Revolution!

Uplink
Quarterly news from SAT-7
MARCH 2011
Revolution!
People Power Removes Dictators in
Egypt and Tunisia 02
Wave of Arrests Leaves Iranian
Church in Crisis 04
Revolution and the Arab
Church 06
15 Years of Serving
Arab Children 07
Revolution!
People power removes dictators in Egypt and
Tunisia. How is SAT-7 responding and what does it
mean for the cause of Christ in the Arab World?
Initially, the SAT-7 team in Cairo
could not respond directly to the
political unrest on-air because the
authorities disconnected mobile
phone lines, turned off the Internet,
and instituted a restrictive curfew.
But even as the SAT-7 team
bunkered down for their own safety,
they were preparing for the moment
when they could again broadcast
live from within Egypt.
Once phone and Internet services
were restored, SAT-7 broadcast a
special edition of its weekly live show
“From Me to You.” The show, which
originates in SAT-7’s Lebanon studio,
usually focuses on music and Bible
verses to encourage its audience. But
this time, on 3rd February, the same
day that the world watched peaceful
protesters being violently assaulted
by gangs of Mubarak supporters, the
SAT-7 show focused on the turmoil
in Egypt.
“The Egyptian Church
has played a huge role
in supporting the
Church in Iraq...”
O
n 11th February 2011, the
streets of Egypt erupted
in celebration as Egypt’s
long-serving leader Hosni Mubarak
fell from power. His departure
followed 18 continuous days of
demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir
Square and in other Egyptian
cities. Similar protests in Tunisia
had resulted in the downfall of
that country’s President some
three weeks earlier. How did SAT-7
respond to these unprecedented
and historic events?
02
From the start of the demonstrations
in Tunisia through to the resignation
of Egypt’s President on 11th
February, SAT-7 has broadcast on
its ARABIC channel prayer requests,
live phone interviews with church
leaders, and even a Christian service
conducted within Tahrir Square
itself. The service included Christians
singing and speaking to the crowd.
The main speaker was an elder at the
Kasr El Dobarah Church, the largest
Evangelical Church in the Middle
East, and a Partner with SAT-7.
He told the crowd, “Jesus, Mary’s
Son, also suffered from injustice. He
too stood against it. He too stood
against the leaders of the age. And
today you are doing that—standing
up for justice!” He also quoted verses
from the Bible about being united
and said that Christians and Muslims
were standing together, “as one
hand”, and the crowd repeated “as
one hand” in Arabic.
Naim Atef, a well-known Christian
poet and author, speaking via
telephone from within Egypt said,
“I am proud of these young people
who believe they can make a change.
I love my country. I love Egypt. And I
believe God has the ability to turn this
situation for our good.”
During the show, viewers from
across the Arab world called in to
express their sympathies and to
pray for the situation. Particularly
poignant were calls from Iraqi
Christians who have suffered greatly
in recent years. One pastor in Iraq
said, “The Egyptian Church has
played a huge role in supporting
the Church in Iraq, even sending
missionaries here during the time
of Saddam. We send our love and
our prayers for the whole Church of
Egypt.” And a young Iraqi said, “We
are all of one Christian family, not
Iraqi, Egyptian, Syrian. We are one,
and your pain is ours. We will keep
praying for you as beloved members
of the same body.”
The hosts of “From Me to You”
were able to speak to Maher Fayez
on the phone. He is an Egyptian and
one of the most famous Christian
singers in the Arab world. Maher
stressed that the whole region is
undergoing a process of change,
and that SAT-7 must keep alert to
continue broadcasting messages
of hope to millions of people in
great need of guidance during such
difficult times. An Egyptian viewer
who watched the show later called
one of SAT-7’s producers to say,
“Thank you, you are truly shining a
light during this time of darkness.”
“I am proud of these
young people who believe
they can make a change.
I love my country. I love
Egypt. And I believe God
has the ability to turn this
situation for our good.”
SAT-7 continued to call for prayer
for the situation in Egypt and,
on 12th February, the day after
the announcement that Egypt’s
President had given up power,
SAT-7 broadcast a special live TV
programme from its Cairo studio.
