Iranians want freedom as radical Islam restricts many

Iran (MNN) — The death toll is expected to climb to 900 in the aftermath of the earthquake in Iran. The quake which measured 6.4 on the Richter scale caused many homes, made out of dried mud, to collapse, trapping many. The quake has just added to the depression faced by many in this Islamic Republic, says Sammy Tippit Ministries .

American evangelist Sammy Tippit is producing Christian television programming in the Farsi language, which is appealing to many Iranians. Tippit says, “In all of the Islamic World, Iran perhaps is the most open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The people there are tired of the strict form of Islam. They’re searching for answers, (and) they’re looking for hope.”

What’s surprising about Iran is that many Christians credit the Ayatollah Khomeini for the interest. Tippit says an Iranian pastor in the U-S told him the same thing. “He said, ‘well, he showed us what Islam is really like and the people have rejected it. For instance there was a bill in the parliament being debated just recently about what kind of clothing men could wear.”

According to Tippit his television broadcast is reaching those who wouldn’t typically listen to a Christian message. “This broadcast is listened to by many people in the Mujadin. In fact, we received a call one day out of the clear blue from a lady and she had given her heart to Christ and her husband was a part of the Mujadin and she was asking us to pray that her husband would come to know Christ.”

Prayer is also needed for Sammy Tippit Ministries because they’re changing the format of their program. “65 percent of the population in Iran (is) under the age of 35. So, we’re going to a station that’s reaching predominately young people. And, we really need your prayers in fact, we’re going to a more informal format. We’re going to be talking about a lot of the subjects that young people are dealing with.”

Funding is needed. $300 is the air time cost for each broadcast, which is produced with Iranians in the United States. Funding is also needed to help disciple new believers.