How Transform Iran is Using Kairos to Prepare for Iran’s Open Doors

For 35 years, Transform Iran has been preparing for a moment the world is now watching unfold. As Iran faces unprecedented upheaval, the ministry’s AI-powered discipleship platform Kairos is reaching seekers in ways traditional missions never could. Discover how strategic preparation, pioneering technology and unwavering faith are converging to meet what Transform Iran anticipates will be “a huge avalanche of need” when Iran’s doors open.

As Iran dominates global headlines amid unprecedented upheaval, the ministry founded by Iranian-born believers is accelerating its readiness for what they believe will be a historic window of opportunity for the gospel.

In this recent interview with Stuart Cranney, PhD, Founder and Director of XCarlo, on the Missional AI podcast, Lana Silk, Transform Iran’s President and CEO, shares how she was born on one of Iran’s darkest days. September 1978’s Black Friday saw the highest casualties of the revolution that would bring Iran into an Islamic Republic.

Decades later, she’s helping lead a movement preparing for the day those doors open again.

Praying Without Preparing is Problematic 

“My dad often says, not praying is a problem, but praying and not preparing is problematic,” Silk explained. “Because then you’re praying and you don’t even understand that the Lord is hearing and He’s gonna do something.”

That conviction has shaped every decision Transform Iran has made since 1988, when God spoke to Silk’s parents about establishing a ministry to support Iran’s persecuted church. For three and a half decades, the organization has been strategically pioneering and preparing.

“We know there’s gonna be a lot of pain and suffering in the immediate events that will lead to an open Iran,” Silk said. “What do we need to do to be ready? How does the church prepare? So we’ve been training pastors, translating Bibles, putting tools in place, networks, all sorts so that when those doors open, we’re ready to go in.”

That preparation now includes Kairos, an AI-powered discipleship platform that’s already reaching seekers in ways traditional ministry never could.

We Weren’t Trying to Get Into AI. We Were Solving a Problem. 

Transform Iran didn’t set out to become pioneers in artificial intelligence for missions.

We always say we weren’t trying to get into AI. We were trying to solve a problem. For us, it was the problems of access, scale and safety. A lot of people are too afraid to make that phone call. There’s fear of punishment, but there’s also fear of shame.

Despite producing content consumed by tens of millions through satellite TV, radio, social media and websites, Transform Iran noticed a gap. Millions were watching and reading, but only thousands were making the phone call to connect with a pastor.

Silk continued, “There are the added problems of timeliness, time zones, access to a pastor in that moment. Maybe people just want to have conversations that are much more personalized and they don’t want to have that with a human.”

The solution became Kairos, an AI-powered apologetics and discipleship tool built on 35 years of ministry experience and 7,000 curated articles addressing questions from Muslim-background seekers.

Read more about Kairos and try it for yourself!

Technology That Bridges Curiosity and Connection 

Kairos evolved from Transform Iran’s apologetics center, the first and only center of its kind offering Farsi apologetics. Over 10 years, the center published 7,000 articles answering questions from seekers. But as attention spans shortened and people expected more personalized, bite-sized information, the ministry recognized the need to adapt.

We started developing a chatbot that would just help them navigate the content on our apologetics center. And the more we worked on it, the more we discovered the possibilities of how much more we could do with it.

Seven months of development followed, led by theologians and apologists rather than engineers. The result was a tool that could sense where users were emotionally, respond with biblical wisdom and even recognize when someone was at risk of suicide or other mental health issues and it can red flag for intervention.

One memorable example showed Kairos admonishing an abusive user, saying “There is no need to take that turn with me. I’m very happy to engage in a respectful conversation with you, but you don’t need to speak to me in that way.”

Read about our Apologetics Center that answers questions of seekers with a Muslim world view

Reaching Seekers in Iran’s Darkest Hour 

The impact became undeniable during January’s brutal government crackdowns, when an estimated 30,000 people were killed in two nights. In the midst of that violence, seekers were finding Kairos.

One man’s exchange began: “I’ve never met a Christian, I don’t have any idea what Christianity is about. All I can tell you is I’ve had Jesus on my mind for over a year. And with everything that’s happening, I feel like I need to figure out what the deal is.”

He would have felt unsafe reaching out to a Christian, but with a machine, it felt comfortable. After working through his questions about the Quran and Christianity, he made a decision to follow Christ.

How amazing that this person who might have otherwise fallen through the cracks felt there was a way in which he could ask his questions.

His story is one of many. Kairos is now available in over 250 languages and is being used in the majority of nations on Open Doors’ list of the top 30 most persecuted countries. From Iran to North Korea, Afghanistan to Somalia, seekers too afraid to ask a human about Jesus are finding answers through AI-powered discipleship.

Harnessing Technology to Accelerate the Gospel 

Some question whether God can work through artificial intelligence. Silk’s response is rooted in history and mission.

“I would say the same people generations ago might have questioned the printing press,” she said. “Technology is there to help us advance the gospel. I think it’s a shame when Christians miss the opportunity to harness what is available to accelerate the work of God.”

