Nathan Rostampour expresses a heart for house churches. Among fellow Farsi speakers in his native Iran where he accepted Christ in secret, any outward display of salvation can be deadly.
Training new converts to plant secret house churches in religiously closed countries is his calling, using online platforms to first reach Farsi speakers in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. He hopes the model can be used in other countries suffering religious persecution.
Rostampour has found a partner in the Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., which he joined two years ago after immigrating to the U.S. in 2013 as a Christian refugee.
Now he hosts a weekly online Sunday church service on Instagram, produces a podcast, and offers free sermons, worship songs, discipleship and leadership training resources on his website and YouTube, all in Farsi. Instagram offers the only platform for fellowship that the Iranian government doesn’t block. For security, Rostampour uses only end-to-end encrypted programs, avoiding texts, phone calls and Facebook.
He has helped plant 14 secret house churches in six states in Iran, all through online outreach. House churches are limited to about 10 people each, necessary in keeping the locations and activities secret.