Rev. Dr. Sameh Maurice hosted the
programme and began the show
by stating, “At the beginning of this
very special episode, I would like to
offer a very sincere ‘congratulations!’
to the Egyptian people. I am
saying this from my heart to every
Egyptian that loves this nation. Now
every Egyptian can raise his head
as high as any citizen of any other
democratic country. It is the right of
the people to choose for themselves.
Congratulations to the great young
people that led this revolution, the
revolution of freedom.”
Pastor Sameh also offered his
sincere condolences to the families
of the estimated 300 people
who lost their lives fighting for
Egypt’s freedom. One caller to the
programme said, live on air, “Allow
me to say in the beginning that
what made me go out from the first
day and join the Egyptian crowds
was a very personal motive. I was
not ordered or told to go, but my
Christian conscience and the work
of God in me told me that I cannot
pray for the people of Egypt and
then, when I see them going out to
demand change, sit at home and
pray more. I respect all points of
view, whether they agree or
disagree with me, but my own
conscience was telling me that
what we will see is the real change
that God wants to bring upon our
country and its people.”
“We are all of one
Christian family, not Iraqi,
Egyptian, Syrian. We are
one, and your pain is ours.
We will keep praying for
you as beloved members
of the same body.”
This caller had been tear gassed,
had helped protect a policeman
from being beaten, and had
constantly cried out “Be peaceful” in
demanding a peaceful change. And
when the President finally stepped
down and the streets erupted with
joyful celebration, this Christian
demonstrator said, “I cried because I
never imagined, even for one day in
my life, that I would live to see a day
like this in Egypt!”
How you can help
Praise
God for the new spirit of unity that
has appeared between people of
different faiths.
Pray
for those who have lost loved ones in
the demonstrations.
Pass
your copy of Uplink on to a friend when
you have finished with it.
03
News SAT-7 PARS
News SAT-7 TÜRK
broadcasts 20 hours a day on Hot Bird 8
at 13˚ East 10.949 GHz V www.sat7pars.com
broadcasts on the same frequency as SAT-7 PARS at
09:30-11:30 and 21:30-23:30 CET www.sat7turk.com
New Opportunities
For SAT-7 PARS
Wave of Arrests
Leaves Iranian
Church in Crisis
SAT-7 PARS helping to fill the void as
“Virtual Pastor” to the masses
N
umerous Christians and
church leaders have been
arrested in Iran in recent
weeks. As a result, their flocks have
scattered and many house churches
have closed. In consequence,
Christian leaders say that Christian
satellite TV is playing an ever more
important role in supporting isolated
Iranian believers.
Pastor Hovsepian on SAT-7 PARS
One of these church leaders
recently told the head of SAT-7
PARS, “You have become more
crucial, because we aren’t able to
work with as many people in Iran
anymore. But you can. So you have
more responsibility to fill the gap
left by house church leaders being
arrested. You have to be there.”
04
“Satellite TV has
taken the Church into
people’s homes and has
made their homes into
God’s home.”
Edward Hovsepian, a well known
Iranian church leader now living
in the UK and who hosts some
programmes on SAT-7 PARS says,
“Satellite TV has taken the Church
into people’s homes and has made
their homes into God’s home.”
He also confirmed that SAT-7
PARS is helping train new leaders at
a time when they are desperately
needed. “One of the programmes
we have is designed to help the
church grow by training leaders.
We want to give them hope and to
develop and support them. We are
moving forward with these plans in
faith and hope.”
Pastor Hovsepian believes that
the serious challenges facing the
Church in Iran will eventually
result in a positive outcome. “The
current suffering in Iran is helping
some church groups become
more rooted in their faith. I believe
that we are actually at a point of
great significance in the history of
Christianity in Iran.”
Over recent years huge numbers
of Christians have left Iran, mainly
to escape the increasing levels of
persecution and violence against their
community. Many of them – perhaps
more than 100,000 – are now
living in the United Kingdom. The UK
is also home to a significant number
of Persian churches, seminaries
and ministries.
