AUTHOR • EDUCATOR • ARTIST • LEADER • FACULTY TUTOR
Image intentionally withheld to protect the identity, safety.
Joshua Ehm is an author, educator, Artist, College Faculty and leader whose writing explores resilience, faith, leadership, purpose, human relationships, identity, and the influence one life can have on another.
His work draws from personal experience—from leaving Iran and rebuilding his life in the United States to years spent in education, leadership, writing, and service. Through books and articles, Joshua writes about what happens when people face adversity, begin again, accept responsibility, and discover that their lives can influence people far beyond what they may ever see.
ABOUT JOSHUA EHM
After coming to the United States, Joshua learned English, completed his college education, and went on to spend nearly a decade working in college education.
His experiences as a former refugee, educator, author, and leader have shaped the questions at the center of his writing: How do people rebuild after loss? What makes leadership meaningful? How does one person’s life influence another? What does it mean to begin again in a new country? And how can experiences of adversity be transformed into purpose?
Rather than writing about these subjects only as abstract ideas, Joshua approaches them through personal stories, reflection, and lessons drawn from his own experiences.
Books by Joshua Ehm
Becoming Joshua: His First Two Lives
Published in 2022, Becoming Joshua tells Joshua’s story of faith, adversity, displacement, and beginning a new life in the United States.
Seven Colors of Heaven: By the Chicago River
Published in 2026, Seven Colors of Heaven explores personal experience, reflection, faith, and the meaning Joshua discovered during an important period of his life.
The Power of One Life
How Your One Life Can Change Someone, Their World, and Generations to Come
Published September 17, 2026. The Power Of One Life
UPCOMING BOOKS
The Moment You Arrive
What Americans Do Not Know About Refugees
November 21, 2026
No Crown, No Applause
The Hidden Cost of True Leadership
February 2, 2027
Suitcase Or Blame
A Cross-Cultural True Story of Love, Heartbreak, and Finding Yourself Again
April 21, 2027
Joshua’s writing
WRITING WITH PURPOSE
Across his books and articles, Joshua returns to a central belief: a person’s life matters not only because of what they accomplish, but because of the people their choices, words, courage, kindness, leadership, and presence may influence. His writing invites readers to examine their own stories—not only the successes, but also the failures, losses, questions, relationships, and difficult seasons that help shape who they become.
Your story does not have to be perfect to have purpose.
Latest writing
READ JOSHUA’S LATEST ARTICLES
Can one person really make a difference?
What is an Underground House Church in Iran?
Why Are House Churches Growing in Iran?
IMPACT & EXPERIENCE
21 Years of Leadership
Joshua’s leadership work has included underground Christian communities, education, writing, leadership development, and service. According to IUHC records, he has written 13 books and 316 educational and research articles in Farsifor the organization.
Education & Students
For more than nine years, Joshua worked in college education in the United States, where he mentored and supported students from diverse cultural, religious, and international backgrounds. During that time, he worked closely with more than 2,300 Muslim students, seeking to create an environment built on respect, compassion, and meaningful relationships.
According to Joshua’s personal account and ministry records, 184 students chose to become followers of Jesus Christduring those years. Joshua says that his Christian outreach and the number of students embracing Christianity eventually created tension with some colleagues. As that opposition increased, he says he experienced growing pressure that ultimately contributed to his departure from his college position in Michigan.
For Joshua, those years were about more than education. They strengthened his belief that one teacher, one conversation, and one relationship can influence the direction of another person’s life—a principle that continues to shape his writing, leadership, and service today.
A Commitment to Service
Throughout his leadership with Iranian Underground House Churches (IUHC), Joshua has chosen not to receive a salary or personal financial compensation for his ministry role. According to Joshua and IUHC organizational records, he has instead supported the work through income from his employment and personal investments, contributing more than 60% of that income toward IUHC’s mission and the communities it serves.
For Joshua, this commitment reflects a belief that leadership is fundamentally about service, responsibility, generosity, and sacrifice rather than personal recognition or financial reward. His approach is rooted in the words of Jesus: “Freely you have received; freely give.” — Matthew 10:8
Books & Global Reach
Joshua’s writing has become an important extension of his work as an educator, leader, and storyteller. His published books include Becoming Joshua: His First Two Lives (2022), Seven Colors of Heaven: By the Chicago River (2026), and The Power of One Life: How Your One Life Can Change Someone, Their World, and Generations to Come (2026).
According to publishing and distribution records provided by Joshua and his organization, Seven Colors of Heavenreached more than 69,000 copies distributed or sold during its first month. Published and distributed in multiple languages, the book has reached readers across different countries and communities, extending Joshua’s writing beyond the United States.
His writing continues with upcoming works including The Moment You Arrive: What Americans Do Not Know About Refugees and No Crown, No Applause: The Hidden Cost of True Leadership. Across these books, Joshua explores recurring themes of faith, resilience, leadership, purpose, displacement, relationships, identity, and the influence one life can have on another.
For Joshua, books are not simply publications—they are another way to share experiences, preserve stories, challenge readers, and allow one life’s lessons to travel farther than one person could ever go alone.
Art & The Becoming Joshua Exhibition
Joshua’s leadership extends beyond writing and teaching into visual art. As an artist, he has used paintings and other creative works to explore experiences that are sometimes difficult to communicate through words alone—including faith, imprisonment, trauma, identity, displacement, healing, and hope.
His Becoming Joshua Art Exhibition brings elements of his personal journey into a visual form, allowing audiences to encounter parts of his story through both art and narrative. The exhibition complements his book, Becoming Joshua: His First Two Lives, creating another way for people to engage with the experiences that shaped his life and work.
For Joshua, art is not separate from storytelling. Writing tells the story through words; art gives some of those experiences a visual language.
Listen to this podcast interview:
By the President of Lansing Community College, Dr. Robinson. In this interview with Joshua, they discuss his struggles as a refugee and how that guided Joshua in his educational career and the writing of his book, Becoming Joshua.