“I was never really that religious,” says Arman Nassim. “Most young people in Iran just aren’t.”The Iranian teen speaks boldly as he explains the realities affecting his homeland also known as Persia and in the Bible, Elam.
Perhaps years of doctrine and forced religious practices have led many there to abandon the faith that was ultimately responsible in creating the 1979 Islamic Republic of Iran.
That’s how Arman sees it, and he describes himself as no different.
“When my family first moved to England, we were invited to go to church. No one objected, but I didn’t want to go. Then a few weeks later, the church invited me again, but this time to a picnic. That’s where I witnessed the kindness and love that the members showed each other. After the picnic, I started going to church.”
It wasn’t too much later that Arman accepted Christ into his life.
“I was the first person in my family to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. My sister and then my mother and father came to Christ, but I was the first,” he says with a smile.
So how has his life changed since becoming a follower of Jesus?
“I got healing after baptism,” he says. “One of my fingers was crooked following a futbol (Soccer in the U.S.) injury in Iran. Then one day during a prayer service, his finger was straight again. Arman believes God healed him and gives Him all the glory for it.
But it’s not just the physical that’s changed in his life.
“When I first came to England, I was afraid. Today, I’m not. I know Christ is with me and I have strength in that. My whole personality has changed. I can sleep at night. I speak better and my outlook is positive.”
Today, Arman believes God is using the tragedies of Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to build His church. “When I lived in Iran, I couldn’t learn about Christ. That’s changed since I’ve come here.”
Now Arman feels it’s his duty to share that hope with others. He’s recently produced a “music video” which he shared with friends in Iran that expresses God’s love for people through Jesus.
“I love music and eventually want to study it in university. But whatever the case, I will let God show me what He wants with my life. I used to worry about the future. I don’t anymore. I know God will direct me because He’ll already be there before me.”
Perhaps years of doctrine and forced religious practices have led many there to abandon the faith that was ultimately responsible in creating the 1979 Islamic Republic of Iran.
That’s how Arman sees it, and he describes himself as no different.
“When my family first moved to England, we were invited to go to church. No one objected, but I didn’t want to go. Then a few weeks later, the church invited me again, but this time to a picnic. That’s where I witnessed the kindness and love that the members showed each other. After the picnic, I started going to church.”
It wasn’t too much later that Arman accepted Christ into his life.
“I was the first person in my family to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. My sister and then my mother and father came to Christ, but I was the first,” he says with a smile.
So how has his life changed since becoming a follower of Jesus?
“I got healing after baptism,” he says. “One of my fingers was crooked following a futbol (Soccer in the U.S.) injury in Iran. Then one day during a prayer service, his finger was straight again. Arman believes God healed him and gives Him all the glory for it.
But it’s not just the physical that’s changed in his life.
“When I first came to England, I was afraid. Today, I’m not. I know Christ is with me and I have strength in that. My whole personality has changed. I can sleep at night. I speak better and my outlook is positive.”
Today, Arman believes God is using the tragedies of Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to build His church. “When I lived in Iran, I couldn’t learn about Christ. That’s changed since I’ve come here.”
Now Arman feels it’s his duty to share that hope with others. He’s recently produced a “music video” which he shared with friends in Iran that expresses God’s love for people through Jesus.
“I love music and eventually want to study it in university. But whatever the case, I will let God show me what He wants with my life. I used to worry about the future. I don’t anymore. I know God will direct me because He’ll already be there before me.”