***News Release***
The Tide® Radio Ministry Partners Are Thankful for an Impactful Year in Albania
Said One Listener: ‘My Life Has Changed Drastically and It All Started One Day While Listening to the Radio’
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.—Ready to start the new year fresh, The Tide® (www.thetide.org)global radio ministry partners in Albania are looking back on a successful and blessed 2018.
“Our partners in Albania, Kosovo and the Balkan region have been reporting amazing and uplifting work among the people there,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. “For example, thousands of lives have been transformed through radio and television, and more than 60 pastors and ministry leaders were trained and equipped to continue building the body of Christ in Albania and Kosovo.”
Additionally, through the work of Radio 7 in Albania, over 3,800 people participated in biblical counseling seminars, 95 widows and their children were supported through programs, and more than 1,250 people living in extreme poverty—some with disabilities—received free medical care.
Likewise, a student named Agron contacted Radio 7, shared his testimony:
“I love to listen to the radio,” Agron said. “I always believed that I’m strong enough to do everything in my life and do not need God. As I was listening to the program ‘Sipas Fjales’ on the radio, I had a desire to meet with the pastor and challenge him. Pastor K was too nice, and ready to have coffee with me and talk more about the Bible. I thought I didn’t need God. As we met day by day, I understood that I am a sinner and God has a plan for my life. I made a decision to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior. Since than my life has changed drastically. And it all started one day while listening to the radio. Thank you for bringing hope and healing to my heart and please pray for the salvation of my family members.”
Albania was once a country completely closed off to the Gospel, where church buildings, temples, mosques or any other type of religious structures were either destroyed or renovated for other use. Under the Communist regime, authorities in Albania went so far as to even remove the word “God” from dictionaries. This all changed during the 1990s, and today Albania is open to missionaries and allows total religious freedom. However, people who embrace evangelical Christianity currently make up less than 1 percent of the entire population.
The Tide ministry currently offers audio programming in 25 heart languages spoken by millions of people in multiple regions of Albania, Bhutan, India, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, Thailand and Zimbabwe, making it possible for multiple people groups to hear the Gospel in the languages they were born to speak.
For more information about The Tide broadcast projects, history, radio programs around the world, the “Every Knee, Every Tongue” campaign, the “Have You Heard?” initiative, 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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