Biography of Nizar Shaheen
Light For All Nations Founder and Host Nizar Shaheen was born in Nazareth and raised in the nearby town of Cana of Galilee . He came to know the Lord Jesus as his Saviour through the witness of a missionary in his village. The call of God was clearly upon him, which was confirmed on three different occasions by the Lord's miraculously sparing of his life from death then speaking to his heart with the words from Isaiah 43:1, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; your are Mine.” After his salvation, Nizar began to study Scripture and had a burning desire to preach and teach. Nizar committed his life to full-time service of the Lord and, after marrying Ellen Mainse from Canada (who had come to study in Jerusalem ), the young couple moved to Belgium where Nizar attended Bible college. During this time, the Lord put on Nizar's heart the vision of an Arabic language Christian evangelistic television program which would reach people in countries that are closed to missionaries – people who might otherwise never hear the Gospel. In 1984, Nizar began to produce and host the Arabic language program Light For All Nations in association with Crossroads Christian Communications, Inc. (the 100 Huntley Street television program in Canada ). The Lord blessed the Light For All Nations program and it quickly spread from being aired in Toronto , to all across Canada and in some parts of the United States . In 1987, the program was aired on the Middle East Television station and, in 1996, the program began airing on satellite to reach Europe , North Africa , the Middle East , and the Gulf countries (the 10/40 window). In 1996, after Light For All Nations became an independent corporation, the ministry branched out and Nizar returned to his homeland with his wife Ellen and their five children to produce the Arabic program from the Holy Land and tape many on-location Bible teaching segments. While the administration office remained in Canada , the Jerusalem office was equipped to fully produce the television program. During the five years that Nizar lived in the Holy Land with his family, the Light For All Nations program was enriched with much local and Middle Eastern content. Shortly before returning to Canada in the summer of 2001, the Lord blessed the Shaheen family with their sixth child. For the year of 1999, Nizar taught the New Testament daily on the Canadian Christian television program, 100 Huntley Street via taped segments from the Middle East . Since October 1998, Nizar has been hosting an English program called Let There Be Light which is being aired by CTS in North America . Nizar is an ordained minister of the Southern Baptist Convention in Israel and works closely with many churches of different denominations. He conducts revival meetings in Canada and abroad, and has held many seminars for married couples and youth. He has done many radio programs and hosted video productions for other Christian organizations. During the years 2000, 2001, and 2002, he hosted the Christmas specials produced by the national Israeli television station in the Arabic language (with Hebrew subtitles). Nizar has extensive biblical knowledge, including the background and lands of the Bible as well as archeological knowledge of the Holy Land . He has written a devotional commentary on the entire Old Testament called Day Unto Day (published by Crossroads Christian Communications Inc. 1988, 1989) and a two-volume book entitled The Unique Christ (published by Crossroads Christian Communications Inc. and Castle Quay Books, 2002, 2003). Nizar has led several tours to the Holy Land for people from North America , and while living in Jerusalem , organized and hosted several one-day tours to significant places for local people. This afforded him the opportunity to preach the Gospel to many who do not attend church. Through these tours, many have experienced salvation. Nizar is a gifted communicator in both the Arabic and English
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