According to a Netherlands-based research group, the growth of the church in Iran, a predominantly Muslim country where “converting to Christianity or proselytizing is punishable by imprisonment or death,” is “explosive.” This new survey found that 1.5% of those living in Iran who took the survey identified themselves as Christians. That means there are likely over 1 million self-described Christians in that nation! The Iranian Minister of Intelligence has previously noted that these Christians “are ordinary people, whose jobs are selling sandwiches or similar things.”

As we sadly watch the church decline across the West, be encouraged that God’s Word is as true as ever and the gospel is as powerful as ever around the world. Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Just as the oppressive Iranian regime cannot ultimately stop the growth of the true church (estimated to be growing 19.6% annually in Iran), neither can the growing destructive secularism of the West. God will accomplish his plan and we, as Christians, get to be part of it by sharing God’s Word and the gospel and raising generations of godly children who love God and his Word.

So, today, be encouraged—God is moving around the world and drawing people from every tribe, nation, people, and language to himself.