Iran (MNN) – The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s pair of terror attacks — its first major assault in Iran. Assailants left at least 17 dead and over 40 wounded as they attacked the Parliament building and the tomb of its revolutionary leader.
SAT-7 PARS Senior Manager Panayiotis Keenan. (Photo courtesy of SAT-7 PARS)
It’s a time of uncertainty, and people are looking for hope. The good news is, there are ministries helping them find it.
SAT-7 PARS, the Farsi language channel of a Christian satellite television ministry to the Middle East and North Africa, recently upgraded to a satellite that reaches 10 million homes in Iran alone and could triple its reach overall.
“It was a big dream for us to broadcast through a satellite called ‘Yahsat’,” SAT-7 PARS Senior Manager Panayiotis Keenan says. “Now, Yahsat covers the whole of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. For the time being, we have been broadcasting through a satellite called Hotbird, but Hotbird could not cover the whole of Iran. It covered maybe half of Iran.
“Now that we have a much bigger percentage of people watching us, it would give us the opportunity, of course, to send out the Good News of our Lord Jesus to maybe three times more people. We would have the opportunity to reach out to more people in Afghanistan and Tajikistan.”
Iran sits at number eight on Open Doors USA’s World Watch List for the countries where Christians face the most persecution. Satellite television is one of the safest ways to share the Gospel, but it’s not risk-free. Christians are constantly monitored and can face extreme persecution for engaging in Christian activities.
“For them, it’s a whole mission to get out of their house, to hide, to test people, to go to underground churches, to leave very late at night, to go back home, so they’re risking their own life and they’re risking their family’s lives.”
Coverage of Yahsat 1A. (Photo courtesy of SAT-7 PARS)
Still, Keenan says believers are willing to sacrifice safety to quench their thirst for the Gospel. He says the responses they receive from viewers are overwhelming.
“We have hundreds of messages…during our shows or after our shows by people wanting desperately to find out and meet this person who we call Jesus is that can set them free from their bondage.”
Can you help people in Iran continue to come to Christ and grow in their faith? By providing a financial gift, you can help SAT-7 continue serving the Middle East and North Africa with Christ-centered programming. Click here to donate.
Also, remember to pray. Pray for safety and boldness for believers constantly under pressure for their faith.
Thanks for sharing this newly enlarged outreach into the heart of Islam. I am amazed at the courage of God’s people who are in great danger.
Good article
PTL