GOD STORIES

An Egyptian mother was plunged into despair by her son’s sudden death. But in her darkest moments, Jesus comforted her in the most powerful way.

The Alze tribe live in an Asian country where few speak their language. They wondered how God could understand Alze, because no one else could.

After the disciples shared their personal testimonies for a while with a family in North India, the wife finally looked at her visitors and said, “You are outsiders. You’re not like me. Your words are no help to me.”

Mirna, an Egyptian woman, always struggled to have a relationship with God. She had to learn how to spend time with Him daily, to meditate on His Word and make time for worship. Now she shares, “I feel His light in the darkness, telling me to keep going.”

When the truth about Jesus grips a heart, it overflows and spreads to others. And even more lives are changed!

Noi was a practising Buddhist and animist, like many Shan people in Northern Thailand. She did not know this God that her daughter spoke of and could not take any chances of upsetting her idols.

A woman struggling with her husband’s addiction is a common story in today’s Iran, but all it took for Sahar and Peyman was a shared taxi ride and a faithful Christian sharing the Good News with those around her.

Mary-Vonn had always had a love-hate relationship with the Catholic Church. She always seemed withdrawn and preoccupied. But one day she showed up at church and her eyes sparkled, her countenance had brightened and she radiated joy!

Where does a person in Libya find the life-saving message of the Gospel that Christians have? Reem had a long journey to finding and understanding the message of salvation, but she did not give up.

Church planting in a Buddhist country is no easier than anywhere else religious intolerance raises its head.

Zahid was a student of a great sheikh. But in his mind, he had many doubts about a lot of things in Islam – especially the hadiths, which are the sayings and actions of Mohammed the prophet.

When they approached a building with a fluorescent cross on it, Halima thought they were going to a Red Cross centre. What she heard inside changed her entire life!

“The love of Christ was planted in me since I was little,” Nisreen says. “Later in life when my children got sick, I went to the church and prayed for them, they would get healed. ” It’s difficult to overstate how odd this is for many families in Syria.

The more Hady studied Islam, the more his eyes were opened to issues that disturbed his beliefs. But as a respected imam, he was not meant to have questions about his faith and he felt unable to share his confusion with anyone.

A group of European women discovered that there were many ways to see a Disciple-Making Movement (DMM). Jesus would build one through each of their unique gifts.

When we pray for people around the world to find faith in Jesus, God answers our prayers in miraculous ways. One such example is Malik’s story.

Olya and Lira found hope and healing in Prague—with a surprise ending that only God could have orchestrated.

Night-soil pit duty was the most difficult task in prison. Brother Zang had to walk into this disease-ridden mess to remove it. This tremendous spiritual challenge brought great blessings, which he never thought possible.

When Andriana learned that the Scamporlinos were Christians who had come to her town to start a church, her eyes lit up. “What, really? I’ve been searching for a church!”

As the Buddhist monks learned about Jesus, they said: “Well, somebody has to be wrong here. Either Buddha is god or Jesus”. They wanted to test and see who really was God.

Throughout the Bible, God reveals that He is always in control over His vast universe and even our seemingly insignificant lives. Here is a true-life story from a member of the Persecuted Church.

Mila says, “I always wanted to have a relationship with God.” But circumstances made her believe that there was no God, so no one could judge her. Until, at her lowest point, she remembered someone told her that she could have a relationship with God through Jesus.

One morning at the YWAM Multipliers Global meeting I sat next to my Sudanese friend and fellow YWAM-FM co-worker, Kris*. The time came to help those of us desiring to see more healings when we pray for people. This was my desire.

Raised in a Jewish home, the name of Jesus was forbidden unless it was used in vain, which was often. But God was in relentless pursuit of Ron’s heart.

Despite faithful efforts to convey the good news of Jesus to Patrin, the Albanian remained drawn to his drinking buddies and a life of worldly pursuits. “Your words used to go in one ear and out the other…”

They noticed when they would get a good report from the doctor, people would say, “Praise God.” But when they got a bad report, often people would respond, “We’ll keep praying.” Gary and Susan understood God to be in both situations.

El Gasim was surely staring death in the eye. The pastor told him Paul and Silas’ story, reminding him that he wasn’t the first to be beaten and chained for the sake of Christ. They prayed together, earnestly seeking God’s will.

Watch this incredible story of a former IRA member from Belfast whose life takes an unexpected turn in a French prison.

