Tunisia (MNN) — Last week Tunisia grabbed headlines following two suicide bombings. ISIS has since claimed responsibility for both attacks. However, this unrest is not new. Rex Rogers with SAT-7, a satellite TV ministry to the Middle East and North Africa, cues us in on the topic.
“When you look at broader regional statistics, it’s something like 60 percent of the people who live in the region, 24 countries, in some way, are affected almost daily by violence or conflict.”
(Photo by Haythem Gataa on Unsplash)
As a Christian channel, SAT-7 offers a platform for people to pray and find hope. But the organization is strictly non-political; instead, it offers a space, void of local and regional conflict, to find peace and to hear truth. It is a place where God’s love is made visible.
“What we try to do is broadcast Christian teaching in terms of love and respect for human beings in terms of the ability to accept people different from yourself.
“[It is] the idea of human rights and freedom, including freedom of religion for all people. And then, of course, God’s love and forgiveness, and the potential for reconciliation and hope that comes only from Him,” Rogers explains.
Tunisia: Loved by God
(Photo by Adrian Dascal on Unsplash)
Rogers has spent time in Tunisia. He has walked the streets in Tunis, the same places where the recent suicide bombings happened. He says the people in Tunisia are friendly and open. “They’re just human beings.” But they are caught in the crosshairs of religious conflict and proxy wars.
SAT-7 is cutting through this noise and sharing something more powerful than the unrest threatening the streets.
The organization offers hope only found in Christ. It also offers resources to help make kids, adults, and refugees alike less vulnerable to extremism in the Middle East and North Africa.
For Christians outside of Tunisia and this region, it is important to remember countries in the Middle East and North Africa are as different from each other as Germany is from France.
There are different dialects of Arabic, and cultures vary. Conflicts and sub-conflicts exist across and within borders, despite cultural similarities.
Pray for the Local Church
Still, God’s heart is for all of these people. Conflict does not equate to abandonment.
“God hasn’t forgotten the region. He’s sovereign…there are Christians [and] there is a Church, capital C, that exists in the Middle East. [It] never left. It may be oppressed and may be persecuted, but they’re amazingly resilient in their faith. We need to pray for them,” Rogers says.
(Photo by Michael Heuss on Unsplash)
Pray for peace and healing in this region. Ask God to give the local Church encouragement and perseverance. Pray for the work and safety of Christian NGOs on the ground.
Pray for SAT-7 and other organizations like it, especially for their ability to safely communicate and connect with their listeners. Finally, pray for God’s love and truth to be made visible in this region.
To learn more about SAT-7 and to find more ways to pray, click here.
Header photo courtesy of SAT-7.
