When I was a teenager growing up in Iran I was empty inside because I had so many questions about life that I had no answers for. I had no idea what was the purpose for my existence. Under the Shah, there was no freedom of speech and I was an outspoken person. In fact, being outspoken got me in trouble with Shah’s secret police when I was a teenager. I was facing life in a dysfunctional family with divorced parents in a very harsh world especially in Iran before the Islamic Revolution, so I went to my religion to find my purpose and the answers to the most basic questions about life, God and eternity.

I knew the answer to those questions was the key to knowing my purpose and making it in life. But Islam couldn’t give convincing answers. The God of Islam was untouchable, unreachable, and unknowable and I couldn’t relate to him. So my religion was pretty much a dead end. In 1979, the Iranian Revolution was hijacked by radical Islamic fundamentalists, and my hope for the future of my country vanished.

Moving to Sufism, a Cult of Islam

Being discouraged from the version of Islam I had experienced through my own study and through the Islamic government of Iran, I turned to a cult within Islam called Sufism. Sufism talks about Allah as a loving person, but practicing it is much more complex than Islam itself. It is steeped with superstition and tradition and is complicated to practice, so it was not fulfilling to me as an adolescent.

Turning to Philosophy, Psychology and New Age Religion

I then turned to philosophy, which led me to psychology, which led me to focus on “mind power,” and self-reliance. For years I focused on practicing what psychology and the New Age taught to overcome life challenges and find answers to the key questions of life.

New Age teaching focused me on finances and put “making money” into the center of my life. Becoming financially successful became a driving force of my life, so I decided to come to the United States, where I arrived with $23 in my pocket. I started several businesses and some of them were very successful, but the more successful I became, the more empty and unfulfilled I felt. Money and success, living in the U.S. and traveling the world brought no fulfillment. During this period I got married, but even marriage did not fill the vacuum.

Trying Scientology Classes

I decided to try Scientology to find an answer and my purpose. The courses they offered about improving my mind were very attractive in the beginning but after a while I realized that it was a mixture of Eastern religions without God or gods. It still wasn’t enough, so after taking several courses I decided to seek truth somewhere else.

The Road to Christ

Having pretty much lost my faith in God at this point, I had no motivation to try any religion. But I had the opportunity to meet several born again Christian believers such as my father-in-law. Hearing about God as a loving father did not attract me to God because my father was not a loving man, so I was unable to relate to God as my loving father. But through my father-in-law who loved me and kept telling me that Jesus loved me, I was attracted to know more about God and Jesus.

The earthquake of October 1989 in the San Francisco Bay area really affected me. I came face-to-face with my mortality and my need to know God. When the after-shocks stopped I thought, “When I die, what’s going to happen to me?” I had a wonderful wife, I was financially successful, I was living in a land of beauty and freedom, but I was still empty and miserable. I was not fulfilled!

Just a few months later, in January 1990, three Christian pastors ended up in my home just by accident—actually, it was more like divine appointment. They started to talk to me about Islam, because they thought I was a Muslim, so that opened up the religious conversation. That day I gave my heart to Jesus. I prayed the prayer, and when I opened my eyes it felt like there were like a hundred lights on at one time. But I didn’t really understand what I had done. I sensed someone was in my life but I could not connect with Him. So I started to talk to Him and say, “I don’t understand your deity, your plan of salvation, the cross and crucifixion etc., but if you reveal yourself to me and enable me to understand who you are, and understand who I am and what is the purpose of my life, I will commit myself to you.”

Becoming a Born-again Christian

In May 1990, Jesus appeared to me in a vision and that changed my life. Not only did He reveal His deity, but also He revealed the meaning of the cross and salvation. He answered all my questions through this vision. I was a born again Christian now and the joy, peace and contentment flooded my soul! For the first time in my life I realized that I had great purpose. For the first time my life I experienced God’s presence in my life. Now I had personal, intimate relationship with God who had revealed himself to me in the person of Jesus. As a result of changes in my life, within this period most of my family members converted to Christianity.

Eager to Reach Muslims

I was baptized in an Iranian church in April 1991 and the church saw my eagerness to reach Muslims and share my faith with them. I was sent to several short-term mission trips to Istanbul, Turkey, to do some street evangelism work. In the many trips I took to Turkey, the Lord saved many Muslims and I saw many who got healed through the name of Jesus Christ.

