New channel offers 24-hour Audio Bible programming in Arabic to millions in North Africa and Middle East

Contact: Bill Lohr, Faith Comes By Hearing, 505-881-3321

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- Two well-respected Christian ministries are coming together to substantially impact a region with historically limited access to the full message of the New Testament. SAT-7, a prominent Christian satellite broadcaster, has over 15 million viewers in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as viewers throughout Europe. Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH), one of the world's largest audio Bible producers and distributors, has a current library of digital Scripture recordings in over 750 languages. Recently, Dr. Terence Ascott, Founder and CEO of SAT-7, and Mr. Jerry Jackson, FCBH Founder and President, met to sign the agreement creating this exciting new partnership. Both ministries eagerly anticipate the potential of this collaboration to maximize their joint resources towards the shared goal of reaching as many people as possible with the pure Word of God in their own heart language.

The partnership will initially provide for a dedicated SAT-7 satellite radio channel that will air a continuous live feed of FCBH's Arabic audio Bible, with channels for other regional languages to be added in the future. On their website and television channels, SAT-7 will also promote various digital Bible access points currently provided by FCBH, thereby making these resources available to millions of viewers.

Faith Comes By Hearing has developed the Bible.is family of apps, as well as digital listening devices that offer the audio Bible in Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, and many other languages in the Middle East, North Africa and surrounding regions.

The partnership seeks to address low literacy rates and the systematic suppression of Church activities, which are widespread in the Middle East and North Africa -- resulting in limited access to the Bible, as well as limited resources for people to develop and deepen their Christian faith.

Dr. Ascott states, "Apart from the fact that it pleases our Heavenly Father when His children work together, this synergistic partnership will ensure that more people in the closed countries of the Middle East and North Africa (even the illiterate) will have unprecedented access to the Holy Scriptures in their own language or dialect. Among the first beneficiaries of these new services will be SAT-7's existing viewership."

"When I envision what it looks like for the Church -- the Body of Christ -- to work together, it is this kind of partnership that I see," adds Mr. Jackson. "Each organization brings years of dedication and experience to reaching the world with the Gospel, but when we join together our reach and impact is greatly multiplied."

As a result of this partnership, both ministries expect to increase audience size and further spread the Word of God in the Middle East and North Africa. While the original audio Bible channel will be Arabic, this partnership also opens the doors to other joint ministry activities in a region where few countries allow Bibles to be made freely available to the general public.

Since 1996, SAT-7 has brought quality Christian television programming via satellite to a measured audience of more than 15 million viewers throughout the Middle East and North Africa. With an international headquarters in Cyprus and five channels, SAT-7 broadcasts in Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish, exposing viewers to the life-changing message of the Gospel. Audience relations specialists are available throughout these regions to counsel and pray with viewers. For more information, visit www.sat7usa.org. 

Established in 1972, Faith Comes By Hearing currently provides Scripture recordings in 751 languages that are spoken by over 5.7 billion people globally. Through the Digital Bible Platform, FCBH offers free access to this digital collection of Scripture via streaming, downloads, podcasts and the Bible.is and Deaf Bible apps. The ministry's goal is to record and provide access to the Word of God in every translated language, making the fulfillment of the Great Commission a reality in this generation.

To request more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Dr. Rex Rogers, SAT-7 USA - usa@sat7.org, 410-770-9804
Bill Lohr, FCBH - bill.lohr@fcbhmail.org, 505-881-3321