1937-1938
In one of the many mountain villages of Romania lives a godly old carpenter named Christian Wolfkes who has a fervent love for the Jews. He desires to win a Jew for Christ, but there are none in his village and he is too ill to travel in search of a Jew with whom he could share the gospel. A young Jewish man and his wife arrive in Christian Wolfkes’ village. For hours the old carpenter prays for these Jewish strangers and seeks, by all means possible, to lead them to the Savior. The elderly carpenter gives them a New Testament. The Jewish strangers, Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, eventually dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ.

1941
Romania supports Germany in the war against the USSR and hosts German forces. Richard Wurmbrand, now a pastor, sees a new opportunity among the occupying soldiers and engages in evangelistic activities. During the Nazi terror, Richard and Sabina are repeatedly beaten and arrested. Mrs. Wurmbrand’s family perishes in the mass extermination of Jews in concentration camps.

1944
Communists seize power in Romania and a million "invited" Russian troops pour into the country. Pastor Wurmbrand engages in a twofold ministry – to his own oppressed countrymen and to the Russians. He boards trains and uses the long journeys to preach the gospel; in disguise, he goes into Russian army camps and expounds on the Word of God.

1945
Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand attend the "Congress of Cults" arranged by the Romanian Communist government. As many religious leaders come forward to swear loyalty to the new regime, Sabina Wurmbrand tells her husband to "wipe the shame from the face of Jesus." Richard, knowing the outcome of such an act, steps forward. The delegates believe he too will praise the new leadership, but, to their surprise, Richard tells the 4,000 delegates that their duty as a Christian is to glorify God and Christ alone.

1947
Richard organizes groups of Christians to smuggle Russian Gospels into Russia. On December 30, the People’s Republic of Romania is proclaimed.

1948
On Sunday morning, February 29, Pastor Wurmbrand leaves for church. A small group of secret police kidnap Richard and lock him in a solitary cell, designating him as "Prisoner Number 1."

1950
Aware of Sabina’s work in the underground church, the Communists arrest her and assign her to forced labor on the Danube Canal. Her 9-year-old son, Mihai, is left alone to live on the streets.

1953
Sabina Wurmbrand is released and continues her work in the underground church. She is told that her husband died in prison. Refusing to believe the report, Sabina retains hopes of one day seeing Richard again.

1956
Richard Wurmbrand is released after serving 8 ½ years in prison. He has undergone horrific tortures and was warned to never preach again. Despite the captors’ treatment of him, Richard treats them only with kindness. After his release, Richard resumes his work in the underground church.

1959
Richard is turned over to the authorities by one of his own associates in the underground church. He is re-arrested and sentenced to 25 years.

1964
Pastor Wurmbrand is released from prison and resumes his work. Rev. W. Stuart Harris and Rev. John Moseley of Mission to Europe’s Millions arrive in Bucharest. They cautiously make their way to the little attic home of the Wurmbrands where the pastor recounts some of his prison experiences. The next day, they meet in a park in Bucharest and have their final conversation. This is the first contact the Wurmbrands have had with outside missionaries since their arrests.

1965
The Wurmbrand family is ransomed from Romania for $10,000, and Richard is again warned by the secret police to remain silent. The Wurmbrands travel to Scandinavia and England before arriving in the United States. In May, the pastor testifies in Washington, D.C. before the Senate’s Internal Security Subcommittee, stripping to the waist and revealing eighteen deep torture wounds on his body. His story spreads rapidly across the country and the world, and hundreds of speaking requests arrive at his home.

1966
Richard and Sabina begin their international speaking tour, revealing the atrocities committed against their brothers and sisters in Communist countries. Pastor Wurmbrand learns that the Romanian secret police are plotting his death. However, the pastor cannot be silenced. He continues his speaking tour and becomes known as "The Voice of the Underground Church" and "The Iron Curtain St. Paul."

1967
Desiring to serve their persecuted family in a greater way, the Wurmbrands officially begin a ministry committed to this service. In April, Jesus to the Communist World, later to be named The Voice of the Martyrs, is formed. Tortured for Christ, an account of Pastor Wurmbrand’s experience in prison, is released. In October, the first issue of The Voice of the Martyrs monthly newsletter is published.

