***NEWS RELEASE***
The Tide® Ministry Brings Hope of Christ to Listeners in Kosovo
Although Religious Freedom Has Opened in Regions of Albania and Kosovo, Many Christians Still Struggle With Oppression
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.—Christian Serbs who wanted to take a trip for Orthodox Christmas earlier this month to a church in Kosovo cancelled their plans after local Kosovo Albanians said they would stage a protest.
According to a news outlet that reports on justice issues, the potential threats ahead of the church visit will not deter the Christians from their beliefs, “dignity, human and religious rights.”
The Tide® (www.thetide.org) global radio ministry has been broadcasting Gospel radio programming in Kosovo for the past three years, and this latest headline is evidence that Christian opposition still exists in these regions, even though the doors of religious freedom have been opened somewhat.
The Tide Director Don Shenk said that even though their lives can be difficult, many new believers glean hope from The Tide programs.
“We are blessed to hear from listeners in Kosovo whose lives are being changed by the hope of Christ through radio programming,” Shenk said. “Our hearts break when we hear from listeners in Kosovo who are experiencing difficulty in their lives, but are grateful that God’s truth is making an impact, especially as they hear this truth in the language they were born to speak.”
The Tide ministry partner Radio 7 broadcasts the program “Sipas Fjales,” which means “According to the Word,” and has brought thousands of people closer to the Gospel message. A listener named Kujtim recently expressed that even though he isn’t very religious, he appreciates the way radio brings people around the world together in their common experiences.
“I love the way Pastor G brings solutions to our everyday problems,” Kujtim said. “I tried in my daily life a lot of his advices and, to my amazement, they all work. I’m listening to a series of programs on a book, Ruth, and it is so interesting. Sometimes we think we are the only one suffering and living in an evil world. The world has been like that for thousands of years. Thank you for this great program that makes our lives easier.”
Listeners like Kujtim in Kosovo are able to listen to The Tide Gospel programs through the generosity of donors who give just $40 toward radios and media players through which the programs can be heard. For more information, click here. 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.
In 2017, The Tide ministry began offering programming in its 25th heart language—Isaan, spoken by 19 million people in Thailand. This initiative allows Thailand to join multiple regions of Albania, Bhutan, India, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, where The Tide ministry is already active in broadcasting gospel radio programming—in the languages people were born to speak.
For more information about The Tide broadcast projects, history, radio programs around the world, the new “Every Knee, Every Tongue” campaign, the weekly Global Update radio features or other news, visit its web site at www.thetide.org or its Facebook page. Read more about The Tide ministry and Don Shenk here.
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