The Tide® (www.TheTide.org) ministry is a global missional outreach program that shares the Gospel daily in over 30 different languages in 39 countries on three continents, reaching millions of people including those in Afghanistan, Albania, Bhutan, India, Kosovo, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, and Zimbabwe. Thousands of lives have been touched by our daily radio broadcasts that share the Good News in a specific region’s “heart languages,” or the local languages of a given area.
We have recently reached Pakistan, an area tightly bound to their religious influences from cultural tradition and pressure from their leaders. This makes the people there extremely closed to outside influence and very hesitant to respond. Despite these potential hardships, we continue to share the Gospel in two languages and are beginning to see the fruits of our labor. Staff in the area are reporting that they received 15 letters and short messages from Pashtun listeners in the last 3 months. During that same time period, 26 people responded to the Saraiki radio program.
While these numbers seem small, they are still quite an accomplishment for any ministry in Pakistan, considering the remote areas that many people live in. For the gospel to make inroads into people’s lives and communities is going to take time and perseverance—something to which we are ready to commit.
Director Don Shenk stated, “If only one person heard the Gospel through our radio broadcasts and was saved, it would be worth it. Luckily, people are starting to respond to the message, and this is just the beginning. We will continue to be diligent in our ministry in the area until every last person has heard the Good News or Christ returns.