Beauty from ashes in Armenia
January 07, 2019
If you hear beautiful rousing worship coming from a local church, it may be an Armenian fellowship. It was upon Armenian soil over 1,700 years ago that the first Christian nation was founded, and a cultural, colorful tradition continues today.
But the Armenian church’s beauty has grown from ashes. Just over 100 years ago, over 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by the “Young Turks.” First the intellectuals were killed, then the youth, and if you were a Christian and refused to denounce your faith in Jesus Christ in the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1915, you also were doomed to die.
The grief from this genocide galvanized the Armenian people’s identity to flourish and grow stronger. But even as strong as this nation’s connection with Christian history is, Bible reading is rare and a personal relationship with Jesus is not emphasized. That’s where Thru the Bible is having the most impact.
A listener named Batke writes,
“I wanted to know more about Jesus, but did not know how. Your program introduced me to the Bible and to my beloved Savior. Thank you from my depths.”
Pray for Armenian Christians to be a light to their Muslim neighbors and for forgiveness to be extended between Armenia and Turkey in the conflict that continues today. Pray for Armenian churches to look through tradition to find God’s Word as a path to life and peace and a way to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Join us tomorrow on World Prayer Today as we head to Kyrgyzstan.