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“Be still, and know that i am God! i will Be honored
By every nation. i will Be honored throuGhout the world.
the lord of heaven’s armies is here amonG us;
the God of israel is our fortress.”
Psalm 46:10-11 nlt
As 2008 fades away and we look forward to a
new year, this Scripture tells us what TBN is all
about! For 35 years, we’ve been taking the Good
News of Jesus Christ to the nations and the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies is among us. Because of you, and
your faithful support, TBN has exploded this past year
— but with digital television we are starting a whole
new ministry!
One of the most exciting additions to the TBN
family this past year was the purchase of WSFJ
DTV Channel 24 in Columbus, Ohio — a whole
new full power digital station. This new station
added one million more households to the TBN
viewing audience and now the Central Valley of Ohio
is blanketed with the good news of Jesus Christ! Tell
your friends about this addition which makes this our
34th full power TV license here in the U.S. — but also
know that new opportunities are becoming available
weekly — so keep us in your prayers! In addition to
Columbus, we are also building a full power station
in Denver, Colorado. TBN has operated a local TV
studio and low power station in that market for years,
but this new full power license will guarantee coverage
on all of the cable systems and improved coverage for
our “over-the-air” viewers. Pray for our engineers as
the transmitter and tower go up. This new lighthouse
for the Gospel will represent station number 35!! Your
TBN continues to explode with growth because of
God’s miracles and blessing.
As many of you may already know, February 17,
2009, is a very important date for all broadcasters. It’s
the day all full power TV stations switch from analog
to digital. This is something we’ve been working on
for almost 10 years now, and the cutoff date is upon us.
For those of you who watch TBN on cable, DirecTV,
The Dish Network, the Internet, Verizon FIOS or
AT&T U-verse, NOTHING WILL CHANGE! TBN is not going away, or switching anything. Only those
who watch “over-the-air” with an outside antenna or
“rabbit ears” will be affected, and you could possibly
lose reception…but also know a solution is readily
available. If you don’t want to buy a new TV with a
digital tuner installed, you can purchase a converter
box that will allow you to tune in these new digital
signals and watch on your older analog set. There is
an ad in this newsletter with more information on how
to obtain one of these boxes, or you can simply go to
www.TBNdtv.com for more information.
The year of 2008 also saw the opening and
dedication of TBN’s new high definition production
facility in Manhattan! We are moving into New York
City with a vengeance and this studio is the new home
of WTBY-27 Digital. The studio is located at 111 East
15th Street, just a short distance from Union Square.
For our TBN partners who live in that area, please
stop by and say hello or take a tour — you will be
impressed with the beautiful improvements we made
to this historic building originally constructed in 1869. We
will be producing network quality programs from this state-of-the-art facility and we hope you’ll come by and be a part.
While we officially purchased The Holy Land Experience in Orlando Florida in 2007, my mom spent most of this past
year living there and supervising its rebirth. She has worked
tirelessly redecorating, cleaning, improving, and adding new
shows, plays, concerts, movies, and attractions. The “Smile
of a Child Kid’s Adventure Land” is up and running and the
“Crystal Living Waters” musical attraction operates daily.
The Lord is using this facility for ministry, as we are seeing
people accept Jesus as their Savior right in the park! It’s also
proving to be a great place for TV production. We’ve shot
dozens of specials and TV programs in the park, and the
ministry taking place is being seen around the world. If you
are ever in the Orlando area, please come by and bring your
whole family. At the end of the day your
faith will be strengthened and encouraged.
Our cable department was very busy
in 2008. The way people receive television
into their homes is changing rapidly. First
it was wirelessly “over-the-air,” then cable
and now a whole new world is emerging
with IPTV, Fiber and the Internet. The
phone companies are getting into the
television distribution business and
we are on the cutting edge of this new
offering. Verizon FIOS and AT&T’s
U-verse is expanding rapidly into
hundreds of new cities. If you subscribe
to either one of these services, you
not only get our main TBN channel,
but also The Church Channel, JCTV
for youth, Smile of a Child for kids, and Enlace USA for
our Spanish speaking partners — all five, for the price of
one! We’ve added almost a million new homes primarily
through these two services, and statistics show that these
two services will grow dramatically over the next few years.
We are keeping our eyes on all of these new technologies.
Soon, you’ll even be able to watch TBN wirelessly on your
cell phone (wait, isn’t that the way TV began?). It’s interesting
how certain ideas come around again and become new.
TBN is truly a worldwide ministry. We receive hundreds
of letters and e-mails everyday from the four corners of
the earth thanking us for the programming. Lives are
being changed, hearts are being touched and faith is being
strengthened. Our foreign relations department reports that
in 2008 we sent hundreds of satellite receivers to Egypt
and the Middle East; 1,100 receivers went to Sri Lanka;
our Russian language programming can now be picked up
in Israel; we’ve added TBN to 18,000,000 homes in India;
JCTV is now available in Poland, Rwanda, Ghana and
Vietnam; the Marshall Islands signed on; and a new Urdu
language channel is available in Pakistan. Again, while
much has been accomplished, there is much yet to do — and
with your financial support and prayers, it will happen!
If 2008 was a year of “New Beginnings”…then 2009
is going to be even better! As we enter this new year, let
us never forget that everything we do is for God’s glory,
to whom all the honor is due, and not ours. January is the
time to represent and remember, “First Fruits.” Everything
we have was given to us by God, and to honor the Lord we
should sow our first fruits. It says in Exodus 23:19 (KJV),
“The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring
into the house of the LORD thy God….” It goes on to say
in verse 20, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep
thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I
have prepared.”
If we will honor God with our first fruits, He promises
to send an Angel before us! This is an order directly from the
Lord and something to which all of us should pay attention.
Sow your gift today into TBN’s ministry. We promise to
use it wisely and to continue to take the good news of Jesus
Christ around the world.
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