As the pastor’s wife listened, she was shocked. Hadn’t Communism shown its true face in Russia?  At least, she thought, these men could remain silent in their fear for their families, jobs and salaries.  But this flattery was tantamount to spitting in Jesus’ face!

She could tell that her husband was boiling inside.  So, she turned to him and said, “Will you not wash this shame from the face of Christ?”

“If I speak, you will lose a husband,” he replied.

“I don’t need a coward for a husband,” she answered. 

And with Sabina’s words ringing in his ears, advanced to the front of the auditorium and boldly testified to the truth of God’s Word, calling the Romanian church to renewed faithfulness to her Lord.  He became a marked man for having the courage to raise a voice against the prevailing attitude of compromise and accommodation that lured so many and proved so deadly for the church in Romania.

In the years that followed, both Richard and Sabina suffered terrible persecution for having the courage to remain true to Christ in a sea of godlessness (see Richard’s story In God’s Underground and Sabina’s in The Pastor’s Wife; both available for sale this month).  When Pastor Wurmbrand was finally released from prison in 1964 in a general amnesty, the opportunity arose to leave when friends in the West offered to ransom the family for $10,000.  The decision to leave Romania was difficult. Years earlier, after Richard’s courageous speech in 1945, they had struggled with whether to flee the country at that time.  They had decided to stay and never regretted that decision, even though it cost them dearly.  Twenty years later, they faced that decision again.

In his book, Tortured for Christ, Richard writes, “I would not have left Romania, despite the dangers, if the leaders of the Underground Church had not commanded me to use this opportunity to leave the country, to be the ‘voice’ of the Underground Church to the free world. They wished me to speak to you of the Western world on their behalf about their sufferings and needs. I came to the West, but my heart remained with them. I would never have left Romania if I had not understood the great necessity for you to hear of the sufferings and the courageous work of the Underground Church, but this is my mission.”

Voice of The Underground Church

And Richard Wurmbrand did speak! Despite the Communist threats and the criticism of some Western church leaders, he bore witness to the sufferings of those who endured a Communist hell and spoke of their overcoming faith.

Within his first year in the United States, Pastor Wurmbrand was detained twice for “disrupting” pro-Communist rallies. He was called to testify before the Senate, stripping to the waist to reveal the scars of eighteen embedded wounds from the frequent tortures. Some Christian leaders called him a lunatic; one who had lost his mind in the confines of a solitary prison cell. To others he became the “Iron Curtain Paul” or the “Voice of the Underground Church.” A reporter with the Philadelphia Herald said of Wurmbrand, “He stood in the midst of lions, but they could not devour him.”

In October 1967, with $100, an old typewriter, and 500 names and addresses, Richard Wurmbrand published the first issue of The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter. This small publication was dedicated to communicating the testimonies and trials facing our brothers and sisters in restricted nations worldwide.

This newsletter was like no other. Readers would write to the Wurmbrands appalled at the atrocities he described. “How could this be true?” they asked. Others said the newsletter gave them nightmares and asked not to receive it. But those who looked beyond the sufferings and tortures saw a beauty - a beauty in the hearts of men, women, and even children who refused to renounce Christ. Readers also witnessed a living faith that enabled men like Pastor Wurmbrand to “kiss the bars” of their prison cell, to rejoice in the fellowship of Christ’s suffering.

Yes, it was important to the Wurmbrands that Christians in the West provide assistance to their persecuted brothers and sisters. Bibles, Christian literature, funds to help the families of martyrs or those whose father and/or mother was in prison for their faith, and radio broadcasts with solid biblical teaching for those cut off from such spiritual nourishment were the major projects in the early days of The Voice of the Martyrs.

But Pastor Wurmbrand never forgot the mandate that he had been given by the Persecuted Church; to raise a voice on their behalf!  Early editions of the newsletters show how the mission would purchase signs on public transit buses calling for people to remember the persecuted.  Protests would be organized at pro-Communist rallies.  Lobbying and meetings with government leaders were pursued.  Films were produced, documenting the persecution facing Christians behind the Iron Curtain.  Books and reports were published.  When the mission formalized its five main purposes, one of them read, “To emphasize the fellowship of all believers by informing the world of atrocities committed against Christians and remembering their courage and faith.”  Pastor Wurmbrand knew that ministry to the Persecuted Church meant that funds needed to be spent in Canada raising a voice on their behalf.  These were not “administrative costs.”  These were funds used for true ministry; ministry that the persecuted had expressed a need for. “Don’t let us be forgotten” was their cry.

A Biblical Mandate

Proverbs 29:7 asserts, “A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.” In Proverbs 31:4,5 kings and leaders are instructed to remain sober “lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.” And in 31:8,9 we read: “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

The Old Testament is replete with instruction on how society is obligated under the governance of God to treat its weakest, most defenseless members. Compassion is the claim that the weaker members of society have on the stronger for practical help, defense, and justice. These rights are instituted by God and possessed by all who are created in His image.