During my last trip to Istanbul, I met Bishop Haik Hosepian who was the overseer of the Assembly of God churches in Iran. Meeting him was a turning point in my life because he was an example of a person devoted to God and the Lord was using him in many great ways. His love and humility and depth of knowledge about the church and Christianity was incredible. Haik frequently told me that the Islamic Government of Iran would kill him soon but he had no fear about that, except for concern about his family.

Martyrdom of a Christian Friend

In early 1994, Bishop Haik Hosepian was martyred. In our last conversation I promised him to follow in his footsteps in serving the Lord. His death impacted me profoundly and I was determined to strive in increasing my evangelism efforts. As a result of what had happened to Haik, however, not only was I determined to continue preaching the gospel, but also I began feeling a burning desire of to speak about democracy and freedom. I began thinking of how I could bring the world’s attention to the atrocities being committed in Iran by the Islamic-controlled government and push for religious freedom there, but fear of meeting the same fate stopped me.

Continuing to Serve Faithfully

As a deacon and evangelist I continued to serve the Persian community of the San Francisco Bay. Then, in 1995, the Lord inspired me to begin to minister to drug addicts and homeless people in San Jose, CA. This was the training that I needed to launch the international evangelistic work to the Muslim world that I do today. The experience of working with poor and disadvantaged people helped me to grow stronger in my own faith, as well. While preaching in a church in London in 1996, the Lord showed me through a vision that I needed to plant churches and that He was going to save millions of Muslims through our ministry.

In 1997, I was led to plant the San Mateo Persian Church in the San Francisco Bay area. Within the next four years over 500 Muslims made a profession of faith in Jesus, and we baptized one convert per month for four years in a row. Within this period we planted the Bay Area Persian Church of Santa Clara, CA. Through our television program we were reaching close to 300,000 local Persian-speaking Muslims on a weekly basis. We were on a Muslim cable television station, preaching the gospel and many were responding. During the last Christian concert we had in San Jose, over 500 Muslims attended and nearly half of them gave their lives to Jesus Christ.

Afflicted, Despairing, and Almost to the Point of Death

In late 1999, I began experiencing severe muscle spasms all over my body, and my digestive system to fail. I developed skin problems, my back became painful, I was short of breath, and I had manifested a lot of other symptoms as well. I realized I couldn’t function as the pastor in this condition and my declining health developed to the point of my resignation. In despair I felt I could no longer fulfill my calling to reach out to the Muslims.

Beginning of Persian Ministries International (PMI)

In middle of 2000, I was finally diagnosed with a muscle condition called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sometimes called Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS). In addition to FMS I had severe digestive problems that were potentially fatal and the doctors had no hope of curing them. Once I realized my death was imminent, I desperately wanted to make sure that I reached my people back in Iran and around the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ before I died.

Although I had worked locally in the U.S. and in small areas abroad to reach Muslims with the gospel, I had always been fearful about confronting the government of Iran, and talking about the struggles of my people under the Islamic regime and the atrocities they had committed there, including the martyrdom of my friend, Bishop Haik Hosepian. But now I thought, “Before I die, I have to say to the Muslim world what I need to say.”

So that year I started the non-profit organization Persian Ministries International (PMI). With just a $1200 investment in a camera and lighting equipment, I started broadcasting my sermons locally. I was facing death when I first went on the air. Due to my health condition, I couldn’t preach. I just read my scripted sermons from an overhead projector and videotaped myself in my home. I was in really bad shape.

Since I thought I was going to die, I did not hesitate to talk about my conversion from Islam to Christianity and I boldly confronted the Islamic government of Iran with their atrocities. My combined spiritual and political message attracted many Iranians to hear the gospel in the context of what was relevant to their struggles with Islamic fundamentalists.

Working together with Appadana International

In early 2001, a secular Muslim satellite television station called Appadana International became available to me, which allowed me to air my program overseas. A moderate Muslim friend of mine, Sattar Deldar, whom I had met back when I had come to the U.S. with $23 in my pocket, owned the station. Despite our religious differences at this point, we had remained friends. Furthermore, we had the same desire to see democracy in Iran. We aired our program on Appadana and several other stations, and as a result of our broadcast, millions of Muslims have heard the gospel all over the world and thousands have converted.

