ANOTHER STORY BEING TOLD…

Conflict. Poverty. Persecution. That’s the story of the Middle East we’ve become accustomed to. 

But there is another story being told. A story of faith strengthened, love shown and joy brought – not just to the few, but to millions across the region. 

Our teams are on the ground, creating powerful, faith-filled television and digital media programmes that bring life-changing moments of joy.   

From Jonathon Moulding

Some recent responses that our Audience Relations teams have received from viewers who contact us every day after watching our programmes:

One person who contacted us was Merad, a university lecturer from Iran:

“I am a university lecturer and although I have known about Christianity from my youth, it was only about eight years ago that I committed my heart to Jesus.
For the last three years, I have been in contact with the SAT-7 PARS Audience Relations team, and this has meant a great deal to me. I am saddened by the absence of live churches in Iran and by the fact that the Christian community cannot meet in fellowship. I have a number of questions and I would like to be in touch on a regular basis to help my faith to develop and grow.”

(The Audience Relations team answered the questions that Mehrad had and arranged to be in touch with him every Friday.)

Another viewer, Egemen, contacted us to say: “Your programs have contributed a lot to my coming to faith in Jesus Christ, thank you. May the Lord be with you.

I ask for prayer for me and for my wife’s family to be saved in Jesus Christ, regards.”

Hamdi wrote to say: “I come from a non-Christian background. My old faith didn’t make sense to me. One day I was walking down the street and I found a Bible in the garbage, and I picked it up and started reading it. That night I had a beautiful dream that I will never forget. Then I met SAT-7 and I have come this far as a Christian. I am very grateful for your programs. May the Lord bless you very much.”

Serhat from Turkey commented: “I love watching your programs. Following your programs, I began to research Jesus Christ. During this process, Jesus Christ never came out of my dreams, and eventually, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and believed in Him. Thank you very much for your contribution. May the Lord be with you, and peace be upon you.”

Roshanak, an Iranian child who watches Church4Kids, hosted by ‘Auntie Maryam’ contacted to say: “Hello, my little church, how are you? I hope you are really well.
Today I want to talk to you about my best memory and my favourite days.
I recall that it was winter. It was around the end of December and as I was watching TV, I suddenly came across SAT-7 PARS and Auntie Maryam was the host ofGolpand. I was very happy to find Auntie Maryam and the program. As I didn’t know which day the program was shown, I always sat in front of the TV at 4 o’clock. One day, my grandfather said: Do you want to talk to them? I was so happy and one day I was able to talk to my auntie Maryam on Golpand.
That day was my best day. I was very happy to talk with Auntie Maryam and then I got to know Christ more and more and fell in love with Auntie Maryam even more.
One day, I decided to become a Christian and I am very happy that I met Christ and now I am in the family of Church4Kids.”

As well as having the privilege of leading people to Christ, the Audience Relations teams also help to counsel and guide believers in the MENA who contact them for advice.  One such person is

Ghazal, who contacted us to say: “Greetings to you dear hardworking friends. I don’t know how to thank you. I praise the Lord above all for His living Word and for Jesus who gave His life for us and for the Holy Spirit who every day guides us in Spirit and truth. Each time you send a message from the Word of God, the Lord speaks through it with precisely the words I needed to hear on that day! Glory to our Father and His wonderful Son who lives and His Holy Spirit who is the greatest gift to us, forever and ever, amen. The Lord bless you.”

One country we broadcast to is Türkiye, through our Turkish-language cannel, SAT-7 TÜRK.  Filiz from Türkiye said: “Hello. All my life I have lived as a materialistic person. However, my whole life changed when I got to know the Lord five years ago. I feel the Messiah intensely in a way that cannot be expressed in words. Your broadcasts and books have helped me a lot in this regard, I would like to thank you all a lot.”

And Timur, also from Türkiye contacted us to say: “Hello. For a year and a half, I have been doing everything in my power not to follow Jesus Christ. It was as if I was in a war in my mind and heart. While watching your channel, I came across a wonderful sermon by Vahan İsaoğlu in the program Beyond the Veil and it deeply affected me. May the Lord bless him and your channel. I pray that God will grant me the grace to overcome myself and fully accept Christ, as He has done through you today. Thank you so much for everything.”

New believers in Afghanistan face huge challenges since the Taliban took over the country, but SAT-7 continues to minister to many of them via satellite television and internet, where our broadcasts are a lifeline of support to those undergoing tribulation for their faith.  The following three responses give a glimpse of some of the challenges that our brothers and sisters face in Afghanistan on a daily basis.

Edin: “Warm greetings in the Lord to everyone at SAT-7 PARS. I have a question about my children. A number of times, we have been approached by men asking for our daughter’s hand in marriage, but because they were not believers in Jesus Christ, we turned them down. Someone else is planning to see us soon and they say their son is abroad and given the current situation, we don’t know what to do. It would be something if we were not in Afghanistan or we could tell our friends and family that we are Christians, but here we are, and I don’t know how much longer this can go on.”

Jamil: “Greetings dear friends, thank you for all you are doing.
I am a citizen of Afghanistan where I live. I work in a government department under the Taliban who have been interviewing every member of staff to test them on Islam, the Quran and Muhammad. When it came to my turn, I lifted my hands up to God and I prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Oh Lord, I am a Christian, please help me – I have no one but you.’
When I entered the room I saw the Taliban sitting there. They looked at me and did not ask a single question. They just looked at my documents and let me go.
The Lord was glorified as a result of this because some of those who were present were surprised and asked how it was that I was asked no questions.
I was so happy and encouraged and I praised God and said to Him: ‘You are real oh God, You are the true God.’
All the time I prayed in my old religion there was no one there to hear my prayers, but now that I have come to faith in Christ, whenever we pray in His name our prayers are heard and our problems are solved.”

Sogand: “I would like to briefly introduce myself. I am Sogand, I am a teacher at a school.

In the last six or seven years I have been mostly reading books of Sufism. I was an ordinary Muslim and I performed the typical duties in prayer and fasting. However, about a year ago, I abandoned Islam completely and read about other religions. Finally, I saw that among all the main faiths the way of Christianity seemed the most acceptable and logical.
But I did not tell anyone because living in a country like Afghanistan speaking about another religion is like condemning yourself to death. Since about two months ago I have had an electronic version of the Bible in my phone.

On my birthday I was alone at home and flicking through television channels and I came across a film about Jesus – I can’t remember if it was SAT-7 PARS, but at the end of the film a child prayed in the name of Jesus, to invite Him into your heart and connect with Him.
As the child was quietly praying I closed my eyes and repeated his words and then I said: ‘Today is my birthday and I am born again! You are in me Lord and I am alive in You.’

You are the first people who I have told about what has happened to me, because I feel I need to know more and to hear about the path I must tread.”

One of SAT-7’s focuses has always been on women, many of whom are cut off from wider society with some hardly ever leaving the house!  Our women’s programmes present Christ to them as well as discuss issues relevant to women in the MENA.  Here are some responses that we have received from women who watch our programmes:

Javaher: “I was four months old when my father died, and my mother wasn’t a mother to me as she abandoned me when I was two. I lived with my grandmother until I was 13 and then she died, and I was left completely alone. Somehow, I survived those difficult years and then I married at the age of 20 and I had my own children.

Two years into our marriage my husband started being unfaithful and eventually after 12 years being married, we were separated.

I would like you to help me, because I would like to believe in our heavenly Father. I have been reading the Bible and I have some questions – if the answers are convincing I will commit my heart to Christ.”

(Audience Relations Team: We answered her questions including on the Lordship and divinity of Jesus.  We asked if she recognised her sinfulness and need for salvation. We asked if she believed that Jesus has paid the price for her sin. We discussed those elements and, in the end, she declared her faith in Jesus. As we prayed for her, she wept with joy and expressed her gratitude to the Lord for what He has done.  She will be joining the Zoom teaching sessions and connecting with the programs on the channel to grow in her faith. We will also provide counselling sessions for her.)

Meersa from Iran: “May the peace of God be with the saints of the Lord and your families.
The content and the verses you send to us are so good – I have saved a number of them to use when I pray. I am very grateful to you.
My family are resistant to changing their beliefs but it is interesting that when they face a problem it is me who they ask to pray for them.
But still, I sense that every day the hearts of more people in my nation are being touched by the Lord and they are coming to know Jesus Christ.”

Adeena from Iran: “I thank God for the promises he has made which are all true because the Lord is faithful. In the five years that I have been a believer your excellent channel has helped me grow and be strengthened in my faith. I believe that in the power of the name of Jesus the Lord will answer our prayers according to his perfect will. And so, without doubt, I have prayed and fasted for the last four years for my husband to be saved and I’ve asked the Lord to touch his heart, knowing that He does not make any distinctions and offers redemption to all.

Thank God for His grace and mercy, who hears our prayers and carries out His promises!

My husband has been saved from religion and has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Hallelujah and glory to the name of the Lord Jesus, for power and victory are only found in His wonderful name. Thank God for the grace of Jesus – truly the Lord is good and his plans for us are life and joy.

I am now praying that my husband, Mohammad Reza, will grow in his faith and knowledge of the Lord and to have more enthusiasm to spend time to get to know God, and that one day he will join me in the teaching sessions. Of course, his job is heavy and he always comes home tired. So he says to me, ‘you listen and then tell me all about it’. But I would love to see him seeking the Lord for himself.

Then, yesterday he told me to ask you to pray for him. I asked him what he wanted praying for. He answered, ‘For my relationship with God’. I was delighted to hear his answer – please join me in praying for him. I will never tire of praying and I have hope and faith that my prayers will produce good fruit.”

Ava: “I think I believe but my faith is weak. Please pray for my husband and I to grow strong in our faith and also pray for our two children.”

Although targeting the MENA region, SAT-7 has a small, but significant, number of viewers across the globe. Here was an interesting response that we received fromFrance.

Nuriye: “I am writing to you from Paris. I follow your programs with great interest and love. Even when I am not at home all day, your channel remains open. Your programs are very high quality, may the Lord bless you abundantly. Thanks, blessings.”

Sometimes our viewers send in prayers where they pour out their hearts to God. I would like to share one such prayer that we received from Damoun in Iran: 

“Oh Lord, I ask in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, that You grant us the power to know Your will for our lives so that we may bring glory to Your name even as we go through this time of suffering.
Oh Lord, the evil ones seek to destroy us but You have promised to break the powers of darkness in Iran. Our hope is in Your promises. I ask You in the name of Your only Son, Jesus Christ our King to cause peace to overflow in our hearts and minds in place of fear and anxiety. Cause the grace and mercy of Your Redeemer to pour down like spring rains so that our walk may be strengthened in the fellowship of the Spirit and may the blood of Christ wipe away all corruption from our bodies and spirits. I pray and receive in the holy and glorious name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

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