Terence “Terry” Ascott has lived in the Middle East and served as the leader for indigenous media ministries for more than 45 years. In 1973 Terry moved to Beirut, Lebanon, and worked to launch an Arabic Christian publishing ministry. After the start of the Lebanese Civil War, Terry and his family evacuated to Egypt. In Egypt, Terry launched an Arabic youth magazine called Magalla. It was the first Christian magazine successfully distributed on newsstands in more than a dozen Arab counties. Magalla was published for over two decades and was, for many, their first exposure to the Christian faith.
While working on the magazine, Terry’s ministry became involved in other media projects, including video production. In 1995 he, along with Middle Eastern Christian leaders and around twenty partner organizations working in the region, launched SAT-7, the first Arabic language Christian satellite television channel. The channel was a pioneer in many areas, breaking ground for other ministries to follow.
Terry served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) until April 1, 2019, when he transitioned to the role of Founder & President. On the appointment of Rita El-Mounayer as CEO of SAT-7 at that time, Terry says, “It has been exciting to see how far Rita El-Mounayer has come since the early days when she scripted, produced, and presented SAT-7’s first children’s programs. I really believe that she is going to be exceptional in the role of CEO.”
In the years since its launch, SAT-7 has grown from a two-hour a week broadcast to a network of four 24-hour channels: SAT-7 ARABIC (Arabic Christian programming for every age group), SAT-7 KIDS (the first and currently the only Arabic Christian channel for children), SAT-7 PARS (a 24-hour channel in Farsi/Persian, with some programming in Dari for Afghanistan) and SAT-7 TÜRK (Christian programming for 100 million Turkish-speakers in the region).
SAT-7 has more than 200 employees, mostly Middle Eastern nationals, who work in its offices and studios in Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Cyprus, and the UK.
Terry holds a first-class B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, with Honors, from Middlesex University, England. In December 2011, he was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Christian Ministries degree from Belhaven University “for extraordinary work and achievements in promoting Christianity throughout the Middle East and North Africa.”
He and his wife Jacqueline live in Nicosia, Cyprus, and have three grown children and three grandchildren.
