ABOUT

SMRC was founded in 2019 and became an independent, non-governmental organisation and began its formal ministry, although this was preceded by more than fifteen years of work in the field by founder members.

Who we are

SMRC (Serving a Multiplying and Resilient Church) is a non-profit organisation based in London, dedicated to inspiring, training and developing the skills of those who feel ready to take responsibility as leaders – leaders of home groups, worship services, leadership teams and ministries in their home country. Our vision is to develop and inspire missional disciples through our program of pastoral care and training to support and equip Christians to be witnesses for Christ.

OUR VISION

Support and equip Christians to be witnesses for Christ and leaders of His church.

WHAT WE DO

Investing in growing as Missional Disciples

As a Christian organisation, we are committed to making what God has given us available to others. We equip leaders and emergent leaders through conferences, lectures, pastoral care and training events. We design and produce teaching and discipleship resources to strengthen all church members. The spiritual and doctrinal roots of our ministry are in the inspired and infallible Scriptures of the Holy Bible.

Our mission

A community of missional disciples seeking to love God and Love each other; influencing our community, country, and nation with the love of Jesus that we might see His kingdom come.

why we exist

We know that Christianity has a long history and deep roots in Iran. Its presence on Iranian soil dates back to the third century A.D., possibly even earlier.

According to Iran’s constitution, some traditional Christian groups may practice their faith and organise family law matters within their church community. However, this does not apply to people who have converted from Islam to Christianity. Apostasy from Islam is forbidden and punishable in Iran. Previously, and under certain conditions, the government has nevertheless tolerated the existence of Protestant church communities where many members were converts of Muslim background.

Between 2009 and 2013, however, almost all of these churches were closed by the authorities (hereafter referred to as convert churches). This means that Christian converts today must practise their faith in private homes and via the Internet and social media, which the government can react against as illegally organised activity.

Churches have been closed down, the Bible in Persian banned, Christian leaders murdered, and hundreds of women and men sent to jail and forced into exile. This has been part of the Islamic Republic’s policy with the aim of eradicating Muslim converts and Persian-speaking churches in Iran. Despite this situation, we can witness the birth of a new Christian minority in Iranian society, beyond ethnic lines and despite harsh persecution.

The non-governmental organisation, Open Doors, estimates that in the top 10 countries on their World Watch List for 2024, 365 million Christians are persecuted for their religious beliefs, compared to 245 million in 2019. The level of persecution of Christians in some of these countries was ranked as ‘extreme’.

In its 2020 report, 11 countries fall into that category. In the last year, they estimate that attacks on churches have risen 500%, from 1,847 in 2019 to 9,488 in 2020. Iran has risen to eighth place in the latest annual listing of the 50 countries in which the persecution of Christians is most prevalent.

Our concern as a Christian organisation is to mobilise our brothers and sisters against their ongoing incarceration and equip them to be witnesses for Christ and leaders of His church.

SMRC began its formal ministry in 2019, although this was preceded by more than fifteen years of work in the field by founder members. Its primary mission is to support persecuted churches. SMRC Ministries is among the organisations which have committed to practise the habits of multiplicative disciple-making, a ministry focusing on church-planting and discipleship.

We will continue to take action, both unilaterally and with other Christian communities, to support Christians and improve their situation.

What we are doing

Watch the video:

Core Strategy

· Building communities of disciples to transform the Persian-speaking world for Christ.

· Working relationally through coaches, mentors, spiritual directors and counsellors.

· Resourcing the networks of churches through education and development.

· Conferences to equip and empower mature and emerging leaders in neutral countries.

· Collaborative working with key partners enables us to achieve far more than we could alone.

· Dependence on the Lord - Prayer underpins all we do.

Statement of Faith

Truth cannot be legislated nor reduced to a formula, and it cannot be perpetuated on paper. The Lord Jesus Christ said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". John 14:6. The Truth is a Person, Jesus Christ Himself, "the same yesterday, today, and forever". He is the sum total of all Truth, from the eternal ages of the past into the eternal ages of the future, unchanging and unchangeable.

We believe that there is only one true God eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19, Deut. 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14

We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, trustworthy and true, without error, Word of God. We believe that the great moments of God’s revelation and communication of Himself to men are recorded and interpreted in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21.

We believe Jesus Christ is God, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His death that paid for our sin through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension/rising up to the right hand of the Father and in His personal return in power and glory. We believe Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man, and through Whose shed blood and through faith in Whom alone, by grace, we receive the forgiveness of our sins. Acts 20:28; Romans 5:8-9; Ephesians 1:6-7.

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, who lives within and guides Christians so they are enabled to live godly lives. John 14:15-26; John 16:5-16; Ephesians 1:13-14.

We believe that God has given to us eternal life and that this life is in His Son: that being reconciled to God by His substitutionary Death, much more, we are to be saved and empowered by Christ's indwelling, Resurrection Life; that without Christ we can do nothing of any abiding worth. Romans 5:10; Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 12:9; John 15:5.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again in Person to this earth, in visible, bodily form to receive His own, and that by Him God will judge the world in righteousness. Acts 1:11 and 17:30-31; I Thessalonians 4:16-18; Luke 21:24-27.

We believe that God created all human beings in His image. Therefore, we believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end; that we must honor the physical and spiritual needs of all people; following Christ’s example, we believe that every person should be treated with love, dignity and respect. Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 49:1; Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 12:20-21.

We believe The Lord Jesus Christ commanded all believers to proclaim the gospel throughout the world and to disciple people from every nation. Colossians 1:24-29 and Matthew 28:18-20.