“Iranian children right now are victims of their wider society and the struggles that their parents face,” says Silk. “There’s a lot of very serious economic hardship in Iran today, and that is affecting the adult population in their mental health. There are a lot of people turning to drugs and alcohol. There’s a lot of joblessness and struggling to put food on the table. So that worry and stress and struggle, of course, is going to permeate the whole household. And children are very helpless in these kinds of situations.”

The weight of these challenges increases for Christian children. In Open Doors’ World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution, Iran ranks #9.  According to Silk, Christian Iranians have needed to be even more cautious with their faith since the 12 Day War in June, which started when Israel launched targeted airstrikes in Tehran, dramatically escalating conflict within the Middle East.

“The government is really scrutinizing everything and desperately trying to weed out the Christians, and these children have been very careful at school to toe the line and keep up pretenses that they are sympathetic, at least, to the Muslim faith. So all of that carries its toll.”

And while Iranians are free to acknowledge Christmas as a “festival,” that doesn’t mean Christians are safe to celebrate the meaning behind the day.

“People can still decorate their homes and make a fuss of that time of year,” says Silk, “but as soon as you get into a truly Christian celebration of what happened 2000 years ago, then that’s all going to be kept quiet.”

She notes that Iranian children outside of Iran are mostly refugees, with their own set of challenges: “A lot of the issues they face really affect their sense of well-being, even mental health, depression, anxiety, panic attacks.” However, evangelism efforts are much less dangerous for Iranian refugees than for Christians living within Iran.

“We do a lot of that, particularly in Turkey, where we can gather other refugee Iranians who are all living a sort of bleak life at the time,” Silk says. “And so the Christian families can say our holy celebration is coming up. So it’s a great way just to gather a community, and of course, through that, then we get to bless these families, practically and spiritually, sharing truth.”

For all Iranian children—Christian or not, within Iran or in refugee regions—Transform Iran is working to share joy through Operation Christmas Joy, a six-week program where families gather and talk about Jesus and what Christmas means, culminating with a gift for each child that helps meet a practical need.

“We talk a lot about joy and peace and hope at Christmas time,” says Silk. “We thought, well, how do we share the gospel message with children and truly allow it to penetrate their lives so that it does birth joy in their hearts? We want them to be laughing again and dancing again and enjoying community.”

To learn more about partnering with Transform Iran this Christmas, visit their website.

Header photo courtesy of Transform Iran.

Beneath the conflicts and oppression Iran’s government is embroiled in, Lana Silk with Transform Iran wants you to see kids whom Jesus loves.

“When you talk about a young life with natural dreams, desires, wanting to express themselves, wanting to have a say over their own future and destiny, then the children are really suffering here because they are limited in all those options, especially if they are girls,” Silk explains. 

The Center for Human Rights in Iran released a November 20 report on what kids from Iran’s minority ethnic and religious groups endure. The report names poverty, abuse, child marriages, child labor and worse. 

In that sobering context, Transform Iran serves to spread the gospel among children in Iran and Afghanistan. Silk highlights the additional cultural pressure that Christian kids experience.

(Photo courtesy of Transform Iran)

“Imagine a child who knows Jesus. Their family might even be involved in the underground church. Now they’re in school, and they’re being invited into discussion on Islamic theology. They’re having to pray the namaz, the Islamic prayers,” Silk says.

“The whole time, they’ve got to be careful not to give away their faith or their parents’ faith, because the repercussions can be extremely serious.” 

Schooling in Iran is heavily Islamic. Christian parents have to help their kids navigate their only chance at an education. The conflicting messages are a lot for a child to sort through. 

“Think about 6, 7, 8, 9-year-old children saying, ‘Mom, why do I have to pray these prayers? Why do I have to learn all these things that I know are not true?’”

(Photo courtesy of Transform Iran)

Would you pray for the next generation of Iran and partner with Transform Iran to reach them? 

The ministry leads weekend outreaches to strengthen Christian kids and give them a community. It’s a space for them to come and “[learn] about prayer, about relationship with Jesus, about what he has to say about them, about identity, about how we make godly choices, all through interaction and play.” 

These outreaches are done in refugee communities outside of Iran as well as on a smaller scale within homes in Afghanistan and Iran. You can be part of it!

“Pray for them, pray informed — pray specifically about their needs,” Silk says, “Then help us to meet their needs. This Christmas, we are working hard to raise funds to reach 1,000 children of Iran, to strengthen them through these weekly outreach programs, to give them humanitarian aid where they need it, to give them resources.” 

Learn more about children of Iran and join this Operation Christmas Joy initiative at Transform Iran’s website.

Header photo of a boy in Tehran, Iran is a representative stock photo courtesy of Fateme Alaei via Unsplash.