‘I pretended to be a Christian, but God transformed my life for real’

I was born into a Muslim family in Iran. In 1998, I bought tickets for three Iranian football matches during the World Cup in France, using this as an opportunity to leave Iran in search of a better life. While in France, I asked some friends for help to stay in Europe. 

First, I sought political asylum in Germany, but I didn’t know enough about politics to make it through the interview. My case was rejected and, back in France, after a few nights on the streets, I saw a lorry at a petrol station. Something clicked. I left my rucksack behind and grabbed hold of the bars underneath, travelling all the way to England underneath the lorry. 

When I arrived in England, I decided to seek asylum as a persecuted Christian. I even joined a Christian Bible school in Birmingham and was granted free accommodation. I was a great student and blended into the Christian activities of prayer, singing and Bible study. As a Muslim, I had learned about God and performed my religious duties, but I never knew if God was pleased with my deeds or if I was good enough to go to heaven. I was very aware of the sins in my heart like lying, jealousy, lust and stealing. I was so unhappy, deeply lonely and felt like I had no real identity. 

Freedom in Christ

During my time at the Bible school, I began reading the Bible in Farsi with the help of other Iranian Christians, and Jesus’ character changed me. One week in September 2000, everything I read in the Bible pointed back to themes of truth, righteousness and Jesus’ invitation to give peace to sinners. I read the verse in John where Jesus says: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (8:32). I wanted that freedom so badly. 

My ‘double life’ was becoming too heavy to bear. One night, I went to my room, closed the door and wept for hours. I cried until I gave myself a terrible headache. Then I felt the presence of someone in my room, standing behind me with his hand on my left shoulder, saying: “It is enough. Go to bed. Tomorrow will be a new day.” At that moment, all God’s words that I had absorbed from my Bible reading and the Christian activities became alive in my heart and gave me hope. I knew I was a hopeless sinner in need of God’s peace and salvation. When Jesus commanded me to stop crying, the sadness in my heart disappeared immediately. 

At that moment, God’s words became alive in my heart and gave me hope

The next day, I decided to tell the truth about my life to whoever would listen. I told the Bible school, my fellow students and then wrote a letter to the Home Office even though it wasn’t time for my interview yet. My solicitor warned me I would get deported straight away, but I told the true story of my life and real conversion to the officer anyway. She said: “I would really like to grant you permission to be here. Welcome to England.” I couldn’t believe the favour God gave me! After experiencing God’s power in my life, I wanted to serve him any way I could, so, since 2003, I have served God full-time with Agapé UK, introducing people to Jesus who have never heard about him. 

Serving together

I met my wife, Negin, in 2007 when an Iranian couple from my church approached her on the bus and invited her to come along [to church]. She was beautiful, humble, genuine and, unlike me, very outgoing. We got to know each other and married in 2010. Together, God gave us a vision and a calling for marriage and family ministry. We have seen a lot of marriage breakdown in our community. Iranian couples face many pressures and challenges. Our resources offer support through practical, biblical teachings that open the door to gospel transformation in their lives. We’ve cultivated a network of church leaders within the Iranian diaspora throughout Europe, the United States, Turkey and also underground leaders back in Iran. We try to stay attentive to God and the needs of our community so we can provide biblical resources in Farsi that Iranians desperately need and have never had access to before. 

A few years ago, we connected with 43 underground church leaders in 25 cities in Iran and printed more than 2,000 copies of our marriage course workbook Together. Christians in Iran are so thirsty for new Christian materials. The churches used them straight away. Negin has a special passion for women’s ministry, having experienced a painful divorce earlier in life and a long battle with depression. A new resource, The Significant Woman, is being edited and translated into Farsi, helping women find their purpose and identity and grow in their relationship with God. Negin and I have a recording studio in our home where we write and produce video content for satellite TV in Iran. Our teachings are regularly broadcast on Mohabat TV and Sat-7 Pars with more than 6 million views. 

The leaders we work remotely with in Iran are regularly being monitored by the government, but still serve God with boldness. They are so brave and we’re so proud of them. We just want to follow God as he goes ahead of us, showing us what resources to develop next. God is doing something very special in the Iranian diaspora at this time in history. We are along for the adventure and give all the glory to him. 

Kia Hadaeghi was speaking to Brianna Gregoriou, a content strategist at Agapé UK (agape.org.uk)