The Taliban have banned Christian materials and driven Christian ministry underground. Now, a new satellite television channel is carrying the message of Jesus Christ into Afghan homes.
Mozhda TV began broadcasting Oct. 24, launching what its founders describe as the first dedicated Afghan Christian television channel, according to Christian Daily International. Its programming will reach Afghanistan in the country’s own languages, bringing the gospel to people living under Taliban rule.
“This day, for the first time in history, the first Afghan Christian satellite channel will start its broadcasting to Afghanistan and around the world,” Shoaib Ebadi, executive director of the Afghanistan Bible Society, said in a recorded message at the launch.
The ministry faces a country where Christian outreach has encountered severe restrictions. Christian Daily International reported that nearly all Christian workers were removed from Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Christian materials were banned and destroyed. Internet access has also been cut at times.
Satellite television offers another route into Afghan households.
“Almost everyone has a television and a satellite dish at home,” Mozhda TV Executive Director Masoud Ghorbani told Finnish mission organization Sansa in an interview cited by Christian Daily International. “The Taliban control the country, but they cannot control the satellites.”
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Producer Mikael Tunér told Sansa that underground churches exist and several thousand Christians live in Afghanistan, despite Taliban claims that the country has no Christians. He emphasized the importance of Afghan viewers seeing Christians from their own nation.
The channel currently airs programs in Dari and Pashto. Plans include programming in Hazaragi, Uzbek, Turkmen and Baluchi.
Women are a central focus. The team is producing health and educational programs they can watch privately at home, alongside a message of hope rooted in Christ.
“We want to tell them that the Lord loves them and that ‘this is not the end; hold on to hope,’” Ghorbani told Sansa.
Minutes after the channel went on air, Ghorbani preached from Mark 6:34, describing Jesus’ compassion for people who were like sheep without a shepherd.
He spoke about separated families, persecution and women facing discrimination. He described mothers who see no future for their children and young people struggling with despair.
“Jesus Christ is the good shepherd of Afghanistan,” he declared, citing John 10:11.
Ghorbani also considered who might be watching the inaugural broadcast.
“We don’t know who is watching our program for the first time right now, perhaps even the Taliban,” he said. “We need to pray for them.”
The launch followed decades of prayer. Al Hayat Ministries founder Harun Ibrahim traced the vision to a 1986 youth camp in Finland where participants prayed for Afghanistan. Forty years later, mission organizations from different denominations united to help launch the channel.
Pray for the protection and strength of our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, wisdom for the Mozhda TV team and open hearts among everyone who hears the gospel, including those enforcing the restrictions.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