Azad, the First convert, is Caught and Tortured

The first person that converted through our broadcast was a young Iranian man named Azad, who joined the underground church in Iran. He kept calling me from Iran telling me that people are watching our program and many of them are converting. That greatly impacted me to fight for my life and not to die. The conversions in Iran led to a house church planting movement there. Today, according to the Voice of the Martyrs (December 2004 issue), Iran has one of the largest house church movements in the world among students. Later, Azad became the overseer of our work in Iran, but he was caught by the secret service and tortured. After he was released there were two attempts on his life, so he had to flee Iran. In addition to Azad, two other leaders were arrested and tortured in other part of Iran.

Blacklisted in Iran

Soon I was on the black list in Iran, and Iran National TV even showed my photograph saying I was conducting anti-Islamic activities to topple the government of Iran.

God Brought Me a Unique Ministry

PMI is a unique ministry for several reasons—my lack of fear of death, plus what the government of Iran had done to Bishop Haik in the past and to Azad impacts my messages profoundly. Plus, we are the only ministry of our kind with a political message. Now we are in a position to encourage millions of viewers not only with the message of gospel but also with the message of democracy, encouraging them to press the Iranian radical regime through the principles I learned from Dr. Martin Luther King’s teachings. Preaching the gospel and encouraging Iranians to passively resist the government by civil disobedience and press for referendum, democracy and religious freedom has become the hallmark of our ministry. Through Azad’s online ministry, many people have received leadership training and continued the work in Iran. He has also planted a house church in Turkey.

Equipping the Church – Controversy Over Church Sign

Recently, we developed resources for churches in North America. Our vision was not only to reach the Muslim world but also to equip the church to love Muslims and reach them with the gospel. We launched our equipping ministry campaign in November 2004. Sunnyvale Nazarene church was the first church where I spoke. I agreed to minister to the congregation by sharing “Why I am not a Muslim.” Without my knowledge, the small church put the title of the sermon up on their marquee. Two people, one Muslim and one non-Muslim, called the San Jose Mercury News to complain about the sign. The secular media seized upon the story, and several affiliate television stations interviewed me.

God is Working

It’s clear to me that God is working. My health has improved. The media controversy in Sunnyvale led to nearly 50 radio and TV interviews and hundreds of news organization reported about the media controversy and gave us free publicity. I also formed new relationships with several Muslim leaders. We also received an invitation to be guests on one of the most popular Muslim satellite television shows, called “Monday Night Live.” Our dialog about our faith really impacted my spiritual life. I saw that we as Christians can truly bring understanding and peace between Muslims and Christians, and millions of people saw that too. I saw that we can correct many misunderstandings that exist between the two religions. In addition, I realized that we can encourage Muslims to press their own government for religious freedom in their countries. Five phone lines were blinking for over two hours and we did not get a chance to answer them all!

Also, in his State of the Union address recently, President Bush expressed his support for the pro-democracy movement in Iran. He said, “As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you." That makes me really happy, because one of my biggest goals is to encourage Iranians by showing them that America stands with them in their move toward democracy. By living in America, I have had the privilege of experiencing both gospel and democracy. I believe many problems that the world faces today are going to be significantly reduced if people have the opportunity to find their purpose in life by knowing God through Christ. Lack of freedom and democracy, especially in the Muslim world, has prevented millions of people from experiencing the abundant life that is available in Jesus Christ.

I believe the acts of terrorism have resulted, and will continue to result, in greater receptivity to the gospel among Muslims. That is why today, there are more converts from Islam to Christianity than at any time in history. That is why I believe that by the end of 2007, the Persian Ministries International (PMI) will be the catalyst for conversion of over 1 million Muslims in Iran and around the world.

Another development is the recent Iran Freedom and Support Act, which commits America to "actively support a national referendum in Iran” and also authorizes the president to "provide financial and political assistance (including the award of grants) to foreign and domestic individuals, organizations, and entities that support democracy and the promotion of democracy in Iran. Such assistance may include the award of grants to eligible independent pro-democracy radio and television broadcasting organizations that broadcast into Iran." That includes PMI!

The future of Persian Ministries International

I’m excited about the great work we can do with the support of those who care about Gospel and Democracy. I think it’s an inspiring story about what God has done through this ministry, and that if people knew what has happened, they’d be motivated and inspired. To God be the glory!