The Rev. Shah Ahmadi, an evangelist, pastor, and the director of strategic alliances for Iran Alive Ministries, grew up in Iran and lived under its repressive regime for 22 years.
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He recently told CBN News about his upbringing and his eventual decision to flee Iran for the U.S.
“When I was age 8, my dad took me to the mosque, so I start learning about Islam because of my dad,” he said, noting his father, who has since become a Christian, was once a devout Muslim. “He took me to there because, in Iran, [the] only religion you can practice is Islam.”
By age 13, Ahmadi was memorizing the Koran. He eventually earned a degree in survey engineering — and became one of the top engineers in the country. With this position came prestige and a life he loved.
But that eventually came to an end.
Ahmadi worked at a petrochemical factory and came under the Iranian government’s crosshairs after reportedly witnessing a secretive government installation. Suddenly, he was being investigated, and interrogated, and asked if he had a connection with Israel or America.
“We said, ‘No, no, no. I have nothing to do with them,'” he recalled, noting he soon was warned that he would be killed if he didn’t flee the nation. “I couldn’t say ‘Bye’ to my family, my mom and my dad, and this was hardest part of my life.”
Ahmadi continued, “I had to escape illegally from Iran because, if I go through the border, they would arrest me. So there was a wintertime in our area … There’s a lot of snow. So I had to pass the mountain between Iran and Turkey border.”
A smuggler took Ahmadi and other strangers accompanying him on the difficult journey.
“That was like hardest, hardest part of my life,” he said. “I’m just running for my life and the fear, and … I don’t know [if] I’m gonna be die. I don’t know the area.”
Once in Turkey, Ahmadi had to figure out who he could trust. With Iranian agents purportedly operating inside Turkey, he wasn’t sure who would be safe to confide in.
“That’s when I start drinking, smoking because I looked at the world, how they are getting satisfied, how they are overcoming the pain, the loss I had,” he said. “God — Islam didn’t answer me.”
At that point, praying and fasting in the Islamic tradition simply didn’t help him find his footing. Eventually, Ahmadi made his way to England, where he continued to party and live a life gratifying himself — until someone presented him with the Gospel message.
“Someone approached me [with] simple words [and] said, ‘Do you know Jesus loves you?'” he recalled. “And by that time I felt I’m [a] sinner because I was drinking [and] all this party stuff. In Islam, if you do good, God loves you. If you do bad, God hates you.”
But this individual’s message about Jesus was different.
“He said, ‘Come to him as you are. He loves you as you are. He will wash you clean,'” Ahmadi recalled.
After attending a few worship services, he said “God touched” his heart, and that his heart and mind began to shift and change.
“The peace I received I never had before,” Ahmadi said. “The presence of God came like rain from top of my head to all of my body. I asked God, ‘Would you show me again if this is you?'”
He continued, noting he was touched by the presence of the Lord.
“I was crying and weeping like a baby,” Ahmadi said. “And from that point, my life started changing. I start comparing Bible with Koran for eight months, page to page.”
Being outside Iran allowed for him to more easily find the Lord. After his conversion, he was taught that people embracing the Gospel must be “ready to take your cross,” as persecution often follows.
Interestingly, though, many of Ahmadi’s family members found Jesus.
“One by one, they came to Christ,” he said. “Eight of my family came through dreams and visions Jesus appeared to them inside Iran in different timelines.”
Ahmadi continued, “I brought my mom, and my dad, and the 20 people from my family members to Turkey in 2016. Again, amazing friend of mine … from America. … He was sharing his testimony about how he need to forgive drunk driver who killed his boy, and my dad was crying and weeping. He gave his life over there.”
While some of Ahmadi’s family members were initially targeting his newfound beliefs, he said he now has 32 family members who are part of the underground church in Iran — something that requires intense devotion to the Lord, as it can come with great risk.
Becoming a Christian inside Iran can usher in true chaos and danger, especially if one serves as a pastor or a faith leader who evangelizes others and brings them to Christ.
“If they attend the house church, they could end up to 5 to 10 years in prison,” he said. “If they get baptized, they go to prison for 12 to 13 years. If they baptize someone, my goodness, that goes in prison.”
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