Thanks to a new partnership—and a two-year process—in Pakistan, we are now sharing the hope of Jesus Christ over the airwaves in the Pashtu and Saraiki languages. The journey to begin these broadcasts that are reaching thousands with the unwavering truth of the Bible began two years ago. Radio programming in partnership with the Pakistani Christian Recording Ministry began in early 2020.
“In 2018, we identified four unreached people groups in Pakistan that do not have Gospel radio programming available in their own language,” said Don Shenk. “Our vision is to be sharing the Gospel with all four groups in their own language within the next five years. In 2020, God opened a door for us to take a major step forward by enabling our partner ministry in Pakistan to recruit ministry teams to record and broadcast radio programs and conduct discipleship activities in two of those languages.”
One of these teams is working with and reaching out to the Pashtun people who live in the northern areas of Pakistan. They have lower literacy rates but are strict about traditions. The other team is focused on the needs of the Saraiki-speaking people, who reside in the southern regions of Punjab province and are heavily influenced by Islam.
“This is exciting progress and provides a vital outreach in this country where Christians and ministry workers often face threats from fundamentalists who have a very unwelcome attitude toward Christianity in Pakistan,” Shenk added. “In fact, Pakistan is No. 5 on Open Doors USA’s 2020 World Watch List.”