Being unable to make
programmes in Iran, and with only a
small Iranian community in Cyprus
from which to draw technicians
and hosts, SAT-7 PARS has opened a
production studio in London, tying
in to the local Persian community’s
strengths for the benefit of the
indigenous church within Iran itself.
Pastor Hovsepian of an Iranian church
in London is one of those whom
SAT-7 PARS has been able to call on
to present teaching programmes on
leadership, and the suffering Church.
The new studio is enabling SAT-7
PARS to increase the amount of hours
of live programming broadcast to
Iran, from six hours to ten hours per
week, and they hope to add more
live programmes in the near future.
The studio is also large enough
that the PARS team has no need
to rent separate office space for its
Audience Relations manager and
technical crew.
Working to Become a 24/7 Internet Broadcaster!
O
Dandelion
PARS leaders are very excited
about the new studio arrangement
that is helping the channel
better fulfil its mission to support
and strengthen the Christian
community in Iran.
ver the last year, the output
of the SAT-7 TÜRK production
team has more than doubled
from 50 to 120 hours of new TV
programming! The ramp-up in
production began a year ago when
the Turkish channel fully merged with
SAT-7, with the goal of becoming a
24-hour broadcaster.
The next step for SAT-7 TÜRK is
to begin a 24-hour online broadcast
stream of its programmes. The
channel will also continue to
broadcast on satellite TV for four hours
a day, on the SAT-7 PARS frequency,
but going 24/7 online will give SAT-7
TÜRK the ability to reach more Turks
than ever before, because viewers
will be able to access the channel
at anytime, day or night. It will also
help the SAT-7 TÜRK team prepare
to become a fully-fledged 24-hour
broadcaster in anticipation of gaining
access to their own designated
satellite channel, sometime in
the future.
Streaming their programmes online
will also give the channel the ability to
do one more thing it has never done
before: go live! “This is something we
are really looking forward to and hope
to do as soon as possible,” says David
Middleton, the channel’s Executive
Director. “We want to broadcast live
because we know that viewers really
want to call in and interact with our
hosts, to feel a part of what’s going on
and to get their questions answered
immediately and personally.” David
adds, “Starting out online gives our
team a chance to learn about the
process and to reach and bless viewers
at the same time!”
“Thank you very much for
your programmes. You are
a blessing to me and other
Christians.”
Text message from E in Turkey
05
News SAT-7 ARABIC
News SAT-7 KIDS
broadcasts 24/7 on Nilesat/AB4A at 7˚ West
11.355 GHz V www.sat7.com
Reaching Preschoolers
to Pre-Teens: SAT-7
KIDS Launches
Age-Specific Schedule
New Freedom Brings Vision of
Heaven to One SAT-7 Viewer
“I was one of the people praying for
Egypt, “Oh Lord, save our country!”
I am so happy that the Lord is good
and has provided a solution, and I am
very glad that today there is freedom.
We didn’t go to any protests because
my husband was worried it wouldn’t
be safe for us. Yesterday, however, I
begged my husband to go down to
the street. So we went and walked
amidst the people. We got teary eyes
from what we saw and then the Lord
gave me a small revelation. There
were so many people and all of them
were shouting and happy and I said,
‘Oh Lord, is this what the crowds will
look like in heaven? And instead of
shouting for Egypt, we will be praising
you!’ It was a beautiful thing to see.
I feel the Lord wanted me to see it
because I feel I will see it in heaven.
S
06
“I would like to ask
you to pray for the church
in Iraq as well as for the
churches in Egypt.
We need to be strong
and peaceful.”
From an Egyption viewer
People on the streets of Jordan,
Algeria, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen and
Iran have also been demanding
political change but the outcomes
of the uprisings in those countries
are, as of writing, far less certain.
Andrea El Mounayer’s story
O
What do the Tunisian and
Egyptian Revolutions Mean for
the Church in the Arab World?
