August 24, 2009
Afshin Ziafat, a speaker known by many students for his compelling personal testimony of faith, will speak during three Oklahoma Baptist University Welcome Week events.
Ziafat will speak during a campus chapel service on Friday, Aug. 28, at 10 a.m. in OBU's Raley Chapel. He will speak later Friday during the University Concert Series' coffee shop at 9 p.m. in the Geiger Center. He also will lead worship during Saturday in the Park, a back-to-school celebration sponsored by OBU Campus Ministries, on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. in Shawnee's Woodland Park.
"Afshin is well known among young people who have attended Super Summer at OBU and other ministry events in the region," said Dale Griffin, OBU dean of spiritual life. "He has an amazing testimony of commitment to Christ at a personal cost."
Born in Houston, Texas, Ziafat moved with his family to their native country of Iran when he was 2 years old. In the midst of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, his family returned to Houston when he was 6 years old. In the second grade, he received a Bible from a tutor who was teaching him the English language. Ten years later, as a senior in high school, he read the Bible and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.
Ultimately, Ziafat's family disowned him because of his faith in Christ. Yet he said he believes his story is one of hope and inspiration that demonstrates the truth taught in Matthew 16:25 - that whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will find it.
"My story is not about a man's faithfulness to God; it's about God's faithfulness to a man," Ziafat said on his Web site, http://www.afshinziafat.com/.
Ziafat earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Texas at Austin. He earned a master's degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He resides in Dallas with his wife, Meredith. He travels nationally and internationally to share his message in churches, retreats, camps, conferences and missions. He speaks weekly at Truth Bible Study at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He also partners with Elam Ministries and travels into the Middle East regularly to train Iranian pastors.