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2000 TBN YEAR OF JUBILEE!
Are you ready to be startled? Ah, dear Partners,
buckle up your spiritual seatbelts and let me take you on an
around-the-world speed thrill that will take your breath away!
Take a deep breath and let's GO!
Yes, the year 2000 was, indeed, our Year of Jubilee! Eutelsat "Hot Bird 5" got the year off with a bang literally! Europe, western Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa welcomed TBN 24 hours a day. The response has been overwhelming. E-mails, faxes, cards and letters poured in from 38 new nations. This new DTH (Direct-To-Home) satellite reaches 120 million new households. The Christians are still rejoicing, but the most thrilling are letters like this one:
This young man from a Moslem country went on to ask for literature to help him grow in the Christian faith! Praise the Lord! Yes, dear Partners, we are reaching multitudes, like this one, with the GOOD NEWS:
How we rejoice to see the Gospel going into closed Moslem countries. We wondered for years as to how God would get the message of salvation to them, but now we see it -- SATELLITE -- direct to homes! The full effect of this miracle came as Benny Hinn went to the Arab country of Dubai for a miracle crusade. When Benny asked how many are watching This Is Your Day on TBN, nearly every hand went up! I nearly had my own private RAPTURE when I saw the tape that Benny Hinn brought and showed us! Praise God, dear Partners -- we have a TV SATELLITE STATION covering over a BILLION SOULS from Norway to North Africa on "HOT BIRD 5." Glory be to God Most High!
In April, Jan and I went to Nairobi, Kenya to join Benny Hinn for a mighty miracle crusade. On the way, we stopped in Madrid, Spain to review progress on our new studio building for Channel 26; overnighted in Cairo, Egypt, and to our delight, confirmed that they are receiving "HOT BIRD" from Europe! In Nairobi, we were overwhelmed at the mass of humanity that came. The police estimated the crowd at ONE MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND! Just last year, I went to KENYA to dedicate our new TV station, Channel 45. The immense crowd let us know how much they loved "THEIR" new TV station, as thousands answered dear Benny Hinn's altar call! How many were saved? Only God knows, but it had to be many thousands! From Kenya, Jan returned home and I journeyed on to INDIA.
There I had the joy of speaking to 400,000 gathered
for an annual Christian convention, and again, the thunderous
welcome confirmed that much of India is watching TBN/Miracle
Network, our affiliate in Asia.
But the spine-tingling, mind-numbing call that reached me on May 5 in Madras, India, eclipsed everything for the year 2000! We had waited with bated breath for the Federal Court decision on the Miami license challenge. On February 29, final arguments were made before the three-judge Federal Appellate Court in Washington, D.C. At stake was, not just Miami, but, in effect, the whole TBN network. As I have told you many times, if we had lost Miami, it would only have been a matter of time until all of the TBN stations were lost. The battle for Miami and five of our stations had raged for over eight years. When my administrative assistant, Terry Hickey, called me with the verdict, I nearly collapsed for JOY! "Paul," he shouted, "the Federal Court has ruled 3 to 0 that the Miami case is won! The battle is over -- we are free!" I had just sat down to dinner as the cell phone was handed to me. I didn't eat much that night, but hurried to my room to weep and rejoice for the greatest victory in 27 years for TBN! Ah yes, 2000 -- what a year -- truly our Year of Jubilee! From India, I journeyed on to China -- Beijing, the capital. There I met with eight of the top government ministries to explore the possibility of TBN coming to China. I was cordially received and made many new friends in China. Earlier in the year, I had met the Honorable Li Zhaoxing, Chinese Ambassador to the United States. It was clear from that and subsequent meetings that China was reaching out a hand of friendship. They were concerned about the rise of false cults in China and were exploring -- wonder of wonders -- the Christian faith! With great joy, I explained that the only defense against dangerous false cults is to let us come and assist the Christians of China in teaching the TRUE Christian faith! Last November, we flashed the good news that China is opening the door and that we will have Christian TV THIS YEAR in China! As I write this letter to you in mid-November, Benny Hinn is in China to finalize the TV cable carriage and to make plans for a great miracle crusade -- IN CHINA! Praise God -- will wonders never cease? Finally, to recall just the highlights of the year 2000, we launched yet another satellite over Europe, speaking all Italian; covered the historic Billy Graham Amsterdam 2000 crusade; met Benny Hinn in Latvia for yet another great miracle crusade; and for good measure, launched another whole network -- THE CHURCH CHANNEL! The glorious NEWS -- as of this writing: 2,201 TV stations are ON THE AIR, worldwide, linked together by 15 satellites, with footprints covering the WHOLE WIDE WORLD! Praise the Lord, thank you, Jesus, and Glory! Hallelujah!
Yes, dear Partners, we are, together, fulfilling Jesus' command to "GO into ALL THE WORLD." Jan and I cannot do this without YOU! Please write to us -- your word of blessing and encouragement has made the difference many times. As I have said so often, when we get a little tired or a little discouraged, we go to the letter box! YOUR prayers, words of encouragement and gifts of love KEEP US GOING. Thank you -- we love you, too, and will pray for you daily! Yes, the "GLORIOUS ACTS OF GOD" are "STARTLING" multitudes in the farthest corners of the earth! Let's keep startling! |
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Photo at top of page by Gloria Tong.
© 2001 Trinity Broadcasting Network. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of TBN.
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