Darya grieves over losing her eldest son who fell ill and died many years ago. Not only that, but she was now having to raise her other children with her abusive husband. She wrote in to our Farsi site for support and connected with an online mentor, Susan.
Darya wrote pages and pages sharing her frustrations and heartaches while Susan patiently listened with compassion and empathy. Susan did not yet feel it was the right time to mention Jesus, so she simply prayed.
As they continued talking, Darya reminisced about the fond memories she had with her son and remembered that he used to join Sunday school at a Christian church. She remembered that her son found community and peace at this church. Finally, an opening! Susan knew this was her opening to talk about Jesus.
“I don’t know if I have any way to get out of this painful life of mine. I don’t know anyone here in Turkey. I’m all alone and there is no one who can save me.” — Darya
To Muslims, salvation is only possible in the afterlife, once one gets to heaven. Susan, knowing this, shared with Darya that Jesus is Savior — not just for eternity, but today, tomorrow, and every day after that. “Jesus’ salvation affects all of life.”
This was all so new to Darya, so Susan invited her to join an online community of believers to help answer her questions in depth. As she joined the online church’s weekly meetings and voice calls, the Holy Spirit led Darya to give her life to Jesus!
The online church was able to connect her with a local church in Turkey, where Darya lives, and Susan continues to mentor her online, too. What a difference godly community can make in someone’s life! This is truly how God intended for us to grow.
Kelisa Naviderahaie is a Farsi-speaking church based in the Netherlands.
They run Faith and Experiences, a 12-session online program where the pastor responds to questions and shares how experiences differ from real faith.
Hundreds of Farsi-speakers from across the 10/40 window attend these regular meetings, most of whom are unbelievers — weekly meetings on Zoom and Instagram Live, discipleship meetings on Paltalk (similar to WhatsApp), and weekly church services on YouTube.
Our mentors aim to invite every Farsi-speaking mentee to join this online community where they can ask questions about faith in a safe environment with other seekers and Christians.
Through Kelisa Naviderahaie's network of churches on the ground, they use their online church strategy to connect Farsi mentees with a nearby church nearby when possible.
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