search

en staff

Date posted: 11 Nov 2025

David Yeghnazar has served with Elam Ministries (elam.com) for nearly 25 years and currently serves as the Executive Director. Elam’s mission is to strengthen and expand the church in the Iran region and beyond by: training Persian-speaking leaders for fruitful, effective ministry; equipping the Persian-speaking church with Bibles and resources for evangelism and discipleship; and sending the gospel through trained evangelists, church planters and the media into the Persian-speaking world. David was born in Iran, and his family has been serving the Iranian church for three generations.

1. How did you become a Christian?
   I was born into a faithful Christian family in Iran, so Jesus was always part of my life. When I was nine, my family was living in Lebanon for my dad’s work but we were preparing to relocate to the UK. On our last Sunday before leaving, during a small group prayer time at church, I was with my older brother and his friend when they asked what I wanted prayer for. My only desire was for Jesus to be in my heart. In that moment, I clearly sensed God saying, “David, you belong to me”. It was a profound, grace-filled encounter that anchored me before such a monumental life change.
   
   
2. What lessons have you learnt since that you would want to pass on to a younger Christian version of yourself?
   Don’t take yourself too seriously. Take Jesus seriously, but not yourself.
   
   
3. How would you describe your prayer life?
   I enjoy my prayer life and have been blessed to see faithful prayer modelled throughout my life – especially by my parents and grandparents. In the 1950s, they hosted a nightly prayer meeting in their Tehran home for four years, crying out for the salvation of Iran. I believe those fervent gatherings planted the seeds for the great turning to Christ we are seeing in these days in Iran. While I certainly haven’t “mastered” prayer and still have much room to grow, seeing God’s work in Iran continually reinforces for me the power and joy found in prayer.
   
   
4. Which two or three Christian books apart from the Bible have most influenced your faith?
   I have been deeply impacted by Discipleship on the Edge by Darrell Johnson and Every Believer a Disciple by David Bjork. Our vision for the Iranian church is that every new believer receives effective discipleship to grow in faith and live fully for Christ. With many Iranians coming to faith every day amid intense persecution, discipleship is both critical and challenging. These books have sharpened my understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and the importance of equipping every believer to disciple others.
   
   
5. Who or what have been your biggest Christian influences?
   Many men and women have impacted my life, but my grandfather’s walk with the Lord has marked me significantly. He came to faith in Iran in the 1930s, and everyone he met he would simply ask: “Do you love Jesus?” As a child, I wondered when he’d move on to a more “important” question, but as I grew, I realised it was the most important one of all. Seeing that genuine love for Christ was beautiful, attractive, and made me want to know Him more.
   
   
6. What are the main challenges you believe Christians face today?
   I think it comes back to discipleship. We know we ought to both be disciples and disciple others, yet so many of us don’t really know how to actually do that. Yet the more we prioritise deep discipleship, the richer in Christ we will become and the brighter the church will shine as a witness to the world.
   
   
7. What encourages and what discourages you?
   I’m privileged to hear daily stories from the Iranian church of Christ transforming broken lives, healing relationships, and bringing hope into hopeless situations. God is moving – that continually encourages me. As for discouragement, the last few seasons as a Manchester United supporter have been tough! More seriously, I feel most discouraged when I fail as a parent.
   
   
8. What makes you laugh?
   My children say I laugh at my own jokes. Maybe that’s bad, but I see it as a gift– at least I can keep myself entertained!
   
   
9. What would you want to say to the wider evangelical world?
   We must remember that God is writing the story. This truth anchors us at Elam: amid the persecution of the Iranian church, we hold fast to the reality that God is in charge, even when we can’t see the whole picture. Another core value is that “everyone gets to play” – every believer has a role in God’s kingdom, regardless of skillset or credentials. I believe Christian leaders should focus more on equipping the whole church to do the work of ministry, as Ephesians 4v12 commands.
   
   
10. Which Biblical person (other than Jesus) do you most look forward to meeting in glory and why?
    It’s a hard choice, but I’d really like to ask James what it was like growing up with Jesus as his older brother.