It’s been another busy summer on the road for the SAT-7 UK team and our amazing volunteers, attending not one but four Christian festivals and conferences in July!
The month kicked off with Keswick Portstewart in Northern Ireland, headed up by Alan and ambassador Joan Crozier. In the Scottish Highlands, ambassadors Cheryl and Richard De Souza set up base at Refuel Festival in the beautiful grounds of the Gordon Castle Estate, sharing SAT-7’s message with churches, youth groups, home groups, campers and glampers from around the UK.
In late July we ventured up to the Keswick Convention in the Lake District in England for a second year in a row – this time our team was led by Bronwen, joined by our fantastic ambassadors Margaret and David Sales. Out of all those we met, a staggering 95% of people had never heard of SAT-7. Those who had heard of SAT-7 shared some encouraging testimonies. An American missionary couple who had served in Türkiye for 25 years shared that:
…the church in Türkiye had grown significantly since the appearance of two ministries: Radio Shema and SAT-7.”
They wanted us to know people were watching and responding in Türkiye.
The country of Türkiye was on the heart of another woman we met – which brings us to our biggest festival of the summer – New Wine. With over 14,000 people in attendance, the festival was a fantastic opportunity to introduce SAT-7 to a new generation. This lady from Türkiye was moved to tears to see her country represented at our “Middle East Prayer Experience”, which we hosted every evening as part of the after-hours programme. The experience took people on an immersive journey of prayer across 20 countries that SAT-7 works in, from Morocco in the west to Tajikistan in the east – our heart to equip people to pray with hope for this special part of the world. People enjoyed a taste of Middle Eastern hospitality as they walked among images of stunning landscapes and natural beauty, learning about the surprising Christian heritage of the region and soaking up inspiring faith-filled testimonies of our SAT-7 viewers.
We were blown away by a sense of stillness and awe that permeated the room each night – the Holy Spirit was at work captivating hearts and minds. At the end of the journey people were encouraged to reflect, to write prayers and light a candle to place on a map of the MENA.
Across the week over 500 people walked through our doors to take part in the experience. One woman shared:
I wanted to come to New Wine to learn about the world church and particularly Africa. I really, really enjoyed this. It really fed me. It is very delicate, sensitively chosen and it touches. It’s a message of hope for people all over the world. I’ve taken photos of the boards to share with people who aren’t Christians to encourage them with a message of hope.”
It was a great team effort, and a special thanks goes to Martin, Julia, Rachel, Chris, Dave, Emily, Annabel, Will and Andy for attending, as well as our star volunteers Jennie, Eirwen, Richard and Tracey Giles.
As we look towards the Autumn months where the days get shorter and the dark settles in, I’ll end with a prayer written by someone who attended our experience – “Father, shine your light through the Middle East. May your love be a banner of hope that shines bright in the midst of pain and darkness. And may hearts be drawn to you.” Amen.