More Than We Ask or Think: Reflections on 24 Years Serving Among the Persians

Elijah,* who formerly served in Central Asia and now ministers in the United States, shares how he’s seen God at work to build the Church among Iranians and Afghans in ways that defy expectations.

For most of the years my wife and I served alongside our team in Central Asia, no one came to faith; no one was baptized. Years where those miracles occurred were the exception. God knows how it broke all our hearts. But I think we also expected it.

When we were first preparing to go overseas, the exhortation we heard from many respected workers who had gone before was, “Leave your bones there among your people.” Hearing that sentiment, paired with the stories of struggle and lean harvests, was sobering. Reflecting on their enduring faithfulness and sacrificial passion, we doubted we could match their resolve. But for the years we might endure, we thought we knew the drill: that most of our lives would be spent preparing inhospitable soil that often felt like concrete. Was it agonizing to remove a few boulders? Sure. But harvesting? We imagined that joy would be for future generations.

Praise God, during those years, small churches were born. But it was so slow, and we fervently prayed for more. We still do. I think our team’s eventual deportation from the country has weighed heavily on all of us for years.

When we moved to Western Asia to rejoin some of our teammates in serving among other Persian people groups, namely Iranians and Afghans, our family was anticipating more of the same: suffering with little visible fruit. God had other plans.

Looking back, it still feels like a dream, but hundreds of people participated in an Iranian church over the brief years we were there, let alone all these additional years since we’ve left. It seemed like every few months the Lord blessed us with another baptism group of a dozen or more new believers. Even in our little sphere of ministry, we could see that yes, the Iranian Church seemed to be one of the fastest-growing—if not the fastest-growing—Churches in the world.

Moving to the West Coast of the United States and serving alongside an Iranian pastor for several years planting an Iranian church, it was more of the same. For anyone used to working with Muslims, the receptivity was off the charts. I flew there for a visit this October and was floored to see a group of nearly 20 newly baptized believers I didn’t even recognize from my visit a year ago. Every time back, I praise God as I observe Him continuing to build His church in incredible ways among Iranians there and, I believe, everywhere.

It got to the point where I thought that, relatively speaking, the Iranians were doing pretty well. More and more wonderful Iranian church leaders were serving, and compared to the Afghan Church scene, things were progressing amazingly. We felt the Lord calling us to focus our efforts on helping the emerging Afghan churches, which needed much more encouragement and help. So, about six years ago, I shifted my focus over to Afghans.

With embarrassingly little faith, I anticipated a return to the drudgery of removing boulders. After all, both in Central Asia and the United States, my experiences among Afghans had taught me that we’d go out there, engage, invite, pray, pray, pray and … they wouldn’t respond. But can God do abundantly more than all we ask or imagine? Yes! And, praise God, He did and He is! And I don’t even know the thousandth of it!

Part of the joy of serving in this era of church history is that through technology, we can be much more intimately connected with our brothers and sisters from all tribes across the globe. Over the past few years, the Lord has blessed me with an incredible network of Afghan brothers and sisters in Christ. I just can’t believe how blessed I am to serve alongside them. Many are leading Afghan house churches in their cities across many countries. Together in our weekly Zoom Bible studies, we get to hear how the Lord is building His Church in incredibly difficult places and situations. A few highlights:

• A brother in South Asia has led six or seven Afghans to the Lord in just the past few months, and in addition to the house church in his city, he has brought many into our Zoom groups so we can work together in their discipleship.
• In the past 15 months, alongside my incredible Zoom team of Afghan believers, we have had the joy of seeing a new Afghan house church begin. They meet weekly at a brother’s house in Western Asia, and we Zoom in and have church together. They do more on their own. With eight new believers professing faith in the past year, the new church now has nine believers.
• Spinning off of that church, a brother in Western Asia, with great courage, has invited quite a few seekers to his home. Another believer and I teach them via Zoom once a week. This fall, four of these seekers have professed faith in Christ.
• When I was in Central Asia with my son last summer, we were shocked at how many Afghans would come and eagerly participate in outreach events organized for us by our Afghan brothers and sisters in each city. One highlight was seeing about 50 Afghans come to a picnic outreach. Remembering how, years ago in this same region, I would have been overjoyed to see two Afghans at such an event, getting to share the gospel with 50 at a picnic didn’t seem real. And a month after returning to the U.S., a local brother told me three from that picnic had come to faith, been baptized and were now part of his house church.
• Recently, an Afghan sister in South Asia connected us with an Afghan woman she recently led to the Lord. This new believer wants to join us on Zoom for further discipleship.

That is at least 22 new Afghan believers in the past 15 months. And it’s not an exhaustive list. Those are just ones we know more about, and there are many other Afghan brothers and sisters in our online community who are faithfully sharing the gospel. Sometimes I get a broader glimpse on trips and visits, such as when a pastor in the South shared he has baptized three new Afghan believers this fall, compared to zero in the previous three years of full-time ministry. Praise God! We too knew the longing of lean years here in the Midwest, when we just kept praying the Lord would establish an Afghan church. But hearing from this pastor gives us great hope, as it is yet another place where the momentum is increasing!

Remembering back to spiritually dry years in Central Asia or considering the heavy persecution Afghan believers endure everywhere from Kabul to Kentucky, our testimony now is that truly the Lord is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. His Kingdom is growing.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” - Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV