Young presenter Christina Issa shares her story of growing up in war-torn Syria, and how watching SAT-7 KIDS brought “peace and security in the middle of fear”. “As a child growing up in the middle of war, life was full of uncertainty and fear.” Christina Issa’s upbringing – like many millions across the Middle East – was scarred by conflict.

SAT-7’s first feature film, Toxic, has been chosen to participate in three Christian film festivals in the United States and Europe: the CEVMA Film Festival Jewel Awards in the Netherlands, and the Christian Family Film Festival and Faith in Film International Film Festival, both in the USA. It has previously been shown at the Salaam Film Festival in Egypt. 

Christian fathers in the Middle East are beset on all sides. Persecution, social and cultural pressures, fragile economies, and conflict or post-conflict societies are making Christlike parenting intensely difficult. Despite this, SAT-7 continues to receive inspiring messages from faithful fathers who are doing all they can to help raise their children in a godly way.

In the Middle East Father’s Day tends to go by mostly unnoticed, in sharp contrast to Mother’s Day. The culture tends to see emotional expression as feminine, leaving most men without space or permission to explore their feelings and develop emotional maturity. This affects men’s ability to serve as fathers with a healthy understanding of masculinity and manhood.

SAT-7 PARS presenter Rozita Hovsepian comes from a Christian family that has long played a prominent part in the growth of the Iranian Church. She tells us about the family life that shaped her, about the loss of her uncle, and about her calling to share God’s Word with women in Iran through SAT-7 PARS program New Identity.

Pascale and Najwa, married SAT-7 viewers from Lebanon, shared their faith story live on the program Spiritual Evening. Before Pascale encountered Jesus through SAT-7, he was filled with anger and hopelessness and his marriage to Najwa was on the brink. Now, he is transformed – and so is their marriage and family life.

The ringing of the phone breaks the silence of the SAT-7 TÜRK office, which is shut for the night. The answering machine picks up, and after the tone, a woman’s voice echoes through the silence.

Hovan* grew up in a strict religious environment in Iran, but he never believed in God. It was only when his daughter started watching a children’s show on SAT-7 PARS that Hovan became curious about Christianity.