Naghmeh Abedini, whose husband Saaed is imprisoned in Iran, is interviewed by Nathan Lorick, evangelism director for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, during the SBTC’s evangelism conference. Photo by Allen Sutton/SBTC
Naghmeh Abedini, whose husband Saeed Abedini is imprisoned in an Iranian prison for sharing his Christian faith, expressed her passion — and her husband’s passion — for rescuing “that one sheep” with the Gospel during an evangelism conference, Feb. 23.
Naghmeh was one of the speakers at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Empower Conference at First Baptist Church (First Euless) in Euless, Texas.
During her message, she said the evening before she had joined a group from First Euless to share the Gospel at a handful of houses in the area. At one of the houses the group visited, a Muslim woman answered the door and told them her husband was at the mosque.
While some might assume the Muslim woman would not be interested in hearing about the Gospel, Naghmeh said the opposite was true.
“The Muslim was the most open person out of the five, six or seven houses we went to,” said Naghmeh, who converted to Christianity from Islam as a young girl and later served as a missionary to the Middle East. “There’s the harvest, but we’re not seeing it.”
She reminded conference attendees that Jesus did not say to pray for a harvest. The harvest is already there, she said. Instead, Jesus said to pray for laborers.
Naghmeh said Saeed has been a prolific witness for the Lord in the Iranian prison and has seen so many place their faith in Christ that officials have had to continually move him in hopes of keeping him quiet. Nothing they do or threaten, though, keeps Saeed from sharing the news that Naghmeh says changed her husband’s life.
“I’m proud of him,” Naghmeh said. “He knows that sharing the Gospel in the prison could cost him his life. In Iran the penalty of evangelism is death. Outside of his desire to see his babies and to see his wife and for his freedom, he desires that one more person would come to know Christ.
“As I was in the cold last night, I was thinking of all the things I have learned from Saeed and about the heart of God for that one sheep,” she said.
“I don’t care about having 30,000 in my church,” she noted. “I care about going after that one sheep.”
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: Baptist Press
Sharayah Colter/Southern Baptist TEXAN
