ARMENIA-IRAN BORDER – Churches and humanitarian groups in Armenia are getting ready for the possibility of thousands of Iranian refugees crossing the border. CBN’s Operation Blessing, along with Armenian and Iranian Christians, is preparing to help anyone fleeing the violence.

Inside a small church here in Armenia, the sound of Persian worship fills the room. This congregation is different from most churches here. Each person is a refugee from Iran, men and women who fled persecution and found safety across the border.

Now many in this church are anxiously watching, worried about family members still trapped inside the country.

An Iranian Christian named Neli said, “When I am anxious, I constantly pray and believe that it is the powerful hand of God that is upon my family.”

As war engulfs their homeland, those prayers carry even more urgency.

“May God truly help us and may Iran be cleansed of the Islamic Republic and the roots of their oppression and tyranny be eradicated from my country,” prayed Esther, another Iranian Christian.

Neli became a Christian after she saw Jesus in a dream. She says her faith keeps her steady as she follows the news from home. We’ve taken precautions to protect her identity.

“God is faithful to the promises He has made to me in my life, so because I have seen in the past that He is faithful, this is what gets me through each day,” she said.

Others here describe the repression that forced them to leave Iran in the first place.

Esther said, “The Islamic Republic is very, very cruel and we’ve endured this for 47 years never imagining we would ever get rid of it.”

Still, many feel a complicated mix of grief and hope.

Neli said, “It’s a paradox because I’m both sad and happy at the same time. Sad because so many of my friends are being killed in the middle of their city streets, but happy because a foreign force has come to help us.”

As the war intensifies, Armenian churches and humanitarian groups like Operation Blessing are getting ready for what could come next.

Samson Mkrtchyan of Bethel Church said, “We see the situation, it goes to another level, and so we have to be prepared.”

Mkrtchyan, a longtime Armenian pastor, is working with Operation Blessing to assemble hygiene kits, food packages, and emergency supplies in case large numbers begin crossing the border.

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to receive the latest news from a Christian perspective.***

Diego Traverso from Operation Blessing Disaster Relief said, “Orphan’s Promise has had a long-time relationship with Pastor Samson and his church, working in the region for many years, and right now we are activating this partnership to work with him for the potential wave of refugees coming out of Iran.”

Over the weekend, Armenian Christian volunteers joined in, stacking box after box with relief supplies. Mkrtchyan has an army of volunteers ready to move at a moment’s notice.

“They are ready to 24/7 to help, not only here (in the capital) but also at the border,” Mkrtchyan said.

Some relief boxes were delivered to this small Iranian congregation that meets in Yerevan.

For these believers, the war is more than a geopolitical crisis. It’s personal. Their families are still inside Iran. Their homeland is in turmoil. But here in Armenia, they’re praying not only for peace, but for the freedom they hope will one day allow them to return home.

Neli said, “My dream is that we can worship God in a free Iran and proclaim the true God to the people. This is the dream that all of us, the servants who were exiled from Iran, have in our heads.”

To support the work of CBN News as we report from a Christian perspective, you can make a donation here.