Spotlight: Kamil Navai - Senior Pastor, Iranian Christian Church

When Kamil Navai, senior pastor at the Iranian Church in Sunnyvale, arrived in the Bay Area in 1976, he was not yet a Christ-follower. That came 11 years later when he realized that although he had a lot of worldly possessions, he did not have peace.

“I was feeling distressed because I didn’t have peace,” Pastor Kamil explains. 

“I visited Los Gatos Christian Church, now called Venture Christian Church, with my three-year-old daughter because I wanted her to grow up with Christian values. A gentleman I knew who attended that church introduced me to Christ. It took about seven months to share the Gospel with me, but I received it in 1987.”

A short time later, the Iranian Christian Church was established in the Los Gatos Christian Church annex. Today the church owns its own 22,000 square foot building in Sunnyvale and has planted churches in Walnut Creek and Sacramento. Having launched a satellite TV program in 2001, the Iranian Church broadcasts programs into Iran daily. 

Fifty thousand Iranians call the Bay Area home. “Most Iranians who come here want to be Americanized. They want to move away from religion, so only about 1000 of the Iranians around here are Christians. When we show them that being a Christian is not about religiosity, it’s about life, they come and accept.”

About half of the Iranian Church community is gathering in-person for Sunday services, but almost all the house churches continue to meet regularly either in person or virtually. “The pandemic has been a good lesson for all of us. God is showing us how to do discipleship better. We’ve removed the walls from our church, but Jesus Christ is still our roof.”

Pandemic challenges and blessings

Pastor Kamil was initially concerned about the impact of COVID-19, especially within his own family; “I panicked for at least one full week. My wife has lupus, and I was worried about her health; but she was stronger than me. I walked behind her faith and came out of my anxiety and stress. That’s something I preached about, too -- that God’s grace and power are beyond our ability and weaknesses.

“As challenging as the pandemic has been, it’s also opened up new possibilities.  For us, it’s been a 200% blessing.”

Leading the network for Farsi-speakers pastors

There are four Iranian churches in the Bay Area and one Farsi-speaking Afghan church in Fremont. Pastor Kamil leads the Farsi-speaking Pastors Network, one of the regional networks TBC supports. “Our strategy is to raise up network leaders we encourage and equip to come alongside local pastors,” says Gary Gaddini, Director of UNIFY.  “Right now there are hundreds of churches affiliated with TBC. Together they support each other. That’s a great foundation we want to strengthen and grow.”

         “The pastors in the Farsi-speaking network are Iranian, Assyrian, Armenian, and Afghan. All of them love to serve the Lord and to serve their fellow countrymen and women,” Pastor Kamil adds.

The network had to suspend in-person meetings during the pandemic but are looking forward to getting together soon. However, meeting virtually has given Pastor Kamil the opportunity to include ministers from outside of the Bay Area. “Right now we are using Zoom to connect with churches in Turkey, Europe, and even in Australia. I’m hoping to get the Iranian churches in Los Angeles together, too. I’m passing along to them the Kingdom mindset.”

Creating networks within ethnic groups is helpful, but Pastor Kamil sees benefits in joining together with all kinds of church leaders; “the ethnic churches share some common issues, common problems, and common challenges, but It’s good to join with American church leaders to share our challenges together.

“I believe we should be available to each others without any expectation of a return. We should be humble and want to serve others. If I call people in the network and say I need help, all of them will say, ‘Kamil come in.’ That’s a good feeling – to serve one another.”

The Iranian Church is looking for an English-speaking pastor to head their ICC-English program for young adults. To learn more about the Iranian Church, contact Pastor Kamil Navai, kamil@iranian.church