Pars Theological Center — May 2023 Update
Iran and the Iranian Diaspora
Pars Theological Center was founded in 2010 by an interdenominational team of Iranian leaders, pastors, theologians, and counselors who dreamed of a hub for biblical, holistic, and contextual leadership training. Pars is currently training over five hundred students in a secure online learning environment. The students participate in a series of required in-person student conferences throughout the year, held around the world. The team at Pars Theological Center (Pars = Persian), under the direction of Rev. Dr. Mehrdad Fatehi, pictured right, has committed itself to be the premier resource for equipping church leaders in the Persian-speaking world both in and outside of Iran.
Pars Student Spotlight
Reza became a Christian in 2004 when he learned about Jesus through his father. When his father initially shared the Gospel with him, Reza rejected it. However, he did not want to ignore his father, so he decided to do some more of his own research. He wanted to compare and contrast the Bible with the Koran. This took him about a year, and during this time of seeking, Reza had a dream. In his dream, there were two groups of angels, and they were singing, “Arise, this is the time to worship Jesus.” Jesus was standing between these two groups of angels. He reached out his hand and invited Reza to worship. Reza woke up from this dream with peace in his heart that Jesus is the true way.
As he became more active among underground house churches in Iran, Reza felt a longing to learn more about God’s word. In 2016, he heard about Pars from a fellow Christian brother within his underground house church network. Reza had hoped to enroll in a theological program but found it difficult to find one that went deep into Bible and theology but in a holistic way. Pars was an answer to prayer. When he learned about Pars, he knew that the quality of education was different from the other options presented to him.
When asked how the program at Pars is impacting him, he shares how it has helped him go deeper in his relationship with God by providing him with what he would describe as a fuller understanding of God. Instead of giving simple answers, the faculty pushes him to consider many different angles and to ask difficult questions about God in a safe environment. He recognizes that this is rare, especially to have teachers who walk alongside his personal journey of faith and learning. His favorite courses at Pars have been all the Old Testament classes.
Prayer Requests
· three students who were arrested and are awaiting trial and four students who have been sentenced by the courts
· many of our students inside Iran are working three to four jobs due to the dire financial and economic situation in the country — pray for God to provide for all their financial, health, and spiritual needs
· students in Turkey who as refugees face heavy financial pressure because of Turkey’s economic situation — some of our students are in danger of deportation and their situation is uncertain
· two of our Afghan students are also in financial distress due to the lack of employment in Afghanistan. There is a food shortage in the country as well. Our students have decided to remain in the country to continue serving with the remaining house churches in Afghanistan. Please pray for their safety as one of our students in Kabul has already had his home raided and was interrogated.
Read more about Pars Theological Center HERE.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts to support the mission and ministry of Pars Theological Center and multimedia theological training for the house church movement in Iran and the Persian-speaking diaspora. All gifts of any size are welcomed. Please designate gifts to Pars Theological Center. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.