BTGMI Enters New Partnership with Middle East Media Ministry

A rather historic event occurred on December 13, 2017.

Rev. Ekram Lemaiye, director of the media council for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Egypt (EPCE), Rev. Kurt Selles, director of ReFrame Ministries (BTGMI), and Rev. Jon Opgenorth, president of Words of Hope (WOH) met via video conferencing to sign a ministry agreement, forming a new Arabic ministry partnership between the three organizations. Also present from Egypt were Rev. Rafat Fathy, general secretary of EPCE and Rev. Amir Tharwat, pastor of Fagalla church in Cairo and EPCE media council board member. 

“As churches and ministries who share a Reformed heritage and calling to build God’s kingdom, specifically in the area of media, we believe that God has been preparing us for some years to take a step toward this partnership and shared ministry in the Middle East,” explains Selles.

Selles and Fathy first met in person in June 2016, at the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). After months of previous meetings in Egypt and by video conferencing, the ministries had signed an initial agreement in June 2016 with a final goal to move forward with the partnership. Rev. Fathy was in Grand Rapids, MI, as a fraternal delegate to CRC Synod for EPCE, also called the Synod of the Nile.

The December 13 document makes the partnership official.

“Our vision is to see media used effectively in major world languages, like Arabic, to proclaim the Gospel, grow disciples, and strengthen the church,” said Selles.

Opgenorth added, “This partnership fits our model of coming alongside strong indigenous ministries to help expand and strengthen their media outreach.”

BTGMI began Arabic broadcasts in 1958 with Rev. Bassam Madany, the CRC’s first non-English media outreach. Following his retirement, BTGMI began a partnership with WOH (the media ministry affiliated with the Reformed Church in America) and MERF (Middle East Reformed Fellowship) to expand ministry throughout Arabic-speaking regions.

“We are relaunching the Arabic media ministry partnership with the Media Council of the EPCE,” Selles explains. “Our new partnership ministry, called al-Hoda (an Arabic term meaning, ‘the one who guides others back to the true way, or to God’), is set to begin producing programs by the end of the year.”

Al Hoda was begun in 1907 as a ministry of EPCE to reach the Egyptian church through printing a weekly newspaper. EPCE now represents more than 600 congregations and 24 schools. Many members of the EPCE serve in Egypt’s Parliament.

Coming alongside Al Hoda, BTGMI and WOH will assist in expanding their media ministry in multichannel ways. Fathy notes, “We have a good relationship with Arabic churches throughout the world, but there is a lack of theological materials from a Reformed perspective.” He is looking forward to completing the translation of much needed theological books and getting them into the hands of pastors.

Using the internet, social media, and smartphone applications, Al Hoda programs will call the lost to faith in Jesus Christ. The ministry will also distribute discipleship resources for nurturing followers of Jesus. “Over time, our goal is to expand program Gospel program content beyond Egypt to the rest of the Middle East and the world,” says Selles.

Opgenorth adds, “We believe that the partnership of BTGMI and WOH with al-Hoda represents a great step forward in expanding ministry among Arabic speakers, to see many come to faith in Christ and grow in discipleship.”

In closing the signing ceremony, Rev. Ekram praised God for this extraordinary development in the relationship between our two denominations, prayed for the next steps that we will take together, for fruitful and faithful ministry in the Arab world in the months and years to come, and for God’s grace and blessing to continue to bring growth and health to the Christian Reformed Church in North America.