A Tribute to Phill Butler

Phill Butler, a long-time friend and ministry partner to SAT-7, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, April 2, 2023. He was 86 years old and passed peacefully in his home in Pasadena, California. Phill was a visionary leader who was the founder of three world-changing ministries — InterCristo, InterDev, and VisionSynergy. He had a passion for missions and was skilled at fostering partnerships among ministry leaders.

Having a background in broadcasting, Phill was instrumental in helping SAT-7 in its early days, starting with consultations in the 1970’s that led to the formation of the North Africa Partnership. He provided a facilitator to help Dr. Terence Ascott (then working as International Director of Middle East Media) with the region’s first ever Christian TV consultation in Egypt in 1983. He also helped facilitate work with Middle East Media from 1992-94 in Cyprus on the 200+ page research paper, Christian Mission in the Arab World. The partnership-building consultative process leading to the final report gave a clear mandate for the launch of a satellite television ministry for the region, something which paved the way for the effective launch of SAT-7.

Watch an interview in 2018 between Dr. Ascott and Phill below.

In 2022, Phill was honored, along with 14 other ministry partners, with the Labib Madanat Kingdom Impact Award, given by SRG (Strategic Resource Group) “in recognition of a life given to opening doors for the Gospel in the Greater Middle East.”

Phill will be missed by many. He was married to Jeanne for 25 years until her passing in 1983 and to Sybil for 23 years until her passing in 2008. Phill is survived by two children, Kärin Butler Primuth and Shelley Dianne Butler, and three grandchildren.