Turkey (MNN) — SAT-7 will soon have a larger audience and
expanded network.
At its tri-annual meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, the SAT-7
International Board voted to completely merge TURK-7 with their ministry
network by January 2010.
This decision realizes two of the four strategies SAT-7's
Board and Executive Leadership outlined to help them achieve their goal in
ministry. This includes increasing their audience and expanding their network.
TURK-7 started in 2003 as an independent Turkish Christian
television ministry. Located in Istanbul, the station used local Christian and
TV professionals to develop their programming along with the help of 28 partners for
funding. Half of these partners are local churches and ministries.
The relationship between SAT-7 and TURK-7 began years ago,
as SAT-7 was a founding member of TURK-7's partnership. Since then, SAT-7 has
helped them with funding, expertise and four hours of satellite airtime since
February 2006.
"We have great expectations regarding TURK-7's potential to
grow significantly once it becomes a fully-integrated member of our family,"
said SAT-7 CEO Terence Ascott, according to their Web site. He also said this
move is a great decision for both ministries because it will save costs and focus
their energy into one effort.
TURK-7 is also anticipating the merge.
"We at TURK-7 are excited about this merger. We fully
believe that SAT-7, with its similar ethos, its years of experience in
Christian broadcasting, and its significantly larger operational and support
staff, will help raise us up to a higher level of broadcasting," said David
Middleton, TURK-7 Executive Director, according to SAT-7.
Eventually, SAT-7 wants to provide TURK-7 with their own
24-hour channel. This will allow TURK-7 to reach even more in their current communities
and reach out to new ones.
"Over 70 million people live in Turkey," Ascott also said on
the Web site. "We want to help TURK-7 grow and maximize its ability to reach a
much larger audience."
With this stronger partnership and the help of TURK-7's currently
faithful partners, both ministries look forward to growth. However, increasing outreach
also means increasing funds.
Ascott also petitioned individuals to support this
expansion: "We want to help TURK-7 ramp-up its production capabilities, add
more staff and acquire new equipment so they can increase their programming output.
I encourage anyone with a love for Turkish Christians and the cause of Christ
in Turkey to immediately consider supporting this bold commitment to expanding
TURK-7's operations."
Visit SAT-7's Web site if you are interested in supporting Turkish
Christians and expanding the ministry of SAT-7.