As members of God’s family, we have assurance from the Word of God that we are not forgotten by Him. God has covenanted with us never to leave or forsake us; He has bound Himself to us. As recipients of such grace, we are expected to demonstrate it to others, as we bind ourselves to them. It is bound up in the law of God to love our neighbour as ourselves, to do no harm. God’s love is expressed by His people as we demonstrate His love (which He has lavished on us) to others by upholding and vigorously promoting their God-given rights to respectful treatment as bearers of the image of God.

Raising A Voice Today

In obedience to this biblical mandate, The Voice of the Martyrs today continues the legacy of Pastor Wurmbrand in raising a voice for persecuted Christians around the world.  It is sometimes hard for Christians in Canada to understand that persecuted Christians do not want us to send all of our funds directly overseas!  They urge us to publicize their plight, to tell their stories, to urge governments to intervene on their behalf, and to share their prayer requests with Christians in Canada.  One of our core values as a mission is to serve the Persecuted Church according to their wishes and needs, and not according to our own predetermined strategies. 

A few years ago, I was invited to speak at a conference in Cali, Colombia.  While there, I met with the families of thirty- two Christians who were among 180 kidnapped on May 30, 1999 by the guerrillas of the ELN who attacked a church during a prayer service and took the entire congregation hostage.  In the days following, the guerrillas released the elderly, weak, and sick, but thirty two were kept as hostages.  Their location was unknown to their families.  Their government seemed impotent to help them.  With tears in their eyes, they told me how the children of two families had been left totally alone, as their parents were being held hostage. Other hostages had chronic health problems that needed monitoring.  One by one, these dear people put a story to the names and faces of the hostages.  They begged for our help in alerting the world to the plight of their loved ones.  They felt that the world had forgotten them.  How grateful they were when I prayed for them before I left.

Immediately on my return, we began to publicize their plight through our email news and prayer service, The Persecution and Prayer Alert.  What happened next was nothing short of miraculous.  When I had visited with the families of the hostages, the situation was one of despair as they had not heard from their families for almost three months.  But when God’s people began to pray, the hostages began to be released almost immediately!  Within two weeks, seven hostages were released.  By early November, 26 were released.   A month later, all 39 were back with their families! 

Two years ago, a team from The Voice of the Martyrs visited Eritrea, one of the most religiously oppressive countries in the world.  “Please tell the world,” was a plea we heard from the believers there. An Eritrean pastor who is no longer allowed to return to his homeland told us recently that it was essential for The Voice of the Martyrs to raise awareness of the plight of Christians there.  “The government in Eritrea really believes that they can do whatever they want,” he said.  “International pressure is needed to bring pressure on them to improve how they treat Christians.”  “More than anything, the persecuted saints in Eritrea need our prayers,” another Eritrean church leader has told us.  “Hence, raising a voice for our brethren there will hopefully inspire more Canadian saints to pray fervently for these precious believers who are walking under the shadow of the cross for the sake of Christ.”

In nearby Islamic Egypt, Brother David told us, “It is very important for The Voice of the Martyrs to be a voice for persecuted Christians in Egypt because the government seeks to isolate the Christians from contacting the believers from the rest of the world.  Egyptian Christians have no access to the media in order to contact the world outside Egypt.  Without such help, no one in the world would hear their cry.”

One of our key partners in Asia is the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka.  During one of my first visits to Sri Lanka a few years ago, I was visiting the staff of the NCEASL as they shared how Christians in their island nation were facing increasing violence at the hands of militant Buddhists.  I mentioned to their director, Godfrey Yogarajah, that the world had not heard very much of this.  He agreed, saying that the problem was that they did not have the resources to hire a human rights lawyer who could document and publicize cases of persecution.  The Voice of the Martyrs agreed to supply the necessary funding and only just in time.  Within months, violence against Christians exploded in Sri Lanka.  Thanks to support from Canadian donors, the world was alerted to this crisis and prayer and advocacy work was possible.  Two years ago, we produced the video documentary Faith Under Fire: Sri Lanka which was shown last year at the United Nations Human Rights Commission meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, as proof of the persecution facing Christians in this south Asian nation.  Many non-governmental organizations asked for their own copies afterwards.

According to Godfrey Yogarajah, “The Protestant Christian community in Sri Lanka is less than one percent of the Sri Lankan population and is a negligible persecuted minority. VOM is the voice of this voiceless people, giving hope to the hopeless, healing the brokenhearted, preaching deliverance to the captives and setting at liberty those who are bruised. It is only international pressure that keeps the Buddhist extremist from completely negating the rights of this small Christian minority.”

Just as Richard Wurmbrand left Romania at the command of underground church leaders to be their voice, we are fulfilling the command of today’s Persecuted Church as we share their stories in our monthly newsletter, in books, on the Internet or through television and radio.   Some think that monies spend in this way are “administrative” expenses or not real ministry to the persecuted.  They want all of their donations to go strictly to overseas projects.  Of course, we honour such requests, each and every time.  We are also thankful to the many of you who faithfully support our ministry through gifts to our Raising a Voice Fund or by making undesignated gifts. While most of the donations received by our mission do, indeed, go to supporting our ministries outside of Canada, your donations also help us to fulfill the cry of the persecuted and the biblical mandate to defend the defenseless and speak for those who suffer in silence. What some call “administrative expenses”, persecuted Christians call ministry.