Pastor Asheesh and his JESUS-film team were forced to leave the village in India. But days later, the chief called them back with a special request.

In his heart, Wesley from Uganda felt that jihad was wrong. “We said we are holier than Christians and we are fighting a jihad”. But his heart would remain with sorrow.

Aisha wanted to know more about Christian beliefs. Determined, she searched on social media to see what she could find. She thought that she could keep all this a secret, but a coworker found her Bible.

Bonnie Barnett walked through the church doors every Sunday, sat next to her father, listened to the sermon, and walked out unchanged. “I walked out unchanged because the Bible was never presented, and the Gospel was never proclaimed”.

An Iranian couple who fled economic hardship and violence were taken hostage by their ‘guides’ (human smugglers), but God had a plan to bring them to Himself.

“It would be so easy just to end it all right here and now,” he said to himself. He sat on the bed, pulled out the handgun, and dropped a bullet into the chamber.

Driven by starvation, Odo made the extremely dangerous, illegal crossing into a neighbouring country in East Asia to look for food. What he found there satisfied more than just his physical hunger!

He grew up in Neak Loeung, Cambodia. He hated Christians, but he had always dreamed of playing guitar someday. So, he decided to go to the music class, despite the believers!

In 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft with its three-man crew became the first manned spacecraft to leave the earth’s orbit. But what message could they share that might help unite a world that had become divided in so many ways?

Obadiah fled with his family from Ethiopia to Israel because of the way they were treated as Jews in Ethiopia. But he never expected anyone in Israel to talk about Jesus!

When Taleb read the Bible, he felt a profound difference. He had read the entire Qur’an several times, but never experienced the same sensation as when he read the Bible.

A Japanese man looked to Buddha during many difficult times in his life, but couldn’t find the salvation he was longing for. Then one day he bought a Bible and turned on his radio…

Habib asked his Christian friend, “What makes you treat me so kindly? You allow me to stay here for free. And I’m a Muslim, and you accept me as I am.” It did not make sense to him.

Things do not happen by chance. Even though a missionary couple could not see the big picture in the same way God was seeing it, by trusting Him with their future they were able to follow His lead.

Nigel Keur grew up in Cape Town, where he became immersed in a gang and got into trouble with the law. Despite having money and being able to afford many pleasantries, feelings of inadequacy kept flooding him. There was a void that he desperately wanted to fill.

Nabil and his family were refugees. He had a dream in which he was told, “A great sign—a beautiful message—is coming to you tomorrow. The sign is so great that it must be shared all over the world and with every person.”

Eric Liddell’s athletic achievement at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, was not his greatest life’s work. His race of faith – particularly in China – was his greatest work, and it was the most important to him.

Sports coach Dickens grew up in a slum on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. As his home life turned sour, he decided the streets were a better option for him. There he became a common thug and eventually a deadly criminal.

Marcelino is a member of the Sertanejo community in Brazil where most people are oral learners. As they listened to the audio Scriptures, something remarkable happened.

A sheikh from the local mosque issued a fatwa, a legal opinion from an Islamic religious leader, demanding that Haytham and Mary be expelled from the community they went to serve with the gospel.

Out of six months in prison, Nehad spent 55 days in solitary confinement. He regards them as the best days of his life because in that place he was comforted and knew the Lord.

For many years a Romanian believer was beaten twice a week by the secret police. It is easy to become bitter, but a true Christian always seeks another person’s highest good—even when mistreated.

Ellen told us she would pray for our ministry on the mission field. Ellen came and visited us in our new country four times. On each visit, she brought more people to come and pray in our Muslim neighbourhood.

Two very different women attended a bilingual women’s Bible study group in Europe and over time God changed both of them in ways that did not seem possible at the start.

Rashid had nothing for his children, not even bread. He remembered in the JESUS-film Jesus fed a crowd with fish and bread. So Rashid prayed under the stars. “God, I believe you fed the crowd. Would you please feed my family? I ask in Jesus’ name.”

A missionary to South Asia and his wife looked back on their 13 years there and didn’t think they had made any difference at all. That was until years later their daughter Jennifer shared what happened at the dentist’s office.

They had set up this film showing about the life of Isa (Jesus). Tariq wasn’t sure he could trust them, but he was curious. About 15 minutes into the movie, someone appeared on the screen he never expected to see.

He knows a lot of tricks the Muslims used to use to twist the truth of the Bible, but now he can defend the Gospel even better and help Muslims understand the eternal truth of God’s Word.

“Islam says that faith is the greatest,” Danyal comments, “but in the pages of the Quran I mostly encountered torment and fear.” Hearing that the New Testament puts love at the summit, Danyal wanted to read more about the Bible.

The world with its violence and aggression, its oppression of women, its sadness and loss were not how it had always been. There is a God who made the world beautiful and good. This news was water to the dry soil of Reshma’s heart.

Joshua’s life has been a constant stream of miracles where God accomplished the seemingly impossible.

After all the years of preparation and language learning by a missionary couple, they feared that they would fail to make it through more than a single day in the African desert.

If Jesus asks us to forgive our enemies, then it can be done.

We can all rejoice in understanding that God can bring forth fruit for eternity through our simple and unremarkable acts.

An unfamiliar man slipped into the room and sat on a bench at the back. Respect in this culture means handing the microphone to anyone with social standing. But who is this man?

“God gave His Son for me, and the Action Bible brought my son back to me!”

In a Bible study with Muslim women discussing the deity of Christ, Maryam asked, “But how can Jesus also be God?” The study leader suggested, “Maybe you should ask God to show you the truth of who Jesus is.”

Two men in north India found a family interested in hearing about the God who made the world. The meetings became regular. The neighbours began to notice and liked the stories too.

When we step out in faith and share God’s Word with others, change can happen.

Moon fought anyone and was afraid of no one. He even drank the blood of goats when they were butchered in the market. What kind of person was this? And what would become of him?

We know that God answers prayer and sometimes He answers quickly! What a privilege to witness how He purposefully connects us with the right person at the right time.

A house key in a fish’s belly became a key to the kingdom of God for a Muslim man in Liberia.

Everywhere she turned, Munmun felt like the evils of the world were trying to claw their way into her heart and her mind. She lived in this state for 10 years before the plight of her anxiety came to a head.

God values every person and can use unusual situations to reach people with His Gospel.

In a North African country God uses a multiplication strategy to build His kingdom.

A missionary “home” staff member had prayed many times for God to provide, but her funds were not growing fast enough. She believed, but her inner battle was doubting whether God would miraculously provide for her.

Aulton was placed in a cold, dark jail cell – completely alone, with no bright future. He didn’t know anything about Jesus and didn’t want to know anything. But in that moment in that cell, he said, “God, if You are real, come into my life.”

The love of a brother is a love many take for granted. Akshad would learn this heartbreaking reality in a bitter way.

Discover Navin’s dramatic story of healing from disability that changed him into a living testimony of Jesus’ message of hope and transformation.

Bira discovered that we can’t know everything. “There is no point asking ‘why’ because the whys become a mire in which we might drown. We should trust the Lord.”

Being a church-planter in India is risky, but Nadimah is so grateful for how God has impacted her life and how He is using her to share the Gospel, she is willing to accept the risks that come with it.

For Christians in West African countries like Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Ghana, forgiveness is hard and many have strained relationships. Yet God has forgiven us and calls followers of Jesus to do the same.

An Iranian woman confessed: “I read a copy of the Quran from cover to cover. When I finished, I closed it and decided there was nothing in this book for me. There is no hope and no love in this book.”

An Iranian man wanted the whole world to become Muslim, so he left Iran with a mission to convert Europeans.

Many years of prayers by a missions team for the gospel to reach a people group in die Middle East seemed unanswered, as they were not able to go to the group.

The Holy Spirit is the One who directs us to ask the right questions and He reveals the secrets of a person’s heart, so that the doors are opened for the gospel to be shared.

Mustafa began watching YouTube videos about inconsistencies and mistakes found in the Qur’an. He felt as if the scales had fallen from his eyes and that he was finally seeing things clearly.

Lauren had rolled out of bed without making coffee, eating breakfast or even opening her Bible. That morning she felt incredibly underprepared to share the gospel at the ministry event she was going to attend.

Disaster and difficulties left Baher heartbroken and full of bitterness, and made him turn away from God and the Church. He needed rescue in a hopeless situation.

A missionary prayed and a young man in Central Asia had a dream of being at the bottom of a pit unable to get out. God was at work.

Satabdi did not want to accept the New Testament handed out at her Hindi school. She did not feel she needed it, because as Hindus they had enough gods and goddesses. But when the New Testament was handed out again at a new school, she dared to take one.