Turkey (MNN) — Christians make up a tiny fraction of the population in Turkey. Many also live in rural, remote areas such as mountainous regions or villages near the Black Sea.
Joe Willey with SAT-7 USA says, “Many mountainous areas are blocked by snowfall. It’s a beautiful, beautiful place. But the terrain itself has become, really, an obstacle for pastors who are trying to get to these remote locations.”
They may feel isolated from other believers. Families and neighbors pressure them to keep quiet about their faith. Willey says, “The school system is firm. Children are taught strictly how to think and how to behave. And because Christians are part of a minority group, and a small group of people, they’re often just told to be quiet.”
“Even though you live here, even though you’re part of the country, you really don’t have a say in normal life.”
SAT-7 reaches isolated Turkish Christians through satellite tv.
Shows like Essence of the Gospel explore discipleship, scripture, and theology. Willey says, “But here’s the great part. Not only is it for Christians to have a greater understanding of God’s word, but because it is a program on satellite television, people who are not Christians can tune in and learn about Christianity. They can come to an understanding of the Gospel that they normally would not.”
Christianity was once the primary religion in Modern day Turkey. Many New Testament letters were written to churches in the area. Ask God to strengthen rural Turkish Christians today.
You can support SAT-7’s work here.
The header photo shows a small village in Turkey. (Photo courtesy of Nedim Ardoğa, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
