News
1,005 items in the archive.
2021 101 items
Advent: the Armenian Church
Christianity is said to have been brought to Armenia by the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the first century. Today, Armenian churches can be found across the Middle East, particularly in Turkey and Iran.
Advent: building Bridges in Turkey
The Church in the Middle East is a complex mosaic of different Christian communities – and the relationships between them don’t always reflect the love and oneness of Christ. Here, SAT-7 TÜRK’s Annamaria Cedolin shares how the channel is working hard to bring the churches together and demonstrate unity to its viewers:
God’s hand at work in Afghanistan
“We can see that God is working in Afghanistan through the messages we receive from viewers, which often bring tears to our eyes,” shares Panayiotis Keenan, Executive Director of SAT-7 PARS. Amazingly, despite all they have faced since the Taliban takeover, SAT-7 PARS viewers are experiencing transformation in God.
Children show real-world impact of disability inclusion program
“When I watch City of Stars , I pray for the children with disabilities. If they were at my school, I would welcome them,” says a young Egyptian girl who watches the SAT-7 KIDS program that models disability inclusion. As the program produces its third season, viewer comments demonstrate its impact in a generally non-inclusive region.
Advent: a song of expectation
Even though He had been promised in Scripture, the people who lived before Jesus may have sometimes wondered if the Messiah really was on His way. Iranian Christian and SAT-7 Communications Officer Omeed Jouyandé reflects on his favourite Christmas song, and the nature of waiting for God’s promises:
Advent: learning to wait
The world as we knew it came to a standstill in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. For Archbishop Angaelos, the Coptic Archbishop of London, the forced pause was an opportunity to reacquaint himself with the practice of quiet contemplation:
Advent: many flocks, one shepherd
From its beginning, SAT-7 has worked alongside all the major denominations of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with the collective mission of witnessing to Jesus Christ through faith-filled television. Here, SAT-7 Founder and President Dr Terence Ascott affirms the importance of working together:
Lebanon media events see social cohesion idea exchange
Media representatives from across Lebanon’s media landscape were brought together by SAT-7’s Beirut office for three days of workshops and training as part of Lebanon: Our Story, a project funded by the Danish Government that aims to drive social cohesion among young people from different communities in the country.
New content and high-def revitalise SAT-7 KIDS
SAT-7 KIDS is introducing a raft of exciting and engaging new content for its young Arabic-speaking audiences, along with updated graphics and the news that programs will now be available in high definition (HD) on the on-demand service SAT-7 PLUS and all Arabic social media platforms.
SAT-7 viewers more likely to support women’s rights, surveys show
Women and men who watched SAT-7’s Arabic women’s program Needle and New Thread were more likely to support women’s rights to live free from violence and discrimination, says an independent evaluation that shows the program successfully raised awareness among high percentages of viewers.
SAT-7 TÜRK documentary wins cultural heritage film award
SAT-7 TÜRK’s documentary The Cross and the Wolf , which tells the story of the Christian ethnic Turkish Gagauz people, has been awarded the Cultural Heritage award at the 2021 Universe Multicultural Film Festival. The film is a powerful act of representation and remembrance of a Christian history and culture that is usually overlooked in Turkey.
Church4Kids – a new initiative for Persian children
SAT-7 PARS has launched Church4Kids , a new discipleship project for Persian-speaking children. Through live Instagram streams, worship and teaching material, and one-to-one encouragement, Church4Kids creates a safe space for children in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan to learn more about God.
SAT-7 PARS broadcasts the Gospel of peace to Afghanistan
Fear and hopelessness are casting a shadow over the lives of people living in Afghanistan. SAT-7 PARS’ Afghan presenters, Pastor Shoaib Ebadi and Assistant Pastor Noorullah Noor, seek to speak light, hope, and peace into the darkness that people are experiencing in Afghanistan.
