Welcome to Prisoners of Hope, where we bring you powerful stories, urgent updates, and firsthand testimonies from persecuted Christians. Real faith. Real persecution...And a God who does the impossible every day. These voices from the frontlines of faith will revolutionize how you pray and show you what hope in Jesus really means.
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Iran hasn't left the headlines in over a year, and the pressure on its church has only intensified. In this episode, Dr. Sasan Tavassoli and Help the Persecuted field coordinator Qasem join host Joshua Youssef to give an on-the-ground account of a country caught between war, economic collapse, and a regime tightening its grip.
Almost five years after the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places on Earth to follow Jesus. In this episode, Joshua Youssef talks with two Field Ministers who live that pressure every day. Marjan shares the story of a young believer marked for death by his own father and brothers and of a grieving father who found new hope through our Enduring Livelihood Ministry. Timothy recounts sharing the Bible with Afghan refugees abroad, several of whom came to faith after years hiding a Bible they were too afraid to open under the Taliban. Show notes: Join our Prayer Net
What does it cost to follow Jesus in a country where converts are turned away from churches and worship must be kept to a whisper? Joshua Youssef sits down with Bassam, one of our Field Ministers in Morocco, who shares the night he came to faith in Jesus and how he now walks alongside believers who risk family, job, and freedom to remain steadfast in Christ. Show notes: • Discover the Steadfast Campaign: htp.org/steadfast • Give today: htp.org/donate
Yemen is the only country we serve where it is too dangerous to bring a believer who lives there onto the podcast, even with their voice disguised. This week, Joshua Youssef sits down with Saif, a coordinator who serves the Yemeni church from outside its borders, for a rare look at the Christians the world rarely sees: imprisoned, watched, and pressed on every side, yet remaining steadfast in Christ. Show notes: • Discover the Steadfast Campaign: htp.org/steadfast • Give today: htp.org/donate
Egypt is home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, yet for those who follow Christ out of a Muslim background, that faith can cost them their family, their livelihood, and even their lives. This week, Joshua Youssef sits down with Mark and Rami, two of our Field Ministers in Egypt, to talk about how they walk alongside believers who, in spite of overwhelming pressure, are remaining steadfast in Christ. Show notes: • Discover the Steadfast Campaign: htp.org/steadfast • Give today: htp.org/donate
What does it cost to follow Jesus in Iraq and Syria? This week, Joshua Youssef sits down with team leads Daniel and Nabeel, who share the testimonies that brought them to faith and the lives being changed around them through your generosity: a convert rebuilding through a small grocery shop, a family who found refuge in a new safe house, and believers who wait all year for the one gathering where they can worship Christ openly. Show notes: • Discover the Steadfast Campaign: htp.org/steadfast • Give today: htp.org/donate
In Libya, converts face death if discovered. This week, Joshua Youssef sits down with Aseel, one of our Field Ministers in Libya, for a conversation about ministry in one of the most closed countries on earth. Aseel shares the story of a South Sudanese couple kidnapped at knifepoint, a Libyan family hunted by their own nephew, and why our Emergency Relief Kits have become proof to scattered believers that they have not been forgotten. Show notes: • Discover the Steadfast Campaign: htp.org/steadfast • Give today: htp.org/donate
Christians in Pakistan live as a small minority in a country where a single blasphemy accusation can cost them a job, a community, or their lives. This week, Joshua Youssef sits down with Rachid and Farhan, two of our Field Ministers in Pakistan, to talk about how they get to minister to Christians, who, in spite of overwhelming pressure, are remaining steadfast in Christ. Show notes: • Discover the Steadfast Campaign: htp.org/steadfast • Give today: htp.org/donate
What does it look like to follow Christ where war has come to your doorstep and the harvest is right in front of you? In this week's episode, Joshua Youssef sits down with Pierre and Laila from our team in Lebanon. Both share the moments they moved from knowing about Christ to truly knowing Him. Hear stories of women who came to faith at great cost and of displaced Muslim families welcomed through the Matthew 25 Project, where hot meals, gospel literature, and conversations are opening doors no one expected. Show notes: • Discover the Steadfast Campaign: htp.org/steadfast • Give today: htp.org
For Iranian women who follow Jesus, persecution comes from every direction—the state, the family, the community. In this episode of Prisoners of Hope, our CEO, Joshua Youssef, talks with Shirin, who ministers to women in Iran through Help The Persecuted's online Pederaneh ministry. Shirin shares what daily life looks like for female converts: arrests, isolation, lost custody of children, and a legal system that doesn't value women. She also speaks about Mahsa Amini, the courage of Iranian women, and her own hope for a future Iran where women are seen through the eyes of dignity. Show notes: Di
In this week's episode, our CEO Joshua Youssef talks with our Field Minister Feruza, who serves in Uzbekistan and across Central Asia with her husband Jasur. She shares how she came to faith after watching the Jesus film on a borrowed VHS, what it's like to follow Christ in these former Soviet nations, and how we can be praying for believers there. Join our prayer network: htp.org/prayer Learn more about our work in these countries: htp.org/uzbekistan-and-tajikistan
In this podcast episode, our Field Minister Marjan shares how he came to faith, why he turned down an opportunity to flee to the United States, and what it's like worshiping Christ in the face of the constant threat of torture and death by the Taliban. Join our prayer network: htp.org/prayer Learn more about our work in Afghanistan: htp.org/afghanistan
He went to comfort a grieving community and nearly didn't come back. In the second episode of our Steadfast series on the Prisoners of Hope podcast, Dr. Gideon Para-Mallam us into the heart of Nigeria's Middle Belt, where Christians are being killed, kidnapped, and driven from their homes by Fulani militants and Boko Haram. From a man who lost 10 family members in a single attack, to a widow whose husband was killed just the day before, to 177 worshippers kidnapped from three church services on a single Sunday — Dr. Gideon shares what he's witnessed on the front lines of the most dangerous cou
He's lost count of how many converts call him "father." In this first episode of our Steadfast series on the Prisoners of Hope podcast, Salam, who serves in a closed country in the Middle East, opens up about the weight and the joy of ministering to former Muslims who have lost everything to follow Christ. From a tailor whose father-in-law tried to kill him, to a 10-year-old girl who wanted to join online church after her father was martyred, Salam shares stories that demonstrate what steadfastness looks like in some of the most dangerous places in the world to follow Jesus. Join our prayer ne
Iranian Christians Fares, Mahdi, Qasem, and Laith share firsthand accounts of the Iranian government's deadly crackdown on protesters, the resilience of the underground church, and what it means to be steadfast in faith when persecution and terror abound.