AT-7 exists to be a voice
for the local church and
continues to call for prayer
for Egypt, Tunisia, and the rest of
the Arab World, since the political
future of all these nations remains
uncertain. But many Egyptian
and Tunisian Christians see the
relatively peaceful removal of their
long-serving leaders as the result of
prayer and they have great hopes
for the future. One Tunisian pastor,
whose teaching programmes
are broadcast on SAT-7, says that
Tunisian Christians believe they will
now have opportunities previously
denied to them, including the ability
to officially register new churches
and Bible schools.
15 Years of Serving
Arab Children
Everyone knows that children of
different ages must be taught
differently. Churches and schools
around the world divide their pupils
into different age groups. SAT-7
KIDS has recently made room
in its schedule for three different
audiences to receive age-specific
teaching and programming.
“And instead of shouting
for Egypt, we will be
praising you!”
But Arab (and Persian) Christians
everywhere agree that people
must continue to pray for the
entire region. The expectations
for positive change are high and,
in many cases, unrealistic – more
jobs, higher salaries, cheaper food,
political change and the creation of
more democratic institutions cannot
all happen overnight! But do pray
that the processes set in motion
will continue and that, under the
guiding hand of God, we may begin
to see more open and just Arab
societies, where the Church can
freely give glory to Jesus and where
Christians will be treated as fellow
citizens, and not as a second-class
religious minority.
Egyptian children
The new schedule is broken
down into two hour blocks of
programming specifically designed
for ages 2 to 4, 5 to 8, and 9 to 12,
respectively. The channel’s
producers say that breaking the
schedule up in this way will help
them create more age-appropriate
shows, promotions, quizzes and
teaching elements tailored precisely
to help each audience better learn
about God’s love.
“Hi. My brother and I
adore the “Bedtime Story”
programme and we love
to listen to the wonderful
stories from the Bible.
Thanks and blessings.”
SAT-7 KIDS broadcasts 24/7 on Nilesat/AB4A at
7˚ West 11.355 GHz V www.sat7kids.com
n 31st May 1996, SAT-7 first
went on air. Before that could
happen, however, Andrea had
to be up all night editing SAT-7’s first
ever programmes. “It was crazy,” she
says. “I remember taking naps on the
studio couch as we worked late into
the night to meet the deadline.”
In her career with SAT-7, Andrea
has done just about everything. She
started out as a technical person,
running cameras and editing video.
She then became an actor; “I’ve
been ‘Angelo the Alien’ and ‘Lala the
Clown’ and ‘Booly the Naughty Little
Boy,’” she says with a laugh. While
she was acting, she started to write
and produce TV programmes as
well. Today Andrea is the Children’s
Production Manager in SAT-7’s
Lebanon studio, responsible for at
least six different productions at a
time, a growing crew of people, the
SAT-7 KIDS broadcast schedule, and
its website – which is currently going
through a major redesign.
Why does Andrea have such a
passion for children’s television?
Partly it’s because when she
was a child, she and her sister
would watch happy, fast-moving
children’s cartoons as a way to
keep their young minds from being
overwhelmed by the Lebanese Civil
War which raged around them. But
Andrea’s drive also comes from a
belief that TV can change the world.
“Initially when I started working
in TV, I didn’t have children in
mind. But when I started acting in
children’s programmes, I caught the
vision that…if we want to change
the world we have to start with
children. You may not see
the results now—but you will in
the future.”
Andrea is passionate about
helping children know they are
loved by God and that they can
always turn to Him for help and
guidance. Andrea shares from
her heart, “My teen years were
full of rejection and rebellion. In
front of my father I was a good
kid but inside me there was a big
wave of rage and a cynical attitude
towards people and life. When I
look back, I can see how much
God was merciful towards me,
how He protected me. God helped
me by producing major changes
in me. He believed in me when I
was wrecked and desolate [before I
knew Him], and that is exactly what
I am planning to do for others. My
mission is to seek to possess this
same merciful and loving heart that
God showed me. And I pray that
my life will be like a torch for others
to lead them on the path of our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
From a 5 year old girl in Kuwait
07
Christian satellite television by and for the people of the Middle East and North Africa
SAT-7 Celebrates 15 Years
Satellite TV Ministry!