The power of gathering in unity: a blog from Egypt
Exactly 10 years ago today, on 11 November 2011, Christians in Egypt gathered to lift up their homeland in an extraordinary, interdenominational night of prayer. A decade on, Egyptian Christians’ ability to gather has been restricted by COVID-19 – until now. Mary Joseph, SAT-7’s Communications Officer in Cairo, tells us more.
A platform for the voice of Turkey’s church
SAT-7 TÜRK's work to represent and connect Christians from different backgrounds in Turkey has created a unique opportunity. In a new documentary, the channel will bring together voices from different denominations to tell the story of a man whose humble faith also crossed many barriers: Padre Luigi Iannito, a beloved Italian priest who ministered for 50 years in Turkey and who passed away earlier this year.
SAT-7 commends new paper from MENA church
As Christians around the world enter this special month – when we pray for persecuted brothers and sisters – SAT-7 commends an important paper produced by an ecumenical group of Middle East Church leaders. “We Choose Abundant Life: Towards Renewed Theological, Social, and Political Choices” provides a framework to help the Church move beyond survival towards an active witness that addresses the region’s challenges.
The value of one life: reaching out to people in Turkey
“The Christians that live and worship here are so full of fire, so full of spirit!” shares SAT-7 TÜRK Executive Assistant Annamaria Cedolin enthusiastically in a heartfelt blog. Annamaria shares how her love for Turkey and its people, and her understanding of her country’s rich and colourful Christian history has grown since she began working with the channel, and how this fuels her desire to “reach even one life” with the message of the Gospel.
Children grow in faith through “Allo Marianne”
“The children now talk to God as their friend,” says Marianne Daou, explaining the difference her program Allo Marianne has been making in viewers’ lives. The program has been encouraging Arabic-speaking children throughout some very tough times in 2021, helping them lean on God, grow in understanding, and model His love to others.
Worship program is most-watched content on SAT-7 PLUS
The new on-demand streaming service SAT-7 PLUS is thriving, nine months after it launched as the first Christian platform of its kind in the Middle East. Encouragingly, the platform’s most-watched program is As in Heaven , a new Arabic worship program created especially for the digital audience.
Special broadcast from Lebanon calls for peace
For many in Lebanon , the violence that broke out on 14 October brought back memories of the civil war. A special episode of SAT-7’s program You Are Not Alone , broadcast just two days after the clas hes, shared survivors’ voices, offered hope , called for peace, and rais ed prayer as life becomes increasingly difficult in Lebanon .
Raising awareness of restriction of girls under the Taliban
Zahra M. an Iranian journalist and social activist who recently travelled to Afghanistan was interviewed live on SAT-7 PARS program Insiders to raise awareness of the current situation of women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Zahra’s words and our viewer's testimonies are a stark reminder of the rights and freedom of girls being severely restricted in the country while the world marks International Day of the Girl Child today, on 11 October.
Detox for the Persian soul: Christian counselling series for Iran and Afghanistan
“Many people in Persian countries live with trauma”, says Annahita Parsan, the presenter of a new biblical counselling series on SAT-7 PARS. Domestic, emotional, and sexual abuse and negative attitudes, leave deep scars. But the liberating message of her series, Detox for the Soul , is that no one with these emotional and mental scars is a lost cause: they can be set free.
SAT-7 North Africa programs help challenged believers
As Algeria reels from devastating fires, isolated believers are struggling without support as churches remain closed. But, says SAT-7 producer and presenter Samia Kessai, “people are searching for God and contacting us”, and SAT-7 is responding with programming and a new North African social media platform that shares the hope of Christ.
Going deeper with viewers through SAT-7’s social media spaces
There is an increasing thirst for Christ in the Middle East and North Africa, and this is evident in the rising correspondence on SAT-7’s social media. Questions about the Christian faith, requests for support with sensitive issues, and even queries about parenting are steadily streaming in since the relaunch of SAT-7’s Arabic social media pages, including several new brands to cater to viewers’ needs.