Voice of the Martyrs
- Angela Umphers Rueger
- Mar 20, 2017
- 4 min read
As many of you may know, through the influence of a dear woman in my church, the Lord burdened me to pray for and write to persecuted Christian women. But the little bit that I do is not enough. I must tell others---you---about the need so you can join me in reaching out to our hurting brothers and sisters. As a result, I've been seeking out information about organizations that are currently working around the world to give prayer, comfort, and support to our fellow persecuted believers. One such organization is Voice of the Martyrs.
Voice of the Martyrs came to my attention recently in a post on social media, and right away I wanted to know more about them. In short, this organization (originally named Jesus to the Communist World) was started in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, Romanian Christians who had been arrested for their faith. Sabina was made to work in a labor force for several months, but her husband Richard was brutally tortured by the secret police during his 12+ years in prison. His crime was "preaching ideas contrary to the Communist doctrine."
You can read more about the Wurmbrands and VOM on their website, but I thought I'd whet your appetite by including their "About" page here:
The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is a nonprofit, interdenominational missions organization, that offers practical and spiritual help to persecuted Christians around the world. VOM was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ. His wife, Sabina, was imprisoned for three years. In the 1960s, Richard, Sabina, and their son, Mihai, were ransomed out of Romania and came to the United States. Through their travels, the Wurmbrands spread the message of the atrocities that Christians face in restricted nations, while establishing a network of offices dedicated to assisting the persecuted church. The Voice of the Martyrs continues in this mission around the world today through the following main purposes:
Our ministry is based on Hebrews 13:3, Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
VOM’s Five Main Purposes
● To encourage and empower Christians to fulfill the Great Commission in areas of the world where they are persecuted for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. ● To provide practical relief and spiritual support to the families of Christian martyrs. ● To equip persecuted Christians to love and win to Christ those who are opposed to the gospel in their part of the world. ● To undertake projects of encouragement, helping believers rebuild their lives and Christian witness in countries where they have formerly suffered oppression. ● To promote the fellowship of all believers by informing the world of the faith and courage of persecuted Christians, thereby inspiring believers to a deeper level of commitment to Christ and involvement in His Great Commission.
VOM’s Mission Statement
Serving persecuted Christians through practical and spiritual assistance and leading other members of the Body of Christ into fellowship with them.
VOM’s Statement of Faith
● We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. ● We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ● We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us, in His present rule as Head of the Church, and in His personal return in power and glory. ● We believe that all men and women are lost and face the judgment of God, that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and that repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for regeneration by the Holy Spirit. ● We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, whose indwelling enables the Christian to live a godly life. ● We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the saved unto the resurrection of eternal life in the presence of our Lord, and the lost unto the resurrection of damnation and eternal punishment. ● We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and that all true believers are members of His body, the Church. ● We believe that we must dedicate ourselves to prayer, to the service of our Lord, to His authority over our lives, and to the ministry of evangelism.
Voice of the Martyrs is working hard to reach out to persecuted Christians around the world. If you are a pastor, I hope you will prayerfully consider telling your congregation about this ministry and seek God’s leadership in how you and your church can participate in the work by means of financial support and other ways. And I hope all of us as individuals will do the same. We cannot all give, but we can all pray.
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