Iran Government Closes Evangelical Church - Nine Detained

Petite, et dabitur vobis; quaerite et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis. (Matthew 7:7)

Worthy News reports an evangelical Pastor and eight other Christians were behind bars in Iran Friday, February 26, after authorities closed their Church.

This is seen as part of a new government crackdown on devoted Christians in the Islamic nation, rights investigators said.

Reverend Wilson Issavi and the other believers were arrested by Iranian state security agents in the city of Isfahan.

The city lies some 340 kilometers (212 miles) south of the capital Tehran, explained Jeff King, President of advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC).

King explained: "Issavi was visiting a friend's home in Shahin Shahr in Isfahan when state security raided the house unannounced".

King explained: "Reverend Issavi, his hosts and others were apprehended by the security agents and immediately taken to prison".

King said: "Friends and family are deeply concerned as they are unable to contact Reverend Issavi".

King did not reveal the names and whereabouts of the eight Christians detained with the Pastor, citing security concerns.

He said the location and physical condition of the nine Christians is unknown.

The ICC official described the arrest of Issavi as a "devastating blow" to Iran's Christian community.

He said: "Reverend Issavi is known among friends as a humble and devoted servant of the Church".

He continued saying Issavi is considered a man of prayer who has lived a modest life to better assist those in need.

King said the arrests came after the government closed Issavi's Church, the Evangelical Church of Kermanshah, on January 2.

King continued: "Before its closure, the Evangelical Church of Kermanshah was among the few remaining open Churches in the country".

Elam Ministries, an organization supporting Churches in Iran, has linked the crackdown on Christians to concern among Iran's leaders about the spread of Christianity in the Islamic nation.

The group said: "Because Iran is a strategic gateway nation, the growing Church in Iran will impact Muslim nations across the Islamic world".

The group said recently that in 1979, there were less than 500 known Christians from a Muslim background in Iran.

The group said: "Today the most conservative estimate is that there are at least 100.000 believers in the nation".

Ahmadinejad reportedly has vowed : "I will stop Christianity in this country".

But nothing can stop Christianity from spreading and God's plan for Iran.

"Haec autem omnia initia sunt dolorum", Matthew 24:8.