One of the most criminally underreported phenomena in recent years has been the persecution of Christians, particularly at the hands of Muslims. On today’s episode of Faith All Over the Place, my friend, colleague, and partner in podcasting excellence, Stephen Kruiser, and I spoke with Joshua Youssef, the founder of one of the most important ministries in today’s world, Help the Persecuted.
Josh is a fellow Georgia boy, although his arrival in the South came via a Coptic Christian family by way of Australia, and he grew up in a Christian home. A near-death experience while he was at Auburn University (I’ll forgive him for that, Go Dawgs) led him to take his relationship with Jesus seriously.
Help the Persecuted began after Josh took a trip to Egypt, during which the suffering of Christians there led him to ask himself, “What would you do for Jesus if you were faced with death?” Working with those who are persevering in the midst of suffering made him realize how important it is to assist these believers in surviving and thriving in adversity.
Josh told us about how his passion for Middle Eastern ministry led him to focus on the plight of persecuted believers in majority-Muslim countries. Christian converts in Muslim nations face shunning — even in secular families — “civic death” (ostracization in society), and physical harm.
Islamic countries and the Middle East in general operate through the lens of an honor-shame culture. Conversion to Christianity is apostasy to Islam; therefore, converts bring shame on their family and society at large.
Josh explained to us that each Muslim nation is different. Some countries have above-ground churches that operate freely or with governmental blessing. Others allow expats and cradle Christians to worship freely, but not converts. Still others have no overt Christian presence at all. This means that the work that Help the Persecuted does is different in every country the ministry touches.
We got to hear some incredible, inspiring stories of what Help the Persecuted is doing. In many places, the work that Help the Persecuted does is clandestine, and its staff and volunteers find themselves in harm’s way on a regular basis. But the stories are inspiring, and they remind us of the early days of the church in the book of Acts.
This is one of the most important episodes we’ve done, and that’s not hyperbole. I hope this conversation will be as rewarding for you as it was for Kruiser and me. We also hope to have Josh on again soon.
Previously on Faith All Over the Place, Episode 35: Praying for the Greatest Nation on Earth With Ashley McCully
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