Skip to content
Ripened GrainGrain
New GrainRipened HarvestJournal

The Voice of the Martyrs

Write to a Christian in prison

Founded in 1967 by Richard Wurmbrand after fourteen years in Romanian prisons, VOM provides Bibles, works alongside front-line workers, and cares for the families of imprisoned believers in around 70 countries. Its Prisoner Alert project lets a reader write directly to named Christians in prison and to the officials holding them.

VerifiedPersecuted churchInterdenominationalECFA member
Visit organizationpersecution.com ↗

Why this is listed

Wurmbrand's own imprisonment set the tone: this is the outfit that treats the persecuted as people with names. The letter-writing project lets anyone take part directly, from home.

How to start

  1. Open prisoneralert.com (opens an external site) and read what The Voice of the Martyrs says about itself before you read anything else.
  2. Check the time it asks for: a few hours.
  3. Look at the filings below, then decide. Numbers are context, not a verdict.
  4. Tell your church. Going out is rarely meant to be done alone.

Public filings

Pulled live from ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, which republishes IRS Form 990 data. Grain does not edit these figures.

Looking up Form 990 filings…

Close to this

  • Persecuted churchProvisional

    Start with the World Watch List

    Open Doors US

    Open Doors supplies Bibles, trauma care, and emergency support to Christians in countries where following Christ carries a cost, and publishes the annual World Watch List ranking the fifty hardest places. The US office runs prayer and advocacy campaigns.

    Time
    Ongoing
    Where
    Online
    Area
    Persecuted church

    Last verified September 8, 2026

  • Prison & re-entryProvisional

    Mentor a prisoner by letter

    Crossroads Prison Ministries

    Volunteer mentors read a prisoner's completed Bible study lesson, write back with comments and encouragement, and send the next one — all routed through the ministry's address under a pen name. Materials and training are supplied, and mentors work from home anywhere in the world.

    Time
    Weekly rhythm
    Where
    Online
    Area
    Prison & re-entry

    Last verified September 8, 2026

  • Medical & public healthProvisional

    Crew a hospital ship

    Mercy Ships

    Hospital ships dock in West and Central African ports for months at a time providing free surgery — cleft lip, cataract, tumour, obstetric fistula, orthopaedic — and training local surgeons and anaesthetists while alongside. Crew includes cooks, deckhands, teachers, and engineers, not only clinicians.

    Time
    Months
    Where
    Global
    Area
    Medical & public health

    Last verified September 8, 2026