Turkish

Background

Christianity in Turkey (‘Asia Minor’ during Biblical times) has deep historical and cultural roots. However it is a country where 99% of the more than 70 million people adhere to Islam. Though the country maintains religious freedom, it has one of the lowest percentages of Christians worldwide, with only about 3,000 evangelicals. Since Christians represent only a small fraction of the current population, reaching large masses with the gospel becomes an important and formidable task.

Words of Hope’s ministry to Turkey includes both radio and television programming. “Umut Dolu Sozler” (Words Filled with Hope) is a 12-minute radio program broadcast three times each week on FM radio stations in Ankara and Istanbul. The “Umut Dolu Sozler” television broadcast is aired 3 to 4 times per week on TURK7, a Turkish Christian satellite television channel. “Evli ve Mutlu” (Married and Happy) is a weekly one-hour radio program featuring a husband and wife team of Christian counselors, talking about marriage and family from a Christian perspective.

Ministry Updates

Turkey is a country of 78 million people, with more than 55% of the country under the age of 25. “We know that young people are a lot more open to the gospel,” shares one broadcaster. “According to statistics, a lot of people accept Christ before they are 18 years old. So we have a great opportunity to be able to reach a country, a young country with the message of the gospel.”

Listener Responses

I am a student at the university. Today I heard your show for the first time. The program explaining the life of Christ is rather intriguing to me, but my head is all mixed up. Some things you are teaching differ from what I have been told all my life. I would like to be better informed but I don’t know how.