SAT-7: The Church without walls
For countless viewers across the Middle East and North Africa, faith is a solitary, dangerous road. Some are physically cut off from other Christians; others sit in busy cities yet feel emotionally alone in their walk with God. Many are persecuted simply for their beliefs.
In places where leaving the majority faith can cost freedom, work or safety, SAT-7’s ministry endures as a quiet act of solidarity. When churches have no walls, it is SAT-7 itself that becomes the meeting place: broadcasting worship, teaching and prayer straight into homes and, through its Gender Equality & Freedom of Religious Belief initiative, equipping and supporting those who suffer for their faith.
On November 2, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, SAT-7 continues this mission: standing with believers who worship in secret and reminding them they are not forgotten.
“Extreme” persecution
Worldwide, more than 360 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination, a number that has grown by 20 million in the last four years. In both Iran and Afghanistan, less than 0.3 per cent of the population dare to identify as Christian.
Iran is ranked 9th on the 2025 Open Doors World Watch List, and its persecution of Christians is rated “extreme”. In 2024 alone, 96 Christians in Iran were handed prison sentences totalling 263 years: a six-fold increase on the previous year. One of these is Iranian Christian Mehran Shamloui, whose story featured in the SAT-7 October Prayer Diary. With his appeal rejected, he now faces 10 years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, jailed simply for praying within his own home.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, four years after the Taliban’s return to power, Christianity is nearly impossible to practise openly. Believers are denied the freedom to gather, worship or express their beliefs openly. And those who leave the majority faith reportedly experience “threats of violence, forced conversion and imprisonment”.
Faith without borders
SAT-7’s calling is to meet all types of isolation, not only with programmes, but with people. It is a ministry that disciples, listens, prays and stays.
Farhad – a viewer of SAT-7 PARS – describes the reality of faith lived in secrecy. “The situation in Afghanistan is very difficult; poverty and deprivation overshadow our lives. I wish we could gather with fellow believers in Afghanistan to share moments together. Perhaps this would help us escape from our sadness and the spiritual pressures we face.”
In the same country, new believer Erfan speaks of having “no family; my parents have passed away, and I have no home or life.” He asks “Please pray for me so that the Lord provides me with a way of salvation, peace, healing and shelter, and a job.”
When messages such as these arrive, prayer and care are offered: a reminder that even when believers cannot meet, SAT-7 bridges borders with comfort and hope.
Emotional isolation
For many, SAT-7 isn’t simply television. It’s the Church in action, providing prayer and connection where none exists locally.
But not all isolation is physical. Even in crowded cities, believers may feel emotionally alone in their faith.
In Iran, Parmys shares how this emptiness weighs on her: “The truth is, I have no one close to me, no believers with whom I can share my heart… Nevertheless, I am thankful for your existence,” she says of the Viewer Support team, who have listened, prayed and brought the companionship of faith into her life.
Forogh, another Iranian viewer, describes a life “filled with chaos and broken relationships”. After years of pain and depression, she “joined the teaching sessions of SAT-7 PARS. The educational sessions and correct teachings, along with the empathy and active listening of Farshid in the classes, and Sister Marjan’s teachings, helped me immensely,” she reveals. “With the presence of Jesus Christ in my life, I first realised that I was never alone, and gradually I was taking the path of faith and healing.”
A church without walls
This is the essence of SAT-7’s approach: discipleship that listens, worship that enters the home, and teams who reply and pray by name. Through teaching, viewer follow-up and prayer, isolation gives way to belonging; persecution is met with presence.
And it is in direct testimonies like these that we glimpse the invisible network of believers sustained through the screen, through the church without walls. A broadcast opens the door; a message back says, You are seen.
PLEASE PRAY FOR:
- Believers who worship in secret: pray they know God’s protection and find safe fellowship.
- Those who feel alone: pray they are strengthened by Christ’s presence and the help of SAT-7’s Viewer Support team.
- Scattered believers and the Persian-speaking diaspora: pray digital fellowship deepens their faith and sense of community.