How early would you be willing to get out of bed to go to church on a Sunday morning? New believers in remote communities in Algeria have to get up at 5am to get transport up to the mountains for their weekly service – but that is not putting them off!
SAT-7 producer Samia Jallali Kessai said: “The church service starts at 9:30am but by 8 you will find that the church is full and many cannot find a seat.”
The secluded protestant church in the Algerian mountains has quickly grown to over 1,600 members. Daughter churches are now meeting in different cities to accommodate numbers.
Broadcasts reach thousands more!
Every Sunday, SAT-7 broadcasts services from the church, bringing the message of Christ to thousands of remote communities across North Africa, where there are no physical church buildings or Christian gatherings.
The programme, My Church in Algeria, is now in its third year of broadcast.
It is one of the few programmes on SAT-7 ARABIC in the Berber language. Samia helps subtitle the recordings into Arabic, explaining: “We want to make it available to as many people as possible. It is particularly exciting as there are many communities in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Somalia where Berber is better understood than Arabic.”
A viewer from Morocco said: “Before we start our cell group church in my house on Sundays, we watch My Church in Algeria because it is in Berber.”
The Church in Algeria has experienced tremendous growth over the last 20 years. Christianity was all but wiped out following the Arab invasions of the 7th century, which resulted in the Islamisation of the country. But there are now an estimated 75,000 believers in Algeria and the Gospel continues to spread there! For more information, read the interview with Pastor Yousef on our Wazala website.
Transformed lives
“I was attracted by the value [Jesus] gave to woman.” Fahima
Satellite TV is an extremely powerful and effective way of making Christ known in the closed region of North Africa. As well as My Church in Algeria, SAT-7 broadcasts a documentary series in Berber called Free Souls. This features the real-life stories of Algerian women who have come to faith in Christ. Watch the video below and be encouraged by how Fahima was transformed by the new life He offers! Read more about Free Souls