Mission Possible: Evangelism in persecuted lands and how the UK church can be bolder

The time I spent with Asrin, was brief but powerful, (I have agreed not to use her full name or her photo to protect her identity). Speaking to her for a little over an hour, I was continually blown away by her many stories of amazing encounters and life-changing God-moments throughout both her personal faith journey but also in her ministry as an evangelist.

She starts by telling me how she came to faith around the age of 20. She was living in Iran at the time as a practising Muslim, and she was in a ​“bad and dark situation” when someone shared the gospel with her. With a hardened heart she set God a challenge and said, ​“If you are real, show yourself to be real.” For seven nights in a row, Asrin speaks of being visited in a dream, by who she now recognises to be the Holy Spirit. In her dream she saw herself in a church, she was happy and full of joy. She remembers speaking to those present in the church and demanding to speak directly with God Himself, and to her surprise, her request was granted (quite different to her experience of Islam, where she was taught she needed to speak to God via proxy through the prophet Muhammed), and there she had a real encounter with a true and living God. After a week of this reoccurring dream, Asrin gave her life to Jesus, spurred on by His refreshing ​“direct accessibility” and ​“audible voice”.

Soon after her conversion she tried to witness to her family and friends and experienced rejection, ridicule and mockery. Discouraged but still with faith that one day they too would know her Lord and Saviour as their own she continued to pray for them in her quiet time with God.

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Asrin talks about the challenges of evangelising in Iran, ​“In Iran, to evangelise is very dangerous. You are not even supposed to speak to people in the street that you don’t know, so it is risky to do this, because Christians are attacked or worse. Sometimes it is a risk just making eye contact and trying to engage with people to share the gospel, this type of interaction is forbidden.”

Bravely stepping out while using discernment was something Asrin regularly did in attempts to engage fellow neighbours with a warm smile or a brief, subtle ​“hello”, in hopes of building a connection that could lead to her offering them prayer, or a Bible. In comparison Asrin says that the UK church is too tolerant despite our many liberties and freedom of speech, ​“Society tells us we will offend, or we are being disrespectful, or that they will mock you or cancel you.” But Asrin insists that we must push through despite these worries. ​“It is so important to read the Bible, study it and then go out and evangelise,” she says. 

Asrin speaks of inspiring courage, creativity and determination when it comes to the many ways that the gospel is being shared in Muslim-centred countries. ​“In Afghanistan, if you are a Christian you have to be careful and a lot of evangelism is done on social media and through testimony. I think testimonies are powerful and when I first became a Christian this was all I had. I didn’t know the Bible very well, all I could share was what Jesus had done for me.”

Now living in the US, Asrin appreciates the fast pace of the West. A lot of times we get distracted by all the outside things, but Jesus should be the biggest conversation, and your personal testimony is the best way to start a conversation.”

When Asrin was a new believer, her house church leader in Turkey encouraged her to just strike up conversations with unbelievers. This was not only less frowned upon culturally than openly evangelising, but demonstrated the relational nature of Jesus, which Asrin says on many occasions proved to be life-changing for her and those she encountered.

Despite language barriers, personal insecurities and what she would call her own limitations, Asrin gives endless examples of how being obedient to God and reaching out to others to share the good news has yielded fruit.

“On one occasion, I turned up at a neighbour’s house, I said I want to share something with you. I was scared, but surprisingly they invited me in. As they sat me down in their living room, all eyes were on me. I told them I had come to tell them about Jesus and what He had done in my life. They didn’t speak Farsi or Kurdish but we were able to communicate. They told me they had been hurt by the Iranian régime and I listened. I shared my personal testimony, and they were open.”

When I asked Asrin was it always this simple she replied, ​“Yes. Your experience of Jesus is what you share. Talk about Him and what He has done for you. You don’t have to know everything and what you don’t know just say, ​“I don’t know.””

Asrin works with member organisation Elam (which exists to strengthen and expand the rapidly growing church from the Muslim world), and is encouraged by their discipleship classes, resources and opportunities to connect and support one another, ​“weekly fellowship, connecting with other evangelicals and 1:1 discipleship has really helped me.”

We move on to discuss the hustle and bustle of life and the reality that we as evangelicals may often miss opportunities to share our faith. ​“A lot of evangelicals in the UK would probably agree they are time poor, but in order to connect with people we cannot be in a rush. We need to be real, and we need to be available to talk. There are opportunities for conversations all around us, but we have to look for them.”

The final story Asrin shares drives home this point more profoundly than I could have imagined. Asrin tells me of the encounter her husband had with a woman he was driving in the back of his taxi cab. During their journey, he attempted to engage with the woman in conversation, in hopes he could share his testimony and the good news of Jesus, when the woman unexpectedly revealed to him that she had plans to take her life once she arrived at her destination. Her husband’s response was to stop the cab, pray for her and share with her that this was not God’s desire for her life. He pleaded with the woman and even went as far as to insist she called a friend on the phone and asked her to meet them, which she reluctantly did. From this simple encounter and him taking the time to speak to the woman, her thoughts turned from suicide. She went on to give her life to Jesus and today is a powerful evangelist for the kingdom!

I am grateful for Asrin’s many stories and nuanced perspective, which provide both encouragement and responsibility perhaps in equal measure; maybe there is something to be learnt from the persecuted church when it comes to stepping out in faith and doing something that can feel unnerving, daunting and out of our comfort zone. And perhaps like Asrin and so many Iranians sharing the gospel in foreign lands, we too can be inspired to uncomplicate our message, and simply look for opportunities to start a conversation…

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts do get in touch with your local GP service.