Farshid Seyyed Mehdi: From Opening Persian-Speaking Church 222 in the Netherlands to Parliament Candidacy
The Persian-Speaking Church Council 222 in the Netherlands has been operating for 21 years since its establishment, and throughout its mission has endeavored to educate and spread the message of salvation to the world. SAMATV is one of the notable initiatives of this council, and in the following we will speak with Farshid Seyyed Mehdi, the CEO of SAMTV (Image of Iranian Christians).
Please introduce yourself and tell us about starting your service at Church Council 222?
I am Farshid Seyyed Mehdi and I live in the Netherlands. I became a believer in Christ the Lord in 1990 and began my service in 1993. From 1994, we established and started the Iranian Church, which continues to move forward and serve alongside Church Council 222 until today.
You said we started; with whom? And what actually prompted this action?
In 1994, while I was praying, one day at the Free University of the Netherlands I met a group of students who were sharing the gospel with each other and discussing Christ. One student mentioned that they had a plan to start an Iranian church and introduced me to Pastor Wegge Babakhani. From that point, I coordinated with Pastor Wegge regarding the establishment of the church. The church began to grow and we felt we needed to continue our activities under the supervision and protection of an organization and be accountable. Through their coordination, I traveled to England to meet and become acquainted with Pastor Lazarus Yegnazar. During those years, we were also invited to the 222 Conference held in Denmark. Of course, it took about a year for us to come under the umbrella of Church Council 222. Now I am serving in the media department.
What led you to media?
The media story unfolded this way: in 1998, while I was praying, the Lord showed me Revelation 14:6 from His Word, which speaks of an angel in flight carrying an eternal gospel to all nations. When I was reading this, I clearly saw the image of a satellite, and at first I thought God wanted me to become an astronaut, so I began researching space and galaxies. Then in 1999, Pastor Lazarus, along with another brother from Iran named Brother Vruyr Avanessian, called me and said they had seen a dream and wanted to share it with me. I didn’t know what this dream was about, and I had never met Brother Vruyr before, and he didn’t know me either. When I went to England to meet them and hear the dream, they told me that the dream was that God had shown them that we had started a television program and you were a program presenter. That’s when I understood that what I had seen was not space exploration but satellite television programs.
Now you serve in media as the CEO of SAMTV?
Yes, certainly. I have had many services including youth ministry, evening services, and work on television programs, and sometimes presenting new ideas for spreading the gospel message through USB and other services.
And SAMTV started from there?
We started some activities in those days, and a year later, given that Brother Lazarus also had this vision and dream, it was confirmation that we could gather people who could work with us in this field. For example, we invited someone who was producing programs for Sat 7, and other people who were active in these areas. We gathered at a conference where representatives from 41 countries of the world were present and held a seminar. From that conference, we began recording television programs. It was a unique conference where nearly a thousand Iranian believers gathered to worship the Lord’s name. This event took place in 2000, and in 2001, by God’s grace, we were on air for the first time with ICV for one hour per week. Our first test was on September 11, 2001, which is a historic day. This beginning led us in subsequent years, from 2006, to start building a studio and began cooperation with Agape Channel, starting SAMTV. Currently, we produce a half-hour program daily for Persian speakers on Agape Channel.
From the opening of the church and SAMTV, and now in 2017, Farshid Seyyed Mehdi’s name has emerged as a parliamentary candidate with the Christian Union as a representative. Please tell us about Christian Union and its power in the Dutch Parliament?
Christian Union is one of the Christian parties in the Netherlands, perhaps one of the smallest Christian parties, but what matters is that its influence and decisions are entirely based on God’s Word and founded on the Bible. Currently, it does not have many seats in the Dutch Parliament, but with the few seats it has, it exerts significant and deserving influence. One of Christian Union’s most famous slogans is “Give Voice to Your Faith,” meaning declare your faith. I really like this, and another slogan of theirs is that we are the salt of the earth, salt gives much flavor, and they want to be the taste of God. Among the works undertaken by Christian Union in recent years for the Persian-speaking Christian community, we can mention the release of Christian prisoners from Iranian prisons who were truly in danger, one of whom is Brother Vahik Abramyan, who is a close example for us. This was accomplished with the help of Christian Union and the Dutch government, through which their ambassador brought this person out of prison and transferred him to the Netherlands. This was one of my first cooperations with Christian Union and government organizations.
Was helping Christian refugees your motivation for joining Christian Union and the Dutch Parliament?
Not only Christians, but something I saw as very important was that as an immigrant living in the Netherlands, I could be the voice of immigrants and refugees who have come from a different belief and culture, and create an environment for them so that despite all the difficulties they faced during migration, they can have peace and security in this country and be able to grow in this environment and feel it as home.
We can create places where those newly arriving in the Netherlands do not see the new environment as an obstacle to their growth. My main goal, which consists of several things, is to help my own country and middle-income countries, to create an impact. In fact, we need to create an environment for freedom of expression and speech, and even advocacy in countries where this is prohibited. We can teach them this democracy. My goal is mostly to help Iran and Iranians who have no freedom to express their opinions and beliefs, and are subjected to persecution and suffering because they do not accept Islam. My goal is that through the Dutch government, we can pressure the governments of such countries so that people have the comfort to express their opinions and beliefs.
Don’t you think you might face problems with these actions?
Certainly there will be, but I choose to accept these problems so that I can be effective for the future generation of my country. Someone has to take this step. Problems are not bad; problems are sometimes constructive.
You mentioned services and previous works in which you received messages from God. Did you also receive such a message from God regarding Christian Union and parliamentary candidacy?
That was a good question. I have received many prophecies about my life for years. Specifically about this matter, there were people who prophesied and said they saw me speaking to a large group in parliament. When I heard these things, I found it very strange. I always thought that the contacts I have with some political officials were sufficient to fulfill this prophecy, and that I should speak there and convey people’s voices. I always pray, “Lord, let me be an effective instrument in Your hands.” Now I feel that the impact and service of my work, and what God has allowed me to do, God wants me to do in a new chapter and in a newer and more effective place within Christian Union. Interestingly, I personally made no effort for this or to reach this point. It seems I have been placed on a mission where all these pieces fit together like a puzzle. Christian Union proposed to me that I participate in these elections, and with prayer and consultation with God, I took this path, so that with the cooperation of all immigrants and dear fellow speakers, we can take steps and inject into society the message that politics is not something bad, and politics is part of our life. By distancing ourselves from politics, we allow governments to make decisions for our lives. We must also be able to guide our government in political decisions in the direction they should go.
By what title do they know Farshid Seyyed Mehdi at Christian Union?
What I want is for Farshid to be known as the voice of immigrants and refugees, as a believer who has experienced and endured all the sufferings and problems of refugees, and to be their voice. Christian Union knows Farshid as a representative of Persian speakers and the voice of immigrants in the Netherlands.
Final words?
My greatest wish from the Christian community is that they pray for me. Like Joseph and Daniel who went through many hardships, I too will face many difficulties. Therefore, I ask that through their protective prayers, they support me in this service and help me on this path so that I can be their voice.
The Persian-Speaking Christian News Network invites all esteemed visitors of this website to pray for Brother Farshid Seyyed Mehdi. May this brother, with God’s help, succeed on this path and glorify God’s name.
