Nigerians are hearing the gospel in eleven languages broadcast on radio across the nation. The “good news” is welcome for a country exhausted by the killings of its Christian population.
As the world focused on the pandemic in 2020, Christian ethnic groups and individuals faced abductions, bombings, attacks and executions from terrorists like Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province.
The Tide ministry is recording and broadcasting Gospel programming heard by tens of millions of people in multiple regions on three continents. Over 30 languages are included in the broadcasts.
READ: Christian Nigerian journalists get training to tell the story of persecution
The programming fulfills two missions: to encourage the persecuted brother and sisters in Christ and to be a light in dark places. The country has been racked by religious strife for decades and it has gotten worse in recent years with entire Christian villages burned to the ground by Islamic Fulani terrorists and other Muslim groups. So great is the movement of Christians out of various regions that it has been described as genocide by human rights groups.
Three Nigerians proudly display their radio on which they listen to The Tide ministry broadcast in their own language.
“Persecuted Christians in Nigeria are often understandably afraid to leave their homes,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. “Fortunately, our radio broadcasts reach Christians in their homes or wherever they feel safest, and God is using the broadcasts to draw listeners into His embrace where they find solid hope through experiencing Him at work in their hearts.”
In April the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2021 Annual Report documenting the developments of persecution across the world in 2021. Among the fourteen countries USCIRF considers “countries of particular concern” (CPC) in 2021, is Nigeria, which has been on their list since 2009. The U.S. State Department officially designated Nigeria as a CPC in December of 2020.
Even in this perilous environment, listeners are drawing comfort from the Gospel of Jesus Christ as The Tide ministry broadcasts hope into their homes and cars.
Nigeria is quickly becoming a ‘killing field’ for that nation’s Christians,” said USCIRF Commissioner Gary L. Bauer. “In large swaths of the country, Christian parents fear for their children every day when they go to school. Every time a Nigerian Christian family worships at a church, they are painfully aware it may be the last thing they do on this earth.”
The Tide ministry partners work to impact Nigerian communities with the Gospel through these radio broadcasts. The Good News reminds radio listeners that God is more powerful than the flesh, and he is within them, giving them the courage to worship him through every difficult circumstance.
Radio broadcasts often cover the issue spiritual warfare. Speakers discuss passages such as 2 Cor. 10:3-4, which says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war against the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” The Nigerian listeners find hope in this truth and all of God’s Word shared on The Tide broadcasts.
The Tide ministry is celebrating their 75th anniversary of recording and broadcasting Gospel programming. Millions of people in multiple regions on three continents can hear Gospel content recorded in 30 heart languages, including those in Afghanistan, Albania, Bhutan, India, Kosovo, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand and Zimbabwe. With more than 7,000 languages spoken worldwide and more than 2,000 people groups yet unreached with the Good News of Jesus, the opportunities are tremendous.
For more information about The Tide broadcast projects, history, radio programs around the world, special yearlong campaigns, the weekly Global Update radio features or other news, visit its website at www.thetide.org or its Facebook page. Read more about The Tide ministry and Director Don Shenk here.
–Assist News in partnership with Metro Voice