The head of a Christian organization working to share the Gospel throughout the Middle East and North Africa believes there are “exciting” things happening even in the darkest places around the globe.
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Rita El-Mounayer, CEO of SAT-7, said people might sometimes lack a full picture when it comes to the state of affairs in the Middle East and other locations.
“Usually, the picture of the Middle East and North Africa and the eyes of the Western audience is a gloomy picture of terrorism and violence and wars, et cetera,” she told CBN’s Faithwire. “But I’m from the Middle East and I have witnessed stories of changed lives.”
El-Mounayer said these changed lives come when people are exposed to the Gospel through media or other means. She believes there are “exciting” opportunities right now, as God works even in the darkest places around the globe.
“Where there is violence, there is still a church praying,” she said. “Where there is hardship, there’s still people not giving up. Where there is … oppression [in Iran], there’s the largest growing church in the whole world.”
Watch El-Mounayer share the power of the Gospel in the Middle East and beyond:
And SAT-7 is one avenue through which biblical truth is reaching people. The ministry consists of four satellite channels — one for families, one for children, one broadcasting into Turkey, and another that goes into Iran and Afghanistan. There’s also a video-on-demand service and social media outreach.
With satellite technology so prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa, these channels are pivotal to SAT-7’s mission. Many families with little money or means still have a TV and satellite dish, enabling them to access the content.
This is an essential tool for discovering the Gospel, especially for people who are illiterate and unable to peruse websites or newspapers.
“More than 60% of the people in the Middle East and North Africa, they cannot even read the front page of the newspaper,” El-Mounayer said. “They’re illiterate, so they don’t know how to read, or write, or anything. … This is the beautiful opportunity of a TV set. You don’t need to be literate; you just put your TV on and you watch.”
It’s not uncommon for El-Mounayer and her team to hear stories from people who have become Christians because of SAT-7 programs.
She shared the story about a woman in Iran, who fits this very category.
“She wrote to us from Tehran, saying, ‘I became Christian because of your programs, and I don’t know where to go. I don’t have a church. I don’t know any other believers in Tehran, but you became my church at home. So, when you pray on the screen, I pray with you. When you worship on the screen, I worship with you,'” El-Mounayer said, going on to paraphrase what the grateful woman said. “But I really hope one day that I will meet you in person, and that day, when I meet you, I will bow down and wash your feet and tell you, ‘Thank you for all what you’re doing to the isolated believers like me in Tehran.'”
El-Mounayer said stories like this are awe-inspiring as they reveal the “work of the Holy Spirit” around the world.
Find out more about the work of SAT-7 here.
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