VOM Tells Stories of Young Believers Who Stood for Their Faith
by Allie Martin
March 23, 2004
(AgapePress) - A Christian ministry that serves the persecuted Church is using the stories of young martyrs to encourage people to stand strong in their faith.Forever Young: Living and Dying for Christ is filled with stories of young Christian martyrs from the time of Christ to the present day. Compiled from the files of Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), the stories in the book are designed to inspire believers and build their faith.
Todd Nettleton of VOM says the stories in Forever Young show how young people from all over the world have laid down their lives for Christ throughout the centuries. "You don't have to be 60 years old and have been a Christian for 50 years in order to be willing to suffer for Christ. Even very young people who are sold out for Jesus Christ suffer for His name's sake," he says.
For instance, the book tells the story of Mary Khoury, who was only 17 when her Lebanese village was attacked by Islamic fanatics, At one point Khoury, whose parents had already been killed by the Muslim militants, found herself staring down the barrel of a gun and facing the decision to deny her faith in Christ or be killed.
Although some might not expect to find stories about people who die young encouraging, Nettleton says the true stories in the book are both challenging and uplifting and will encourage believers in their faith. "If you just think about the subject of martyrdom, and you think about people suffering, maybe your first response is 'I have enough suffering in my own life; I don't want to read a story about other people who are having hard times,'" he says.
"But, again," the VOM spokesman emphasizes, "this is an encouraging book because it shows how faithful the Lord is. It shows how He's able to keep us in tough situations, keep us in difficult circumstances, and not only keep us but build us up and encourage us and bless us."
Forever Young is a 200-page compendium of inspirational stories designed for youth but accessible to people of all ages, featuring stories of young people from all over the world who stood for Christ from Bible times to modern times. Available from VOM, the ministry offers the book in hopes that it will challenge believers to examine their hearts and develop a rock-solid faith.
