On 21 March, the start of the Iranian new year, Meersa from Iran sent SAT-7 her new year greetings, tinged with longing: “Happy Norouz, in the hope of a day when the doors of churches in Iran will be open and we who love God can join in worshipping Him! “Hoping for a year full of fruitfulness and blessing and freedom […]
Dr Terence Ascott, the Founder and President of Middle East and North Africa media ministry, SAT-7, will be sharing the story behind his new book Dare to Believe! Stories of Faith from the Middle East at a series of UK events beginning in May. After arriving in the Middle East, initially to start a literature ministry from Beirut in 1973, […]
As the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan this August, the focus of international news highlighted vulnerable groups such as women and ethnic minorities, and fears that progress made over the last 20 years in human rights, education and democracy might be reversed. A less well-known area has been the growth of a small indigenous Church of mostly secret believers. […]
Christians in Afghanistan face an existential threat from the Taliban. Revd Tat Stewart, one of the founders of SAT-7 PARS, recalls when Iranian Christians also feared they would be wiped out, 40 years ago. And yet the years since have proven that “the gates of hell cannot prevail”. He shares how the story of the Iranian Church can give us […]
Iranian Christian Shoaib* first contacted us in August 2020, describing himself as a “slave of Jesus Christ”. As the months went on and we received further messages, we realised how total his service for Jesus is. And we are thrilled to learn of hundreds in his province who are finding new life in Christ. These edited versions of his messages […]
A Turkish believer spotlights Turkey’s rich biblical history, the challenges faced by its present-day Church, and the fight for the soul of this influential country. Today’s Turkey is the host of some 2000 years of biblical and Church history. Most of its visitors and even its citizens, could be forgiven for not realising how central its land has been in […]
Nine years of ongoing war have in Syria have led to the biggest refugee crisis of modern times. The country is reeling, and no area of daily life has escaped unscathed. Mina Awny, Presenter of Family of Jesus on SAT-7 KIDS, travelled to Syria in an attempt to bring some hope to children still living there. Mina (pictured, left), along […]
With the US embassy siege in Tehran still hanging over them and at a time of food shortages and fear, Americans Tat Stewart and his wife set off to lead a major Christian youth conference in the north of the city in the summer of 1980. In the second of two blogs, Revd Tat Stewart recalls the astonishing move of […]
Five months after the 1979 revolution that a Shia Islamic government, Tat Stewart arrived to pastor a community church in Tehran. What he had never expected to see was the remarkable move of God’s Spirit among Iranian people that began in those days of turmoil and continues still today in a Church that is largely underground. In 1978, over 55,000 […]
“You can seal our churches but you can’t seal our hearts” is the cry from Algeria as churches are being sealed shut despite Article 42 of the Algerian Constitution guaranteeing its citizens freedom to worship and the freedom to meet for a service. The 15 October closure of the largest of these – the 1,200-member Full Gospel Church of Tizi […]