1970s – Mid 1980s
As the Cold War heightens, The Voice of the Martyrs remains true to its calling of serving the persecuted church. The work develops into five main purposes and spans more than 80 nations.

1989
A failed attempt at democracy shows the brutality of Chinese Communists as they massacre an estimated one thousand protesters in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Demonstrations begin throughout Eastern Europe and on November 9, the Berlin Wall is torn down. A Romanian pastor prays in Timisoara. Soon after, thousands of Romanians gather to protest the oppressive regime of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu. Many soldiers, overcome by the conviction of the people, turn on the secret police. On December 25, Christmas Day, peace comes to the oppressed nation of Romania.

1990
Within a few days of Romania’s newly opened borders, VOM workers bring semi-trucks filled with aid to Romania and other liberated countries. Richard and Sabina return to Romania after 25 years of exile. Richard is widely received by many churches and even preaches on public television. He regrets the execution of Romanian tyrants and preaches a message of love and forgiveness. A Christian printing facility and a bookstore are opened in Bucharest. The city officials offer storage for Christian books in the very site where Richard was held in solitary confinement. A second printing press is uniquely hidden in a rural village of China.

1991
A VOM office is officially opened in Cherkassy, Ukraine, where the VOM newsletter becomes one of the most widely distributed Christian publications in the country. Ten tons of literature and aid are rushed to Siberia. On December 25, Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the USSR. The following day, the Soviet Union officially breaks up, bringing an end to one-party Communist rule for the first time since 1917. VOM increases its work in Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Tibet and Vietnam.

1992
Albania’s Communist government collapses, ending "the first atheist state." On September 15, VOM opens a Christian bookstore in Moscow and distributes over one million illustrated New Testaments to children in Albania, Romania, Moldavia, Russia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. Thousands of used Bibles and Christian books, provided by Christians in the United States, are sent to Nigeria for hundreds of churches destroyed by Muslims.

1994
Richard Wurmbrand leads an emotional time of prayer in the late Enver Hoxha’s palace in Albania. A coffee shop and Christian bookstore, called "The Stephen Center," is officially dedicated to the Lord in the capital city of Tirana. Two Vietnamese pastors are released from prison after a worldwide prayer and publicity campaign. New opportunities arise to assist families victimized by Shining Path terrorists in the mountainous areas of Peru. Imprisoned terrorists are also ministered to and many come to Christ. About 80,000 Scripture balloons are floated across the borders into North Korea.

1994–1995
Richard and Sabina return to Romania to officiate at the opening of the Agape Children’s Home, a place for Romanian orphans and street children to receive love, care, and the gospel. Bible distribution into China is increased after the Public Security Bureau continues its crackdown on unregistered house churches and confiscates all Scripture. An estimated 100,000 coats are sent to VOM headquarters, as Christian families around the nation take part in the "Coats for Russia" campaign. Tribal villagers in Vietnam receive Bibles in their own language for the first time. Pakistani Christians begin receiving help from VOM.

1996
VOM develops new outreaches into the Communist stronghold of Laos and Islamic-ruled Sudan. The "Bibles to Captive Nations" fund is established and brings a substantial increase of Bible deliveries into closed countries. VOM co-workers begin broadcasting gospel programs into the Middle East.

1997
VOM initiates the Mission Sudan project, raising funds to provide LifePaks (mosquito nets, a Bible, a hoe, plates, cups, pots, and other daily necessities).

2000-2001
Sabina Wurmbrand, co-founder of The Voice of the Martyrs, goes home to the Lord on Friday, August 11, 2000. Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, founder of The Voice of the Martyrs, goes home to the Lord Saturday, February 17, 2001.

2002-Present
There are considerable challenges ahead in the 21st century. The countries newly liberated from Communist oppression remain devastated from decades of terror. China, as well as North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba are caught in the mouth of a Communist dragon. There are Muslim strongholds like Bangladesh, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran and Nigeria.
 

Back to top