It was an amazing privilege for us and eight others, from England and Germany, to recently spend four unforgettable days with the MEM team in North Africa, and to get a better understanding of their inspiring work.
We were warmly welcomed into MEM’s offices, where we toured their studios and production rooms. One of the aspects that the team communicated to us was the importance of producing media of high quality. This has led them to being able to supply the secular market, as well as produce their own media projects. They are working with several well-known for-profit companies, and this income helps support their Christian ministry activities.
The team was bigger than we expected, with a number of young, enthusiastic practitioners eager to talk to us and show us what they were working on. They communicated an excitement about our visit and they were great hosts, laying on delicious Middle Eastern food for us! It was extremely heart-warming to see the zeal for the Lord in the work of our hosts.
Our hosts also planned a great itinerary for us, with daily visits to places of interest such as archaeological wonders, mosques, churches, markets and the local Bible Society. Different members of the team joined us each day, providing more opportunity to get alongside them, and allowing us to benefit from their knowledge of the area, culture and customs. Our Christian tour guide shared openly about his faith, and spoke knowledgeably about the region’s Christian culture and history. We learnt to be more discreet when talking to the team in public places about their work, and gained a greater understanding of MEM’s approach. We now have a deeper appreciation for the difficult tightrope they have to walk, as they share about God in a challenging context.
As Basil has Middle Eastern roots, and the two of us spent a year living together in Jordan, we found it encouraging to learn more about how MEM reaches out across the region. It is inspiring how they take into account different cultures, languages and dialects when sharing the good news of Jesus.
We felt challenged and inspired by the team’s infectious, joyful faith and witness. We came away much better equipped to pray intelligently for MEM’s work, and are keen to enthuse our church to support and follow them more.
We would like to encourage Christians in other churches to become better informed about what MEM is doing. We hear so much bad news about the Middle East from the Western media, and yet there is so much good news to be thankful for. And, if you get the chance, we can’t recommend highly enough a visit to MEM in North Africa. It was an amazing privilege and eye-opener for us – one we’ll never forget.
Rev Basil and Liz Denno
Buxton, Derbyshire