*** NEWS RELEASE ***
For Immediate Release
March 13, 2017
CONTACT:
Jen Retallick, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096, ext. 100, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 215.815.7716, 610.584.1096, ext. 102
The Tide® Global Radio Ministry Continues to Reach Nigerians, as Christians Face More Persecution
Violent Killings in Nigeria Have Skyrocketed 62 Percent
HARRISBURG, Pa.—The Tide® (www.thetide.org) global radio ministry has been sharing the Gospel in Nigeria for years, and while news of those trusting in Christ is hopeful, Nigerian Christians also face many difficulties.
“There is a heaviness of heart when The Tide ministry learns that every week in Nigeria churches are destroyed, villages are burned, and Christians are violated and killed by terrorists,” said Don Shenk, director of The Tide ministry, who was born in Zimbabwe. “Christians are facing terrible persecution, especially in northern Nigeria, where unarmed Christian villages are targeted by Muslim Fulani tribesmen. Open Doors USA tell us that killings there have skyrocketed 62 percent in just a year. Despite these many difficulties, Nigeria has a strong prayer movement and dynamic church growth. We will not forget about our brothers and sisters in Christ in Nigeria, and continue to pray for them daily.”
Besides sharing the Gospel with many in Nigeria through radio broadcasts in the languages people were born to speak, The Tide ministry also prays that God will change the hearts of anti-Christian terrorists, as the ministry continues to broadcast the hopeful words of Jesus Christ and His message of peace and reconciliation.
National radio host and best-selling author Eric Metaxas recently wrote a column about Christian persecution in Nigeria. Published on BreakPoint.com and reprinted by CNS News, the piece reminded readers that Nigerian Christians “don’t have time to worry about culture wars. They’re too busy facing a real one instigated by their Muslim neighbors and by a government that has studiously decided to look the other way.”
“Let’s … speak up to the new administration in Washington,” Metaxas wrote, “which says it will stand up for persecuted Christians around the world. Let’s remind them of their promises and make sure they follow through. The Christians of Nigeria need us, and since we are members of the same worldwide Body of Christ, we need them.”
For more than 70 years, The Tide ministry has been sharing the saving message of Jesus Christ and has seen the Gospel’s power to bring peace and transformation around the world. With almost a quarter of the world’s population living within the current range of The Tide radio programming, and nearly 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, the opportunities are tremendous.
Later this year, The Tide ministry will offer programming in its 25th language—Isaan, spoken by 19 million people in Thailand. That initiative will allow Thailand to join multiple regions of Zimbabwe, India, Nigeria, Nepal, Bhutan, Albania and Kosovo, where The Tide ministry is already active in broadcasting Gospel radio programming.
For more information about The Tide projects, history, radio programs around the world, the “Have You Heard?” Campaign, the weekly Global Update radio features or other news, visit its web site at www.thetide.org or its Facebook page.
###
To schedule interviews with Don Shenk, director of The Tide global radio ministry, contact Jen Retallick at 610-584-1096, ext. 100, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton at 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096, ext. 102. Read more about The Tide ministry and Don Shenk here.
