve of the United States-Iran ceasefire.  Christians are historically labeled “Zionists” or accused of working with enemy governments. Abnous says that events like this ceasefire give the regime space to refocus on internal control. Just one example of regime crackdown is the 56-day internet blackout (as of April 24, 2026) that Iranians have endured.

(Photo courtesy of Gilles Lambert/Unsplash)

“Especially in the West, we look at internet access as a convenience. But for Iran, it is oxygen — not only for the Iranian citizens, but also for the Christians,” says Abnous. “If you cannot connect with [the underground church] and help them and provide pastoral care, that is a huge interruption to our ministry.”

Since connection is so critical for discipleship, Abnous says Heart4Iran’s contingency plan focuses on resilience and redundancy.

“We do not rely on a single communication channel. We want to make sure that we are providing all different types of mediums for [Iranians] not only to consume, but also to be able to connect with us,” he explains. “We structure our ministry so we can function even if we are isolated.”

Heart4Iran’s mediums include satellite TV, social media, a 24/7 call center, Bible distribution, and more. Just one of their two satellite signals is estimated to reach 810,000 to over 1 million viewers. 

Please pray for endurance, open communication lines, and emotional resilience for Iran’s people. Heart4Iran’s staff regularly find themselves offering trauma support to Iranians who contact them. 

“The majority of the calls and the contacts [Heart4Iran received] even prior to war were trauma-related,” says Abnous. “Iranians are a traumatized nation because of living under oppression for the past 47 years, and that has increased after the latest oppositions and uprising.” 

Learn more at Heart4Iran’s website about how you can partner with them to reach Iranians with the hope of Jesus.

(Photo courtesy of Denis Oliveira/Heart4Iran)

Header photo of protest in Stockholm, Sweden, c. 2022 (Photo courtesy of Artin Bakhan via Unsplash)

Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it one of the most critical chokepoints for global energy. Even the threat of disruption can send ripple effects worldwide — including ministry operations.

Strait of Hormuz (By MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC – Image by Goddard Space Flight Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: 2018-12-10., Public Domain)

Stan Unruh, Vice President of Aviation for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), says, “MAF’s vision is to reach isolated people. So it makes sense, of course, that our aircraft and crews are positioned in remote regions…to reach isolated people. That means that, by default, we’re exposed to fragile supply lines for our fuel products.”

Those vulnerabilities are now being tested. For example, Unruh explains, “Africa gets 80% of their crude and refined products through the Strait of Hormuz, so we’re quite concerned about the potential supply disruptions because of the conflict there.”

While fuel supply isn’t suffering yet, the price tag for jet fuel is already up and MAF is feeling it.

In East Congo, MAF has a team based in Bunia where they use aircraft to support humanitarian and missionary efforts.

(Photo courtesy of MAF Guinea)

Unruh says, “At the end of the day, supply disruptions and cost increases have an impact on Gospel ministries that we’re supporting. So it’ll have a direct impact on [Bible] translation work, on famine relief work, some conflict mitigation that our teams are involved with there in East Africa, and medical work.”

Despite the uncertainty, Unruh encourages believers to remain prayerful.

“My prayer would be that the effects of this crisis in the Middle East…is mitigated, and that we come to a peaceful conclusion soon,” Unruh asks. “But also, [pray] that the long-term effects of that are mitigated for the people that we serve.”

Pray for MAF’s Gospel work to continue without interruption, and for stability in a region whose impact reaches far beyond its borders.

Learn more about MAF’s ministry work and ways to come alongside at maf.org.

Header photo courtesy of MAF.

“A hackathon is a time for developers to come together and think about problems that are on the horizon, technology that’s on the horizon, things that are coming right now that the programmers have been curious about,” explains Birch Champeon. “In our case, a week of time dedicated to just focusing on a tough problem and coming up with software solutions for that particular problem.”

The Hackathon will explore solutions to four different problems:

1. Delivering translators the information they need, when they need it: “We would give them the answers and resources that they can refer to without them having to wade through a large amount of information—that it would be filtered in such a way that it’s readily available and exactly what they need.”
2. Multi-modal drafting: Bringing together the work of different translators, whether typed or audio translations, so they can easily be compiled and checked together.
3. The feedback bottleneck: During trial editions of a translation, the drafted and checked text will go out into the community. “However, getting the information back, getting it into a useful form, and applying it to the translation is has always been a very difficult process, because sometimes it comes back as handwritten notes, sometimes it comes back as audio recordings, sometimes it comes back through a response on a phone. And so, how do we take all that disparate information, bring it together, and then make it into actionable items, so that the translators can improve their translation?”
4. Distribution lag: Creating easy-to-use and nearly instantaneous ways of distributing and publishing scripture, so there can be “more publishing happening, and happening more frequently, so that there’s this continuous delivery of Bible translation.”

