Square One World Media is celebrating 75 years of sharing the gospel with people around the world, reflecting on the many lives changed from their ministry.

Ingrid Koss is the Communications Writer with Square One World Media.

"We are celebrating 75 years of ministry," says Koss. "I'm the official archivist here so I've been digging into our archives. We're making a documentary to celebrate those 75 years. We hope to honour God with it, honour some of the people who have given their lives to serve God through media, and tell some really interesting and amazing stories."

The screening event will take place in October. 

A Vast History

"The first piece of media was a radio program on February 23, 1947," says Koss. "It was inspired by students at Mennonite Brethren Bible College. They were studying to be missionaries and they were wondering how they could share the gospel when they got to those countries. They came up with radio and then thought if it'll work in India or China, why wouldn't it work in Winnipeg."

They put on a live radio program once a week on Sundays as a church radio program called Gospel Light Hour. They put on a live program for roughly 8 years until the mid-50s, then switched to pre-recorded programs.

"My uncles sang in the early quartets with this company and I sang in the Gospel Light Children's Choir a very long time ago," says Koss. "So it's been a ministry that's been around and I have a family history with this place. I did my practicum here about 6-7 years ago and I just loved working here. When there was an opening, I was in."

Shortly after the ministry started the staff heard a story about how they impacted one man's life. 

"In the early 50s, there was a man who was going to kill himself. He turned on the radio, heard the Gospel Light Hour program, listened to it, and gave his life to Jesus."

In the 90s when the ministry started airing programs in the Middle East, they heard another powerful testimony. 

"There was a suicide bomber in Palestine. He was planning to blow himself up the next day. He was in a hotel room, nervous about what he was about to do. He turned on the T.V. and saw our Arabic program and even though he had no intention of listening to it, he felt like the speaker was speaking directly to him."

The man phoned the number on the bottom of the screen, talked with the staff and gave his life to Jesus that day. Needless to say, he didn't follow through with his bombing plans the following day, saving more than just his own life.

What's Happening Now

"I would like to thank all the kingdom workers over the 75 years that were somehow a part of this ministry," says Shoaib Ebadi, the Director of Square One World Media. "In Acts 13:36, we read "now when David had served God's purpose in his own generation," and all the staff, they served God in their generation."

It started off as one radio show a week. Now they produce media in multiple forms in seven different languages, including English, Low German, Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic, and Persian.

"In the last 75 years, what I can say boldly, is that millions of people heard the gospel, heard the good news of Jesus Christ, through this ministry. Thousands and thousands believe in Jesus through it as well."

Ebadi has his own powerful conversion story, which gives him the fuel to continue sharing the gospel through his work. The team at Square One World Media are believers from all different types of denominations and cultures. 

"We are one team with different backgrounds," says Ebadi. "We have colleagues from Russia, Ukraine, South America, Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Paraguay and Bolivia. We are one team and that's the number one uniqueness of this team."

Another thing that sets the organization apart is allowing each country to produce its own material that is culturally sensitive to the community it serves. 

"This is why we have such a huge impact on the Spanish world, the Russian world, and Arabic/Persian world. This has a high impact because what we do is equip and encourage Christian storytellers. It's what we've done for the last 75 years and what we continue to do."

Celebration

"We are launching an interactive history page today on our website. A lot of short stories about what has happened over the years," says Koss, allowing the public to see the impact. 

As of today, Square One World Media is launching a campaign called $75 for 75 years. 

"We welcome any amount, of course. All of this is for God's kingdom and glory. We are accountable to God first and to the authorities in Canada and our colleagues. We have a high level of accountability."

Lastly, the ministry will be airing their documentary in October. A date will be announced closer to the time. 

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