Joshua Youssef, CEO of Help The Persecuted, sits down with Field Ministers from Lebanon, Jordan, and Iran to talk about the unfolding conflict in the Middle East and how we can be praying. Give today to help persecuted Christians at: HTP.org/war
This week, Josh sits down with our Field Minister Salam to understand the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. This time of Islamic prayer and fasting can be especially dangerous for Christians in the Islamic World. So what is Ramadan, and how can we be praying this month for Muslims to come to faith in Jesus, and for Christians who find themselves in increased danger?
In this follow-up episode, we sit down with Dr. Sasan Tavassoli again who describes the developments from the past two weeks. He emphasizes the brutality of the Iranian Regime, explains the danger for persecuted Christians, and invites us to participate in a time of prayer and fasting for Iran February 6-8.
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Sasan Tavassoli—a former Shi'ite Muslim from Iran, ordained Presbyterian minister, and co-founder of Pars Theological Centre—to talk about current political upheaval shaking the nation and the explosive growth of Christianity in Iran.
As Syria's regime change continues to send waves of refugees into Lebanon, Field Ministers Pierre and Laila share stories from the frontlines of ministry—Christmas gatherings where Muslim children hear about Jesus for the first time, families fleeing persecution who find refuge in our safe houses, and the quiet miracles that keep hope alive in chaos. This is a conversation about courage and how God continues to mightily move in the Islamic World.
In our final episode of 2025, Joshua Youssef interviews our Field Ministers across the Islamic World to hear how they celebrate Christmas and how our Winter Relief Outreach is making a difference in thousands of people's lives as winter sets in. Aseel shares the dangers associated with celebration in Libya, where she could be arrested any moment. Qasem talks about what it was like celebrating Christmas in his home country of Iran for the first time as a Christian. Salam ends with a word of encouragement to remember persecuted Christians this time of year.
In this personal episode of Prisoners of Hope, Joshua Youssef sits down with his father, Dr. Michael Youssef—Egyptian-born theologian, founder of global ministry Leading the Way, and author of many books—for a conversation about the faith that has shaped the persecution of Christians for over 1,400 years. Drawing from his PhD research on radical Islamic movements, his own family's survival as Egyptian Christians, and his escape from Egypt during the Six-Day War, Dr. Youssef explains what Islam is and how it has shaped the Middle East. This episode also previews his forthcoming book, An Unholy
The Reverend Pat Allerton joined our team in Lebanon this summer to experience the work of our team firsthand. There, he visited safe houses, preached to Syrian refugees in our Haven, and helped in a vegetable distribution from our Seeds of Hope Farm! Most significantly, he joined our team in a local river to baptize over 40 refugees who have come to faith in Christ. Pat joins Joshua Youssef to talk about the trip and how it impacted him to spend time with people who have given up everything for the sake of Christ.
What does it look like when over 120 Muslim-background believers gather to celebrate Jesus—despite the threat of death? In this episode from the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted, Josh shares stories from his recent trip to Iraq: a descendant of Muhammad who returned to witness to the family that tried to kill him, a former ISIS child soldier who encountered Jesus through a TV film, and a radical Shia mother who saw Christ in a vision. These aren't victims—they're victors who've been redeemed from the hand of the foe. Plus, hear an update about Help The Persecuted's ministry...and
Leading up to the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted on November 2, Help the Persecuted CEO Joshua Youssef explores prayer's transformative power with Dr. Karen Ellis, director of the Edmiston Center for Christian Endurance Studies at Reformed Theological Seminary. Dr. Ellis shares how persecution differs from general suffering, the power of the Lord's Prayer to reorient us from self to kingdom, and why prayer unites one global church. Hear an astonishing revival story: eight churches "reduced to prayer" reached 250,000 homes and baptized 15,000 people in five years! Discover Jesus