O
n Friday the 31st of May
1996, SAT-7 officially went
on the air. That historic first
two-hour broadcast followed three
to four years of research, planning,
fundraising and prayer. The formal
partnership itself was only created
six months earlier. That left relatively
little time for a technical team to be
put together. But once in place, they
worked feverously to create SAT-7’s
first programs.
The production team actually
missed their first broadcast deadline!
But when the channel did finally begin
transmitting, viewers were amazed.
The first caller to respond to that initial
broadcast simply said, “Mish Maoul!,”
“This is unbelievable – Arab Christians
on TV! ” Up until this time many
people had said that it was impossible
for an Arab Christian Satellite TV
station to launch. “It is too expensive,”
some said, citing the astronomical
costs of analog satellite broadcasts
in the mid 1990’s. “You will never
be allowed to do it,” said those who
worried that local governments would
interfere. “Local Christians will be
afraid to go in front of a camera,”
lamented others.
And yet, SAT-7 not only started
broadcasting on that day 15 years
ago, but has since thrived and grown
into a multi-channel network. Today
SAT-7 consists of five distinct channels
broadcasting in three languages:
SAT-7 ARABIC, SAT-7 KIDS (the first
and only 24-hour Christian channel
exclusively for Arab children), SAT-7
PLUS (the best programs from ARABIC
& KIDS, on a second satellite), SAT-7
PARS (Persian Christian
programming) and SAT-7 TÜRK
(Turkish Christian programming).
Additionally the ministry now
has ministry offices and studios in
Cyprus, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and
London - which employ around
130 local Christian staff and work
with hundreds of freelancers. Those
brothers and sisters are the best
qualified to create programs customdesigned to meet the needs of our
audiences across the Middle East and
North Africa.
Rita El Mounayer, Executive
Director for SAT-7’s three Arabic
channels is one of the few current
staff members who worked on that
first SAT-7 broadcast. Rita is amazed
at how the ministry has grown over
the years, “I think the most important
development is the team God has
helped us assemble today. We really
struggled for many years to find
people who had both the needed
skills and the vision in their hearts for
this ministry. “But today”, Rita says,
”qualified, Middle-Eastern Christians
are seeking out SAT-7!
Rita adds, “We’re very excited
about our new shows and the people
who want to make a difference in
the life of our viewers. And we can
see how much our programs are
impacting people, especially those
in crisis. I was recently very touched
to see how Iraqis were, on-air,
encouraging Egyptians during the
recent unrest there. The Iraqis are
going through so much themselves
and yet they are calling into our
shows to pray for and encourage
others! It’s beautiful.”
Helping Middle Eastern
Christians minister through the
medium of satellite television, and
witness to the hope of Christ that
lies within them, is what SAT-7 is all
about, and what it has been about
these past fifteen years!
International Bankers
International Office
The Cyprus Popular Bank Evagorou Branch 39
Evagorou Avenue CY-1066 Nicosia, Cyprus
SAT-7, P.O. Box 26760
CY-1647 Nicosia, Cyprus
Phone: (357) 22 76 10 50
Fax: (357) 22 76 10 40
E-mail: [email protected]
Swift Code (BIC): LIKICY2N
Account name: SAT-7 International Trust
Account numbers:
USD Account: 013-33-004591
IBAN: CY86 0030 0013 0000 0013 3300 4591
GBP Account: 013-33-004583
IBAN: CY11 0030 0013 0000 0013 3300 4583
EUR Account: 013-31-029732
IBAN: CY88 0030 0013 0000 0013 3102 9732
To make a donation or for more
information visit the websites below or
contact your local office
SAT-7 English Website:
www.sat7.org
Channel Websites:
ARABIC: www.sat7.com
KIDS: www.sat7kids.com
TÜRK: www.turk7.com
PARS: www.sat7pars.com
PLUS: www.sat7.com
European Office
P.O. Box 117
DK-6070 Christiansfeld, Denmark
Phone: (45) 40 33 66 59
E-mail: [email protected]
A Middle E
astern fo
llower of
Christ