Thousands of Christians are secretly worshiping in Iran as
part of a house church movement in the country.
The Iranian government considers Christianity a threat to
Islam. However, Open Doors USA estimates that as many as 450,000 Christians are
in Iran. Others estimate there are more than 1 million practicing Christians in
the country.
According to the Christian Post, a London-based theological
center is training Christian leaders in Iran.
Some 200 Iranian Christians are being trained by the
London-based Pars Theological Centre to
become Christian leaders of the house
church movement.
"Pars sees this as a real chance to train agents of
change who would transform the Iranian society from the bottom up by fostering
a grassroots development of the values of Jesus in an Iranian style," a
source with the center said.
“It is not anti-Iranian," the source said. "It's
an Iranian movement. It's a great, great number of Muslims turning to
Christ."
About four or five Christians are part of each house church.
They change the place of meeting each time.
"If they want to sing, they have to sing very quietly
or not sing at all," the source said.
The Pars program can take up to three years to complete.
Students are taught Christian themes such as The Suffering Church,
Hermeneutics, Christian Counseling, Ministry and Teaching of Jesus, Christian
Ethics, The Triune God, and Apologetics.
Source: Christian Headlines
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