Transform Iran has pioneered new technology at every stage.For example, in 2000, they launched satellite broadcasts of Farsi programs when everyone told them it was over-the-top and unnecessary. It soon became an essential tool.

We do it responsibly. We have 24-7 human oversight on Kairos. Whenever we see any potential to mislead people into an unhealthy dependence, then we tweak it.

One early adjustment came when Kairos began praying for people. The team could see how the AI had read an article on prayer and applied it with biblical quotes to create “a powerful, faith-filled, Bible-based prayer.” But they immediately intervened.

“Machines can’t pray,” Silk said. “Knowing our audience is mostly Muslim background, and in Islam you would go to your Islamic leader and have them write out a prayer for you that you could recite mindlessly, we didn’t want to create that same scenario in the Christian world. So we help Kairos word things carefully to say, ‘Let me show you how you can pray about this. This isn’t just something you recite without engagement.’ We’re really coaching people, discipling people. That’s why we call it an AI-powered discipleship tool.”

Preparing for the Avalanche 

With over 130,000 downloads in the first three weeks after launch, Kairos is already demonstrating the scale Transform Iran anticipated. But Silk knows the real test is coming.

“I’m anticipating a huge avalanche of need when Iran’s doors open. We’re adapting Kairos also to deal with trauma, a version of it that will sit on a trauma counseling center where it can deal with counseling-related issues where we can’t get to people quick enough.”

The need is already massive. Decades of intense oppression, persecution, arrests, intimidation, censorship and even propaganda in schools have left deep wounds. Social abuses including child marriages have compounded the trauma in systematic control. After the events of recent months, trauma counseling requests are building to overwhelm human capacity.

Read about our Pearl of Persia ministry that brings healing to those who have experienced trauma and exploitation

Iranians have been disillusioned with Islam for years and desperate for truth. Over a million are already part of Iran’s underground church and Transform Iran anticipates exponential growth when the regime falls.

“If we don’t have a tool like this, then for sure we’ll lose people,” Silk warned.

We’ve seen enough in recent history that when a regime like this falls, you have a very short window of opportunity to reach people and then you lose it to the comforts and distractions of this world. We want to be poised and ready so that the masses can come, interact, ask their questions, grow, read the Bible, and get answers.

Removing Every Barrier, Including Cost 

Transform Iran’s commitment to removing barriers extends to cost. Kairos will remain free for users in the persecuted world who cannot afford subscription services. But that commitment comes at a price.

“We had 130,000 downloads in three weeks from the launch of the app,” Silk said. “We also offer a free VPN to help people navigate conversations safely. Those two things together are costing us over a thousand dollars a month to keep running. That doesn’t include the human element. That’s just the tokens and the software, the servers.”

As usage grows, so does the financial challenge. Transform Iran is asking supporters to help ensure Kairos remains free and accessible to those key audiences in persecuted nations.

“We don’t want to be forced into a situation where we might have to make some hard decisions in order just to be able to keep offering it,” Silk said. “If any of our listeners right now are in a position to help us to continue to offer it, then we would love some help so that it can remain how it is today.”

Read about Transform Iran’s free, secure VPN to protect seekers and believers in Iran

A Faith-Filled Vision Rooted in Scripture and History 

Silk’s vision for Iran is rooted in the faithful God revealed in the Old Testament, where Persian kings were raised up by Him to protect and provide for His people. King Cyrus paid for the rebuilding of the temple. King Darius declared Israel’s God to be the true living God.

“I see God’s heart and faithfulness in that history, how He used a nation and its leaders to enhance and empower what He wanted to do for His people, for the cause of the kingdom. And I want to see that again for Iran.”

Read about Iran in the Bible

She believes the current darkness is evidence of a spiritual battle over Iran’s future.

“The reason things are so ugly right now around Iran is because the enemy is aware of exactly the same thing. He has a stronghold over Iran and he’s been using that to spread wickedness, evil, destruction and death. But we trust and prepare with confidence in God’s plans for Iran, which are for life, joy and light. This spiritual battle is intensifying right now. And sadly, so many people are already dying because of it, because the enemy is terrified of losing the stronghold. I believe God is going to regain that ground.”

Silk envisions Iran becoming a light across the Middle East, a testimony so powerful that people will have no choice but to glorify God.

I see a future where people will look at Iran and glorify the Lord because they will see that He did something that no man could ever have done. They will have no choice but to fall on their knees and follow Jesus.

The Harvest is Plentiful, But the Workers Are Few

For 35 years, Transform Iran has been preparing for this moment. The window of opportunity is opening. The tools are ready. Millions are waiting. The question now is whether the global church will be ready to meet the avalanche of need.

Learn more about Kairos and try it for yourself. See how AI-powered discipleship is reaching seekers in Iran and the world’s most persecuted nations.

Partner with Transform Iran to keep Kairos free and accessible for those who need it most. Your support ensures that when Iran’s doors open, the church is ready to meet the moment with the tools, training and resources needed to reach and disciple millions.

The harvest is plentiful. Will you help the church be ready?