Beytullah Eroğlu from Türkiye, a champion para-swimmer, shares his story of a life defined not...
For countless viewers across the Middle East and North Africa, faith is a solitary, dangerous road. Some are physically cut off from other Christians; others dwell in busy cities yet feel emotionally alone in their walk with God. Many are persecuted simply for their beliefs.
In places where leaving the majority faith can cost freedom, work, or safety, SAT-7’s ministry stands with those who are alone or cast aside. SAT-7 becomes a meeting place: broadcasting worship, teaching, and prayer straight into homes, functioning as a church without walls. It also seeks to equip and support those who suffer for their faith.
On November 2, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, SAT‑7 continues this mission: standing with believers who worship in secret and reminding them they are not forgotten.
Worldwide, more than 360 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination, a number that has grown by 20 million in the last four years. In both Iran and Afghanistan, less than 0.3 percent of the population dare to identify as Christian.
Iran is ranked 9th on the 2025 Open Doors World Watch List, and its persecution of Christians is rated “extreme.” In 2024 alone, 96 Christians in Iran were handed prison sentences totaling 263 years: a six-fold increase from the previous year. One of these is Iranian Christian Mehran Shamloui. With his appeal rejected, he now faces 10 years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, jailed simply for praying within his own home.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, four years after the Taliban’s return to power, Christianity is nearly impossible to practice openly. Believers are denied the freedom to gather, worship, or express their beliefs openly. And those who leave the majority faith reportedly experience “threats of violence, forced conversion, and imprisonment.”
SAT-7’s calling is to meet all types of isolation, not only with programs, but with people. It is a ministry that disciples, listens, prays, and stays.
Farhad – a viewer of SAT-7 PARS – describes the reality of faith lived in secrecy. “The situation in Afghanistan is very difficult; poverty and deprivation overshadow our lives. I wish we could gather with fellow believers in Afghanistan to share moments together. Perhaps this would help us escape from our sadness and the spiritual pressures we face.”
In the same country, new believer Erfan speaks of having “no family; my parents have passed away, and I have no home or life.” He asks, “Please pray for me so that the Lord provides me with a way of salvation, peace, healing, shelter, and a job.”
When messages such as these arrive, prayer and care are offered: a reminder that even when believers cannot meet, SAT-7 bridges borders with comfort and hope.
For many, SAT-7 isn’t simply television. It’s the Church in action, providing prayer and connection where none exists locally. But not all isolation is physical. Even in crowded cities, believers may feel emotionally alone in their faith.
In Iran, Parmys shares how this emptiness weighs on her: “The truth is, I have no one close to me, no believers with whom I can share my heart… Nevertheless, I am thankful for your existence,” she says of the Viewer Support Team, who has listened, prayed, and brought the companionship of faith into her life.
Forogh, another Iranian viewer, describes a life “filled with chaos and broken relationships.” After years of pain and depression, she “joined the teaching sessions of SAT-7 PARS. The educational sessions and teachings helped me immensely,” she reveals. “With the presence of Jesus Christ in my life, I realized that I was never alone, and gradually I began taking the path of faith and healing.”
This is the essence of SAT-7’s approach: discipleship that listens, worship that enters the home, and teams who reply and pray by name. Through teaching, viewer follow-up, and prayer, isolation gives way to belonging; persecution is met with presence.
And it is in direct testimonies like these that we glimpse the invisible network of believers sustained through the screen, through the church without walls. A broadcast opens the door and a message back says you are seen.
In 2024, at least 81% of your gift went directly to fund programs building up women, children, and families across the Middle East.
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