Iran is reported to be the biggest state sponsor of terror in the world. And it is also one of the hottest recruiting and funding countries for Islamic terror, according to the State Department. But even though it may be a hotbed for terror, that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone who lives there supports it.
It is both illegal to convert to Christianity and preach in Iran. Oftentimes Christians are arrested and given long prison sentences for “crimes against the national security,” for converting to Christianity. Christian homes are also frequently raided and monitored if used for house churches.
Despite these issues, the Iranian church has grown to around 1 million members. This is according to a survey by GAMAAN, a research group based out of the Netherlands. The survey asked 50,000 Iranians what their belief was. 90% of those surveyed live in Iran, Christianity Today reported.
According to the survey, 1.5% of Iranians are Christians. Extrapolating that out yields a minimum of 750,000 Iranian Christians, but there are also 117,500 Armenian and Assyrian Christians living in the country, putting the actual baseline closer to 867,500 Christians at minimum.
However, Christianity Today reports the survey itself states there are “without doubt in the order of magnitude of several hundreds of thousands and growing beyond a million” Christians in the country, according to Christian Headlines.
The people of Iran are disillusioned with Islam and they are looking for answers to life. They are not finding answers in the traditional forms of a state religion or the faith of their ancestors. They are looking for new answers, they are not happy and satisfied where they are spiritual. A large number of these people are actually having dreams and visions about a shining man dressed in white far before we are out there telling them about Jesus.
A great revival is going on inside the Islamic Republic of Iran, Christian believers who have planted an “Internet church” in that heavily restricted Middle East country have disclosed.
This may come as a surprise to many, but Christianity is growing faster in the Islamic Republic of Iran than in any other country in the world. Tens of thousands in this overwhelmingly Muslim nation are abandoning the Islamic faith and turning to Jesus Christ.
It may surprise you that one of the fastest growing churches in the world is in Iran. Despite Christianity being outlawed in the Islamic Republic, Iran has the fastest-growing house church movements in the world. Yet that’s the assessment of those who have seen and heard the remarkable story of millions turning away from Shiite Islam and turning toward Jesus Christ.
Iran ranks 9th on Christian support organization Open Doors 2020 World Watch list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, but this does not stop the rate at which Jesus Christ is winning the heart of the people unto Himself