SAT-7 is celebrating 15 years of broadcasting Christian programmes across the Middle East and North Africa.

The ministry started out as a single channel format but has enjoyed unexpected success over the years and now broadcasts SAT-7 Arabic, SAT-7 Pars, SAT-7 Kids and SAT-7 Turk.

SAT-7 Kids remains the first and only 24-hour Christian channel exclusively for Arab children.

Until SAT-7's first transmission on 31 May 1996, fear of government reprisals meant the media had largely been out of bounds for the Arab Christian community.

Rita El Mounayer, Executive Director for SAT-7's three Arabic channels, was there when SAT-7 made its historic first broadcast.

She sees a continuing hunger in the Middle East and North Africa for SAT-7's holistic and uplifting programming.

"We're very excited about our shows and the people making them - people who want to make a real difference in the lives of our viewers," she said.

"And we can see how much our programmes are impacting people, especially those caught up in the current crisis."

The 15th anniversary coincides with the Arab Spring sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa.

Whilst the unrest has been difficult for many people, SAT-7 has used recent events as an opportunity to help Arab Christian communities witness to the Lord, debate the future of their countries, and encourage one another.

"I was recently very touched to see how Iraqis were, on-air, encouraging Egyptians during the recent unrest there," says El Mounayer.

"Iraqis are going through so much themselves and yet they are calling in to our shows to pray for and encourage others. It's beautiful."