In this episode of The Go and Send Podcast, Mike and Cody sit down with Soner Tufan, director of Petra Media Group, a network of Christian radio stations reaching across Turkey, a nation of over 90 million people where fewer than 10,000 identify as Christian.
In this episode of The Go and Send Podcast, Mike and Cody sit down with Soner Tufan, director of Petra Media Group, a network of Christian radio stations reaching across Turkey, a nation of over 90 million people where fewer than 10,000 identify as Christian. Soner's own story began as a teenager raised Muslim, whose questions about faith -- sparked by a borrowed Bible from his Taekwondo teacher -- led him to Christ despite the cost, including real conflict within his own family over his decision.
From there, Soner's ministry took on a life of its own -- writing Turkey's first Christian children's Bible, running children's camps nationwide, and eventually stepping into leadership of a small radio station that broadcast just one minute of live programming a day. That station has since grown into a multi-station network broadcasting in Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic, reaching entire cities and, through digital platforms, reaching Turks around the world who would never risk stepping inside a church.
Soner speaks candidly about the real dangers Christians face in Turkey -- discrimination, threats, and even martyrdom -- and about the perspective that's carried him through it all: that suffering for Christ isn't something to endure, but a privilege to be shared with him.
Contact us at goandsend@sonsetsolutions.org
Resources & Links:
● Friends of Petra: https://www.friendsofpetra.org
● Petra Media Group on YouTube
00:00 -- Cold Open: "Don't Step Back, Don't Worry, Don't Give Up. Just Go."
00:48 -- Meet Soner Tufan: Christian Radio in the Heart of Turkey
01:25 -- What It's Really Like to Be a Christian in a 99% Muslim Nation
02:31 -- Religion on Your ID Card and Everyday Discrimination
04:44 -- When a Classmate Tried to Kill His Son for Being Christian
05:41 -- Losing Your Nationality by Losing Your Religion
06:38 -- Turkey's 90 Million People and Only 7,000 Christians
08:42 -- No Churches, No Bible Colleges, No Christian Schools
09:22 -- How Hardship Makes Faith Strong
12:36 -- The Nominal Christian Problem in the West
12:45 -- Threats on His Life From Radical Groups
13:46 -- His Korean Taekwondo Teacher and a Borrowed Bible
15:09 -- A Provocative Question About Abraham and Isaac
17:22 -- Choosing Jesus in a Country With Almost No Christians
18:34 -- Praising God While His Brother Broke His Nose
19:47 -- Hiding Bible Verses on Scraps of Paper
22:31 -- His Whole Family Comes to Christ
24:06 -- The Urgency to Tell Others the Good News
26:03 -- Writing Turkey's First Christian Children's Bible
28:15 -- Years of Running Children's Camps Across Turkey
29:19 -- Joining Petra Media Group as a Program Writer
30:03 -- Becoming Director of a Christian Radio Station
31:29 -- The First Live Broadcast: Less Than One Minute Long
33:36 -- Growing to Four Radio Stations Across Turkey and Cyprus
34:36 -- Embracing New Platforms: Periscope, YouTube, and TikTok
37:36 -- Setting Up a Transmitter Over a City of Millions
38:24 -- Sabotage at the Samsun Radio Station
40:17 -- Three Days of Prayer, Fasting, and a Flood of Response
42:30 -- Broadcasting the Gospel in Kurdish for the First Time
45:51 -- The Vision Behind Petra Media Group
51:08 -- A Listener's Testimony Read Aloud -- by the Listener Himself
52:45 -- Developing a New Format: One-Minute Radio Dramas
55:18 -- Countless Untold Stories of Changed Lives
55:49 -- The Secret Christians Who Listen for Years in Silence
58:15 -- The Cost Some Believers Have Paid With Their Lives
1:00:37 -- Finding Strength in the Privilege of Suffering for Christ
1:06:49 -- Soner's Vision for the Future of Petra Media Group
1:09:19 -- How to Get Involved and Learn More
1:16:09 -- Why Short-Term Trips Change Everything
1:17:52 -- Closing Thoughts and Thanks
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Website: https://www.sonsetsolutions.org