15 years of Christian broadcasting in Arab world
02 Jun 2011
SAT-7: SAT-7 is celebrating 15 years of broadcasting Christian programmes across the Middle East and North Africa. The ministry started out as a single channel format but has enjoyed unexpected success over the years and now broadcasts SAT-7 Arabic, SAT-7 Pars, SAT-7 Kids and SAT-7 Turk. Until SAT-7's first transmission on 31 May 1996, fear of government reprisals meant the media had largely been out of bounds for the Arab Christian community. Rita El Mounayer, Executive Director for SAT-7's three Arabic channels sees a continuing hunger in the Middle East and North Africa for SAT-7's holistic and uplifting programming. ‘We're very excited about our shows and the people making them - people who want to make a real difference in the lives of our viewers,’ she said. The 15th anniversary coincides with the Arab Spring sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa. Praise: God for the blessings that SAT-7 has brought to the Arab world. (Is.44:3)
Earlier this month about 10,000 Christian young people came from all across Egypt for three days to worship the Lord and to seek God's blessing for their country. The worshippers, mostly ranging from ages 13 to 30, gathered from 10 o'clock in the morning until 8 each evening. Many travelled hundreds of miles to the worship site in the middle of the desert north of Cairo. ‘To sit among over 10,000 young people, worship with them in a roaring holy noise, listen to powerful and challenging messages and pray for God's powerful presence in our lives; really, it is hard to describe in words,’ says a Christian leader. ‘Sitting at the very back of the small soccer stadium gave me a good view of the scene. Thousands were sitting to my right, thousands to my left and thousands more in the middle. Hardly any empty gaps!'
Praise: God for this gathering and may He bless all those who attended. (Gen.28:3)
'Wow' factor teaches kids about Jesus
22 Jun 2012Thousands of schoolchildren in the UK will benefit from a £62,000 makeover of a classroom hi-tech mobile pod which teaches about Jesus. Secondary school children visiting GSUS Live will enjoy an up to date experience with a renewed 'wow' factor. It’s run by Christian charity Counties and visits secondary schools across the UK providing lessons for Key Stage 3 pupils. Volunteers from local churches present teachings on fear, forgiveness and rejection to help them discover how Jesus is relevant today, and includes multi-media computer motorised all in one touch computer screens which rise out of tables, new desks and benches for pupils plus improved wheelchair access. One church volunteer helping on it said, ‘The opportunity to be involved in local mission with such a fantastic programme was awesome. The children were amazed at the technology and it was great to show them Christianity is not boring but very much relevant today.’
Praise: God for every hi tec advance that opens doors into His Kingdom.
More: http://www.inspiremagazine.org.uk/Stories/National?storyaction=view&storyid=55
'The Bible' mini-series earns Emmy nomination
25 Jul 2013The Bible' mini-series has been nominated for an Emmy Award in the ‘Outstanding Mini-series or Movie’ category, it was announced last week. History Channel's biblical miniseries will be competing with five other programs for the category's top spot, including FX Network's ‘American Horror Story: Asylum,’ HBO's ‘Behind the Candelabra,’ HBO's ‘Phil Spector,’ USA's ‘Political Animals’ and Sundance Channel's ‘Top of the Lake.’ The show, which was produced by husband and wife team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, has also been nominated for ‘Outstanding Sound Editing for a Mini-series, Movie or a Special’ and ‘Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Mini-series or a Movie’ for its premiere episode, ‘Beginnings.’ ‘What a blessing this is. Mark and I have poured our hearts and souls into this series,' Downey said in an email to The Christian Post. ‘We have worked so hard for four years now, It has been a labour of love that deepened not just our faith but our marriage and our friendship.’ (See also Prayer Alert 13-2013 & 15-2013)
Praise: God for this further opportunity of spreading your message
'Mother ship' traffickers arrested off Libya
16 Nov 2013The Italian navy has arrested 16 human traffickers aboard a so-called ‘mother ship’ in international waters off Libya. The ship was located some 500 kilometres southeast of Sicily, near Libya, the Navy said on Sunday. Submarine surveillance ahead of Saturday's raid was ‘of particular importance, notably for gathering proof’ against the traffickers, the Navy said in a statement. The fishing boat served as a staging area from which the traffickers dispatched their clients - Syrian migrants seeking asylum or a better life - aboard smaller, often rickety vessels to destinations in southern Europe. The boat had been under surveillance, including by drones, hi-tech radars, night-vision equipment and the submarine, under stepped-up operations launched after two shipwrecks last month claimed some 500 lives.
Praise: God for the success of the Italian Navy in bringing these traffickers to justice. (Pr.21:15)
Global: Other elections to be held before 7 May
22 Apr 2015On the 7 May the United Kingdom will hold Elections for the House of Commons, but seven other countries will also be holding parliamentary elections between now and then: Finland with election for Parliament on 19 April; Haiti has an Election for Chamber of Deputies on 24 April; Anguilla with election for House of Assembly on 25 April; Togo has an election for President on 25 April; Benin an election for National Assembly on 26l; Kazakhstan holds an election for President on 26 and Tanzania has a Referendum on 30l. For further Insights into how to pray for these and other elections in 2015 click the ' 'More' button below.
Global: Other elections to be held before 7 May
22 Apr 2015On the 7 May the United Kingdom will hold Elections for the House of Commons, but seven other countries will also be holding parliamentary elections between now and then: Finland with election for Parliament on 19 April; Haiti has an Election for Chamber of Deputies on 24 April; Anguilla with election for House of Assembly on 25 April; Togo has an election for President on 25 April; Benin an election for National Assembly on 26l; Kazakhstan holds an election for President on 26 and Tanzania has a Referendum on 30l. For further Insights into how to pray for these and other elections in 2015 click the ' 'More' button below.
One hundred and eleven Pakistani Christians were arrested in March following the lynching of two Muslim men wrongly thought to be involved in killing 17 Christians and church bombings. 30 prisoners have now been released and International Christian Concern announced on Tuesday that the 30 men and boys had been subjected to torture and merciless beatings by police officers in an attempt to extract confessions out of them. Many of the detained were innocent. In early April, 16 Christians were indicted for the murder of the two Muslim men and 12 indicted for damage to state property. This incident is the tip of the iceberg of the discrimination and persecution that religious minorities endure - from indentured servitude, forced conversions to kidnapping for ransom. The most recent atrocity happened last weekend when a 14-year-old Christian boy was beaten and set on fire after answering truthfully when he was asked by Muslim men if he was a Christian. See: