In the meantime, ministries like Transform Iran make bold use of satellite TV, YouTube, websites and more to spread the truth about Jesus. 

“We have two 24/7 radio stations, one purely worship music, and one a whole mix of discussion, Bible study, Bible reading. Any way that we can use the digital world to help us communicate with the people of Iran, we will use it,” says Lana Silk with Transform Iran.

Is reform on internet restrictions possible in Iran? We’ll have to wait and see. (Representative stock photo courtesy of Ali Haghighi via Unsplash.)

Silk shares the reasons that media is so effective in reaching Iranians. 

“One of them is the accessibility that it gives us. You can see that picture of the nomadic herdsman sitting in the foothills with his radio station dialing in, you know, right through to people in the inner cities on their social media networks, trying to access different information to what they’ve been fed.

“Also, media allows us more easily to speak to different language groups, ethnic minorities in Iran who wouldn’t as easily connect to a Farsi presentation of the gospel. We can have audio dramatizations of the Word of God in their languages, and suddenly we capture their hearts with that.” 

Another reason for media’s effectiveness comes from the Iranian regime itself, which bans access to Christian media. 

“They’re breeding an increased hunger in the people of Iran who want to know what this thing is that the government is so determined they don’t access. Again, media helps us get that to them quickly,” Silk says. 

Lives changed in God’s perfect timing

Stories come in regularly of how God led people to turn on Transform Iran’s TV or radio programs at a critical moment in their lives. Pray for more people to be reached! 

“We can be literally praying them through that process, that God would draw them to the media at the right time, that God would speak to them clearly in those moments when they’re reaching out, that there would be a heart connection,” Silk says. 

“Then once they hear the gospel, we can be praying for them to connect with believers for their discipleship process, for fruit to come out of their lives.”

(Photo courtesy of Transform Iran)

Consider sponsoring a broadcast segment at Transform Iran. Just $800 (€735) will cover all associated costs to produce 30 minutes of high-quality evangelistic or discipleship material for satellite broadcast. 

Learn more about Transform Iran’s media ministries and give here. 

Header photo courtesy of Transform Iran.

HCJB is involved with planting radio stations in many areas around the world. (Photo by HCJB Global)

Africa (MNN) — Have you wondered if your prayers would ever be answered? After a long journey, did God provide what you needed just in time?

Kurt Cole of HCJB Global spoke with us about long-term prayers being answered, and hard work paying off.

“In just the last couple of days, we’ve seen years of hard work and prayers and hopes and dreams come to fruition in the countries of Guinea-Bissau and Congo in Africa.”

Guinea-Bissau, located in West Africa, has a new radio station officially on the air. What’s so special about this new radio station? It’s a ministry opportunity like none before in the country.

Cole says, “This is one of those that we wondered if God would ever let it happen. We knew He would, but we didn’t know the timing. And it’s so exciting to see the first evangelical radio station ever in the country of GB and West Africa on the air.”

This first and only evangelical radio station has the opportunity to reach hundreds of thousands with the Gospel. It is located in the country of Gabu. The potential audience is largely Muslim or followers of animistic beliefs.

The radio station is owned and operated by Serving in Mission (SIM),  the group with whom HCJB is partnering to assist in their ministry.

“It’s this partnership with this group that has a team on the ground that will be owning and operating the station,” Cole explains. “We’ve been praying with them for many, many years [that] this’ll be the opportunity to really reach the people of that country.”

HCJB assists the group with technical knowledge, advanced studies that make going on air possible, and ongoing training to keep them on air.

“We believe strongly that local Christian entities within the countries are really the best equipped groups to reach their own people. So we strongly believe in locally-owned radio stations.”

Cole explains that establishing locally owned and run radio stations has become a priority for HCJB. “We have open doors in many places of the world right now: places like Thailand, Nepal, different countries in Africa as well, in the Sahel area that we’re focusing on now.”

It is a different approach than church planting or pastor training. “We are very active in many parts of the world with what we call radio planting.”

Another answer to almost eight years of prayer is the radio station planted in Impfondo, Republic of the Congo.

The connection there was a partner named Dr. Joe Harvey who runs Pioneer Christian Hospital

“In 2006, we invited him to a consortium, a meeting summit that we had in Ghana, to bring our radio and potential health care partners together to dream big about what we could do together with ‘Voice and Hands’ ministry in Africa. And Dr. Joe walked away from that with a dream of having a radio station as part of the hospital ministry.”

Along the nearly decade-long journey, the team hit many snags. But God was faithful to honor their hard work and answer prayer.

“[It] went on the air on the 14th of January at about 6:45 in the evening.”

Beautiful News Radio is broadcasting from the hospital.

Pray for HCJB Global and their partners, that their radio planting would be successful in preaching the Gospel and bringing hope to the poor and needy. If you would like to come alongside HCJB in this effort, click here.

First, it was a rebel takeover on March 24 that put President Bozizie on the run. In the chaos that immediately followed the coup, a Christian radio station was taken off the air by looters.

ICDI, a group working with HCJB Global in the CAR, lost three computers, a generator, transmitter pieces, and a mixing board when thieves ransacked their office in Bangui.

Click here for a complete list of looted items and critical needs.

In addition, the homes of four ICDI staff were looted; one man's son was shot and killed. Edmond Yakanenzi, the coordinator for ICDI's Orphan Care program, passed away on Monday as a result of tuberculosis.

But according to ICDI CEO Jim Hocking, there's finally some good news.

HCJB Global raised enough money to replace the equipment stolen last month, a total of $11,000 USD. Hocking will head to the CAR soon to set up the equipment, and ICDI hopes to have the radio station up and running again by early May.

Pray that Hocking and the replacement equipment would arrive in the CAR safely. Pray that the radio station will be on-air again soon.

Radio is a critical resource in the CAR, as technology is severely lacking. Through a short-wave radio station set up with the help of HCJB Global, ICDI communicates important information on AIDS prevention, orphan care, well repair programs, and many other community development initiatives.

For more on Radio ICDI, visit ICDI.org and select "Community Development."

No deaths were reported as a result of the mid-April flooding, but many homes and buildings were filled with dirty water. One such building was the Vozandes Media, a radio outreach that works under the auspices of the HCJB Global Germany World Office.

"We installed a new studio last month," says station director Horst Rosiak. "All the water went in, soaked the carpet and some electric stuff from our equipment."

The studio was soaked with about 10 to 15 centimeters of water, but it was not destroyed. Ecuador's rainy season also affected the station's transmitters.

"The AM transmitter and the FM transmitter also were affected by thunderstorms, but within one week, our engineers fixed it all."

The clean-up went amazingly quickly. Air time wasn't even lost, thanks to prerecorded programs and another nearby studio to use for production. Rosiak says heaters were brought in to dry out the carpet, electrical equipment and telephone hookups. By the end of last week, most everything was back to normal.

It continues to rain in Quito, however. "The weather report says we have at least one more week with thunderstorms and heavy rain," notes Rosiak. Pray that the rainfall would not incite another flooding incident.

Praise God that Vozandes Media was able to continue its ministry. The station provides music, discipleship programs, and Scripture to listeners in 12 different languages. Their allows them to produce podcasts and to broadcast all the way to Europe.

This ministry is vital in the South American nation. 94 percent of Ecuador is considered nominal Christian, but only 8.5 percent are actual evangelicals, according to the Joshua Project. Only about 54.8 percent of Ecuador has an significant established church (i.e. areas where the number of evangelicals is greater than two percent but less than or equal to five), according to Joshua Project research.

Pray that the Lord would continue to protect this beacon of hope and Truth in the country of Ecuador.

To learn more about HCJB's work in Latin America, click here.

Violence began in November when Gbago refused to step out of office for newcomer Alassane Ouattara. The conflict spiraled the country into all-out chaos, resulting in hundreds of deaths and creating hundreds of thousands of refugees.

In the midst of all this stood a single Christian radio station, Fréquence Vie, just north of Abidjan. The station is no more than 3,000 feet from the Ivorian television network, Radio-Télévision Ivorienne, and thus suffered the consequence of more or less being in the way.

Stray shrapnel from rocket fire struck the studio building on March 31, putting a gaping hole in the roof, breaking many windows and a door. The station's repeater transmitter was destroyed by fighters from warring factions in a civil conflict. The primary transmitter was also destroyed in the crossfire.

HCJB Global, a partner and co-developer of Fréquence Vie, reports that since the station director's apartment was also damaged by shrapnel, he and two other families have been living inside the recording studios.

Times are tense and terrifying. Fighting continues, and food and cooking gas are becoming extremely scarce. However, Fréquence Vie has been able to remain a light in the darkness.

Amazingly, amid the turmoil, the station has continued to air broadcasts. In the last few days, they have mostly run pre-recorded programs and music, but those preach the hope of the Gospel nonetheless.

Two programs aired throughout the week of heaviest fighting in Abidjan, including one on the topic of living together in spite of ethnic differences.

The broadcasts have been extremely relevant to the current situation in Ivory Coast, and since most people are staying in their homes for safety, there is a good chance the programs are being heard. Pray that as the Gospel of reconciliation in and because of Christ would reach the hearts of many in this volatile time. Pray that believers would be born as a result of this terrible current tragedy.

Pray also for the station, which still has a great deal of damage to deal with, and which has been running on its spare 300-watt transmitter since the 4,000-watt-transmitter was destroyed. Pray that the signal would remain miraculously strong so that as many as possible would hear the Good News.

But another development a bit less expected came quickly in the aftermath of the tragedy as well: a radio station.

The birth of a radio station in the wake of such a wide scale tragedy may seem random, but it could not have been more necessary. The station was created after the quake by local believers in order to provide informative updates and inspirational music for those affected.

There are very few believers in Sumatra. According to Partners International, only 100 to 300 of the 9 million Minang people in Western Sumatra are believers. The majority of the populous is Muslim.

The introduction of a Christian radio station, therefore, is an immensely important step forward. It provides Christians a platform not only to speak the love of Christ, but also to use the power of music to bring peace to those who have suffered and draw them to the Lord.

HCJB Global recently returned from a trip to the Padang area of Sumatra, a region which suffered gravely from the effects of the quake. HCJB passed out 20 solar-powered radios set to this Christian radio station and also donated equipment to the station, providing training for those working there.

After almost two months, the need for relief work is beginning to die down, but the need for a Savior is still  prevalent. The station will likely hold onto listeners gained after the quake, even after relief work ends. Those affected are suffering the traumatic effects of the quake and undoubtedly need a place to turn for solace.

Pray that this radio would be the comfort its listeners need by providing the peace and hope of Jesus Christ. Pray that many would come to know the Lord as they experience the love of His followers via radio.

To learn more about HCJB's work in Indonesia, click here. To learn more about the tragic effects of the quake, click here.

They were also responsible for introducing and spreading
Islam throughout much of western Africa. The
tribe is mainly nomadic herders and traders. 
However, the routes they established in western Africa
provided extensive links throughout the region that fostered economic and
political ties between otherwise isolated ethnic groups.

SIM's work in the region has
flourished under relative religious freedom and has seen strong church growth
in some areas. Some Muslim groups are beginning to respond to the gospel. But
idolatry, fetishism, and secret societies dominate daily life.

Still, Bible translation for
the Fulani people is in process. Radio is a growing means of outreach, and the
church is taking on an increasing role in this area. Ministries have been
developed to reach street children and youth, and Mission and Church together are developing
AIDS-related ministries.

To that end, a Christian partnership, including SIM , a local
Christian community development group, and Horizon International, seeks a radio
permit from the National Communications Board of Burkina Faso. The group wants
to establish a full-service Christian station in the Fulani north. Only one
permit will be granted for the area, and there are two other organizations in
the running for it. If they get it, the team has hopes to establish Biblical,
and community and development programming.

Burkinabe and SIM
missionaries partner together in seven locations. In addition to providing
short-term Bible schools in each region, SIM is also committed to the task of
translating the Bible into local languages, reaching youth and street children,
clean water development, and developing HIV/AIDS related ministries.