(Photo courtesy of unfoldingWord)

“These are key tools in the translator’s toolbox, whether it helps with drafting or with checking or with publishing,” says Champeon.

However, these problems can vary in complexities and nuance across regions—a solution that would work perfectly in one area of the world may not solve things in another area.

“That’s why we need developers from around the world working on these problems. If you have developers on the ground that are in these churches, that are currently translating the Bible, then they know the problems that the team is facing. They know the specific problems of their region and challenges there. So that’s why we want a global hackathon of developers coming in and preparing these tools to make them available to Bible translators around the world.”

Pray that this ministry of software development focused on getting the Word into people’s hands would continue to grow—that more software developers would hear about programs like the Hackathon and choose to contribute to the work.

Interested in getting involved? unfoldingWord is still accepting registrations.

“If you are a software developer that would love to work on this and help us, we would love to have your time and your skills applied to this ministry,” says Champeon. “There are many developers worldwide, sitting in churches, not knowing how their skills could be used for the kingdom of God.”

Register for the Hackathon at hackathon.technology.bible.

Header photo courtesy of unfoldingWord.

On Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump extended the US ceasefire with Iran, but also promised to continue the US blockade of Iranian ports until Iran had put forward a ceasefire proposal.  This did not make Iran happy. On Wednesday, Iran’s navy seized two ships that it claimed were “attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz covertly.”

Later on Wednesday, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stated that reopening the Strait of Hormuz would be “impossible” while the US and Israel committed “flagrant” breaches of the ceasefire, The Guardian reports. 

Amid the back-and-forth of the Middle East conflict, Brother M with Global Catalytic Ministries says victory won’t be decided by who has the best weapons. Instead, the question will be, Which nation’s systems will endure the longest?

(Photo courtesy of Lara Jameson/Pexels)

“Energy infrastructure is being targeted specifically. Shipping routes are being threatened,” Brother M says. That includes not only the Strait of Hormuz but also the Red Sea, which the Houthi rebels in Yemen are affecting. 

From Iran’s position, Brother M says the strategy goes beyond winning individual battles. 

“The goal is to try to apply pressure across an entire society in the West, which is really the new standard for warfare. It stretches systems — until something breaks,” he says. 

Rising gas prices and energy shortages are only the tip of the fallout of the past nearly eight weeks of the US-Israel war on Iran. Brother M says it has become a regional war. On that level, Brother M says a new Middle East is being shaped, which he sees as an outworking of Isaiah 19. 

“[Isaiah 19] describes an entire region in turmoil. It speaks of Egypt in a state of confusion, that there’s internal strife, economic disruption, fear, systems not functioning the way that they should,” he said.

(Photo courtesy of Jonathan Castaneda via Unsplash)

“It doesn’t stop there. It moves towards something that we have not yet seen but is happening, and things are being put into place. It speaks of a highway between Egypt, Assyria, and Israel. It speaks of former enemies becoming connected. It speaks of blessing coming out of a region.”

Brother M describes the recent events of the Middle East as a “pressure phase.” 

“There’s a pressure that’s forging alliances, that’s forging systems, that’s breaking structures, and it’s creating this biblical pattern that’s going to lead us into an Isaiah 19 moment. It’s part of the process, and it’s leading us somewhere,” he says. 

“It’s real pressure. It’s heavy pressure. And I don’t see this being resolved quickly, regardless of what you hear from the President [of the United States].” 

Find your place in the story

Where do Christians find their place amid the geopolitics? Brother Phil with Global Catalytic Ministries points to the Great Commission in the world’s chaos.

(Photo courtesy of Kyle Glenn via Unsplash)

“Yes, there are wars, there’s famine, there’s fuel shortages, but we lose the plot if we make that the main thing,” he says. 

“I think Jesus’ point in Matthew 24 is ‘all this will be going on in the background, but don’t be afraid. Focus on the main thing that’s happening: The gospel will go to the ends of the earth.’” 

The Strait of Hormuz will likely remain a revolving door. Believers must stay grounded in God’s mission and pursue their places in His Kingdom story today. 

“I’m encouraging people not to dissect whether war with Iran is fulfilling this verse of Revelation. I’m trying to help them to keep the big picture,” says Brother Phil. 

“If we make wars and famines the main thing, then we do what someone has referred to as ‘letting the devil set our agenda.’ We end up being focused on what he’s doing, rather than on the things that Jesus has called us to do.”

Header photo: By MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC – This image or video was catalogued by Goddard Space Flight Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: 2018-12-10., Public Domain)