Image: Danish European Mission's donors have been instrumental in enabling 500,000 people to hear the Gospel on the radio.
Turks are one of the least reached peoples, and although it was in the Turkish city of AntiochSince people first called themselves Christians, Christianity has almost disappeared. But in recent years, Turks are stirring and more people are becoming interested in Jesus Christ, the Son of God - and not the prophet Jesus.One of the means that the church uses to spread the gospel,is the medium of radio. Radio Shema, which started in Ankara, has expanded in recent years to have stations in four locations across Turkey. The latest expansion brought Christian radioto the southeastern part of Turkey, close to the border of Syria.
Image: The radio antenna broadcasts Christian programs
It is the donors of the Danish European Mission who have Paid for dand new transmission equipmentand the first 1½ years of operation. SAs of August 1st. the Christian music and programs have been sent out to 500.000 potential listeners.
"It's a fantastic job and we are very grateful for it. We started the station three weeks ago and already in the first week our head office was contacted by people from the area saying: "Hey, you've opened a radio station here and we like it," says one of the leaders from Shema.
Christian radio for Muslims also creates cohesion between Christians
She has been down to the start-up with several of the employees at the station, and they already see a change in the area. The area has a long history of strife and in 1915 the Ottoman Turks used Kurds to kill minorities in the area, and that legacy still lingers. There is a large group of Syrian refugees and, by Turkish standards, some Christians, but although there are many minorities together, they have little to do with each other.
The radio station can open a curiosity for the gospel
"There is an open atmosphere in the area where differences are tolerated and accepted, but the radio station can open and curiosity For the gospel. We have heard, that more people come to church i Mardin and ask interested questions about Christianity, hear a sermon and take home a Bible. The church in Mardin has baptized 30 people in 2019 and distributed more than 25.000 New Testaments.As we travel around, we also get to share A message forgiveness and reconciliation to people in the area, and we seeHow they different Christians groupingsget closer and are more open and conciliatory towards each other. We hope and pray that this will happen through the new station," the manager tells us. At Christians from different churches approach each other and reconcile, is en of of good, derived effectsof the primary purpose of To preach the gospel for Muslims genem radioand.
Cautious start with big dreams
The program guide on the channel starter Soft out, bl.a. with A children's program about trauma and healing of ofm. The station can transmit 100-150 km into Syria, and over time the the dreamShema to broadcast in English, Turkish, Assyrian, Kurdish and Arabic, but getting programs approved in Kurdish, Arabic and Assyrian by RTUK - the state authority that approves radio and TV in Turkey - takes some work.
"We tread carefully and are not so offensive with explicitly preaching programs here in the beginning, but it's coming. Right now, it's still exciting to see how both the local population and the authorities receive the station, but it looks like it's going well. In the worst case scenario, we'll be closed in a couple of years, and then we'll still have broadcast some Christian radio," she says with a smilebefore hun comes with a branch and a Call for donors to the Danish European Mission.
"Thanks for the support! The spiritual resistance gets bigger every time we set up a new radio station. We can feel it. Pray for us, pray for the station and pray for the Christians in Turkey and Syria."
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