He grew up in a Muslim family. He first heard about Jesus in high school, but resented the friend who told him about it. Years later, that same friend invited him to a house church meeting that ignited Kouroush’s search for the true God.
It was a struggle for Kouroush to admit that what he had learned from his parents wasn’t true. But the more he studied, the more convinced he became that Jesus was the Savior he’d been looking for. Finally, one night, he reached his decision. “I prayed: ‘I need you and I want to trust you, I give my life to you,’” Kouroush says.
Kouroush found a house church and eventually became a leader. But his faith came at a price: He was arrested for his leadership and tortured. He is still astonished about the injustice he was met with in prison: “I hadn’t committed any crime to deserve this. I didn’t murder anyone; I didn’t steal anything. All I did was surrender my heart to Jesus.”
But the time in prison didn’t scare or intimidate Kouroush. After his release, he continued his ministry. Like so many Iranian Christians who aren’t stifled and return to ministry, the secret service tracked him down again. Kouroush saw no other way out, and was forced to leave his beloved homeland and flee to Turkey.