A university student trying out different majors stumbles into a job opportunity at Hope Channel where he discovers both a vocational and spiritual calling in digital ministry.
By Abanoub
I’ve been working at Al-Waad (the Arabic Hope Channel) for almost two years now, but my journey here didn’t start in the media. I first studied accounting at Middle East University, then stopped and moved into electromechanics and general electricity. At that point, I was simply looking for a side job. Roni Haddad, an Al-Waad employee back then, recommended me and introduced me to Moises Cordova, Al-Waad’s Audiovisual Manager.
When I started, I honestly didn’t know anything about audiovisual work. I loved taking pictures, but I had no experience with video, editing, recording, or hosting. The beginning was very hard. The learning curve was steep—but over time, something clicked. I remember thinking, “I see myself here. I find myself here.”
That’s when I decided to switch my major to Graphic Design. My studies helped me understand the tools, software, and creative process, but the real learning happened on the job, through daily practice.
As I worked, I became aware of how effective and impactful this work is to ministry, and I longed to see digital ministry expand in my home country of Egypt. Now, this is more than a job for me, it is a calling, and everything I do–studying, working, and gaining experience is focused on preparing to build the work in Egypt.
A big part of digital ministry and my own journey has been figuring out how to reach people—what topics to talk about, where to post, and how to grab attention. Many ideas didn’t work. For example, one video showed a boy holding a Bible saying, “This is your way, your life,” but it didn’t explain what that meant or how to start reading, and it didn’t reach many people. Other videos sounded too commanding; instead of inviting curiosity, they didn’t engage the audience well, either.
Recently, something unexpected happened: one topic began drawing more engagement than everything else combined. On November 12, while checking video insights, I noticed one short had reached around 1,000 views—far more than usual. I immediately called Moises and said, “We figured out something that works.”
The video was very simple: a short audio quote from an audiobook about angels helping people in the end times.
At first, we had only posted it on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Later, when we started using TikTok, the views grew even more. Within a week, the video passed 1,700 views, and we knew it was time to focus more on angel-related content.
We found an Ellen G. White compilation on angels, which Moises shared in English, and I translated into Arabic for our program called “Beauty of the Word.” With no budget, we had to be creative about how to present the content. Moises suggested collaborating with Jessica, a vlogger with over 3,000 followers. She agreed to help write scripts in her own style and record videos. Recording finally started on November 27, and we posted daily.
The results were beyond anything we expected. The first video posted on December 2 reached over 1,800 views in two days. By the end of the week, some platforms passed 2,000 views, setting a new kind of record for Al-Waad.
To test whether people were watching because of the presenter or the content, we had an Al-Waad colleague, Shereen, who had never been on camera before, record videos. Her video reached 3,000 views, including 3.3K on YouTube, confirming that the increased views were less about the influencer and more about the content itself.
Our plan now is to create more videos with Jessica and others with Shereen that follow the book’s chapters. So far, we’ve completed three chapters with Jessica and are continuing to build content with Shereen.
I am grateful for God’s leading in my vocational life in ways that enable me to share hope with others in effective ways.