The Blog: Praying for the Persecuted Church/CCN Saturday is coming...

Recap: Our CCN Group Trip to The Voice of the Martyrs Conference

This past Saturday, we shared a humbling and sobering group trip The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) conference. VOM is a ministry that provides aid to persecuted Christians around the world. There are many countries where Christians must worship in secret because of the intense physical persecution that takes place from both the citizens and the government. Learn more about VOM and the persecuted church.

CCN has helped promote the VOM mission on our college campuses throughout the United States. Learn more here. It has been a pleasure to join with a ministry that helps Christians around the world to fulfill the Great Commission (Mark 16:15) even in the face of harsh punishment. We learned so much from these bold and faithful brothers and sisters...

In America, we have the right to both religion and speech. Therefore, we are able to boldly share our faith without the fear of punishment from the government. This makes our call to witness proactively that much more important. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 2:48).

We can simply go up to a complete stranger, hand that person a gospel tract and share the gospel with him/her. We can also grab a crate, stand on it, and preach the gospel on the sidewalk to pedestrians... and this will be our first amendment right to do so! So, why wait to share the gospel with the perishing when others do not have the same freedoms that we have?
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At the conference, we worshipped together. Not once did I fear the police coming to arrest and beat us. Yet, in many countries, our brethren face police brutality and loose everything for simply worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Throughout the world right now, our brethren are facing persecution from the government and from others who live among them. They must meet in secret and baptize in secret, because they are "persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor. 4:9). What do they ask from us? To pray for them. What does Jesus ask of us as well? "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

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We were so privileged to meet brethren from other countries, who experienced the pain of persecution. It was a blessing to hear their stories, to encourage them, and fellowship. Now we must take up our own cross where we are and make sure that we preach the gospel to all those in our sphere of influence, especially in the light of the freedom that we have in America.
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One of the most humbling truths that we learned at the conference was that many of our persecuted brothers and sisters forgive and pray for those who persecuted them. It made us all reflect on the condition of our heart.

The last speaker challenged us with a message called "Normal Christianity". He shared that the persecuted brethren look like those in the Bible and are actual normal Christians. We ought to not settle for a lukewarm, comfortable life where we just share the gospel at our own convenience. According to the Bible, that is not a normal Christian life.

The speaker shared that many look at the persecuted brethren as "super Christians". He said that they are not. They are simply obedient. Then, he posed this question: "Since when does obedience make you special?"

We ought to all be obedient to Christ's command to live a life that makes sense in the light of eternity. Therefore, obey Christ and proactively fulfill the commission: "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15.

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After the conference, we put our faith into action and preached the gospel at a local movie theater that was packed! Many were very receptive and gathered around to hear the gospel. With our amazing freedom in America, we ought to take every advantage to share the gospel with others!

We also were able to see Fireproof, an amazing tear-jerking and biblical movie with a clear gospel presentation. We highly recommend that you see this movie! You will not be disappointed.

We truly enjoyed the conference and learning about our family all over the world. Please pray for them as they serve the Lord in great faith and obedience.

We also pray that you will join us for our next Saturday event in the New York/New Jersey area, which is...

Come and exercise your First Amendment Rights and join CCN students for a day of prayer, worship, Word, one-to-one street evangelism and open-air preaching in Newark, NJ!

Watch a video and learn more about CCN Saturday, our monthly group street outreach in the NY/NJ area.

Date/Time: Saturday, October 11th (10AM - 5PM, including dinner fellowship)
Meeting Location: Montclair State University (Room TBA)

For more info, email Contact@ChangeYourCampus.net