"Persecution is a 'normal' part of living as a disciple of Christ"

I received an email this weekend from a family member of a Christian worker who was brutally killed for his faith a few weeks ago. For this person's security, I won't say more than that. I was surprised to learn that he is working on translating my book, In the Shadow of the Cross: A Biblical Theology of Persecution and Discipleship and astounded when he wrote, "Working on the translation of your book helped me to be better prepared for what happened." He writes how he is living under continued threat himself and then says, "So I am even more convinced than before that your book is necessary to help the church see that persecution is a ‘normal' part of living as a disciple of Christ."

I was deeply touched by this and grateful to God for the privilege of serving Him in this way. It motivates me to continue my research in this subject and to work at making this teaching available to my brothers and sisters around the world. Already the book has been translated into Ukrainian, Russian, Dutch, Spanish, and Chinese. Ongoing or plans for future translations include Urdu, Turkish, Tamil, Singhalese, Tigrinya, German, Arabic, French, and Amharic. Between Bernie Daniel and myself, we plan to continue to take this teaching to leaders around the world, equipping others who will teach others what is means to be a cross-centred messenger of a cross-centred gospel. Pray that God would supply the strength, personnel, and the resources necessary to expand this vital part of our ministry here at VOM Canada. Pray too that God would open the doors to the right opportunities to train key leader worldwide. If you would like to know more about VOMC's educational training ministry called Via Crucis, click here.