Voice of the Martyrs
| Abbreviation | VOM |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1967 |
| Purpose | Human rights of Christians |
|
Region served
|
Worldwide |
The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is the name of many related Christian organizations. The US office was founded originally by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand. He retired in 1991 and the organization was taken over by Walter Thomas "Tom" White who moved it to Oklahoma and built it up from a small organization of only two families to what it is today, with many international offices. These VOM missions claim to exist in order to raise awareness about the many thousands of Christians annually who are killed, tortured, imprisoned or harassed for their beliefs. These organizations also claim to provide practical assistance to persecuted Christians throughout the world. They are non-profit organizations funded through donations. There is no world headquarters for The Voice of the Martyrs, as each organization is an independent, self-supporting entity.
All VOM missions are members of an international group of autonomous missions which voluntarily cooperate through the International Christian Association (ICA). While each country's mission has its own goals and performs actions on its own, they also cooperate through the ICA in sharing information and jointly funding international projects.
ICA members are guided by five main purposes, stated to be:
James E. Dau is the President of VOM-USA, board member, and relative of the founder and his last publicly reported compensation was just over $158,000 in 2013, the last year any details are available. One other family member sits on the board of VOM-USA, Mr. Banner. The ministry is organized as a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation and reports 95% of revenue is derived from public support. The ministry is now registered as a Religious Order and so it no longer has to file a 990 with the IRS. The only publicly available financial information can be found on the ECFA website.
The Voice of the Martyrs was founded in 1967 by Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian Lutheran/Anglican pastor, who had worked with the underground church in Romania after it was taken over by the USSR in 1944. As a consequence, he was imprisoned for 14 years for preaching Christianity but was eventually freed to the west after a ransom was paid for his release.
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