Source: Mission Network News, April 13, 2020
A digital church in Iran provides fellowship, teaching, training, and counseling for Christians isolated from each other during Iran’s ongoing health crisis.
[Last Sunday] churches around the world met digitally to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A worldwide coronavirus outbreak has closed many church buildings, forcing Christians to move their services online.
But Heart4Iran launched a virtual church back in October 2019, Heart4Iran’s Mike Ansari says. “The conditions in Iran do not afford us the healthy and thriving church model that that we are used to in the West. [Most] of the Iranian believers are coming from [an] Islamic background. These are converts. They are isolated believers.” Heart4Iran calls their digital fellowship Mohabat Virtual Church.
Mohabat’s virtual church connects Iranian believers around the country into one family, Ansari says. “So, the very first virtual church that we launched for Iran in the region, we had roughly 1,000 people participate. And one individual… from Afghanistan gave his heart to Christ. This is telling us that there’s a huge demand, especially with a younger audience.”
» Full story. Heart4Iran is a network of 100+ministries working together to reach the Christians of Iran through media and broadcasting.
» From the US, read Ten Pieces of Good News We Are Hearing from Churches During the Pandemic (Thom Rainer). See also Using this Window of Opportunity and check out the tools there to get you started (Mobile Ministry Forum).