What is it like to practice your faith when your freedom of belief is under threat? Our Cairo-based Communications Officer Mary Joseph shares her experience of living through a time when Christians in Egypt have felt additionally vulnerable.

SAT-7 provided extensive live coverage of the recent Papal visit to Cyprus, sharing how it was an opportunity to promote the region’s refugee crises and the importance of collaboration between different Christian communities.

As Algeria reels from devastating fires, isolated believers are struggling without support as churches remain closed. But, says SAT-7 producer and presenter Samia Kessai, “people are searching for God and contacting us”, and SAT-7 is responding with programming and a new North African social media platform that shares the hope of Christ.

There is an increasing thirst for Christ in the Middle East and North Africa, and this is evident in the rising correspondence on SAT-7’s social media. Questions about the Christian faith, requests for support with sensitive issues, and even queries about parenting are steadily streaming in since the relaunch of SAT-7’s Arabic social media pages, including several new brands to cater to viewers’ needs.

Maged Shafik’s life was once so full of danger and darkness that he was the target of attempted murder three times. Today, he is a well-known worship leader in Egypt, a man of peace and faith. To encourage the many SAT-7 ARABIC viewers, from Lebanon to Yemen, who feel they are at rock bottom, Maged shared his testimony on the worship program Keep on Singing.

A Way for Tomorrow is a new SAT-7 ARABIC show aimed firmly at the fifth of the Arab world population who are aged 15-25. This almost 100 million people are the most highly educated age group in the region, the most questioning, and probably the most energetic! So it’s highly appropriate that this 26-part series gives them a voice and the invitation to do some fresh thinking on a spectrum of issues that matter to them and will shape the region in the future.

As I turned around to watch the procession of deacons and priests entering the church in celebration of Palm Sunday, it struck me how empty the church looked. With only a limited number allowed to attend the service, the church was at a quarter of its usual capacity.

The Egyptian people are facing youth unemployment, widespread poverty, an unstable economy and continuing human rights violations. But Egypt is also home to the Middle East’s largest Christian population – and despite violent attacks in recent years, the Egyptian Church is faithful and thriving.