LOS ANGELES (July 26, 2013) — Enlace, Trinity Broadcasting Network's global Spanish-language Christian television affiliate, is expanding its reach throughout Central and South America with the introduction of a special, inexpensive decoder-receiver that will allow cable companies throughout the region to provide viewers with Enlace free of charge. Enlace president Jonas Gonzalez Jr. said that the network has committed to purchasing approximately 1,500 of the receivers at a cost of around $50 per unit, providing them to cable providers who have agreed to offer Enlace, one of Latin America's most popular television networks, to their viewers at no charge.
“For our investment of around $78,000, over one thousand cable companies in Central and South America will now be able to provide 24-hour Enlace programming for no cost to around 750,000 homes,” said Mr. Gonzalez. “That means some three million people will have access to Christian, life-changing programming just through these simple little receivers.”
For 25 years Enlace has been one of TBN's most fruitful international networks, as it has expanded throughout Central and South America, Mexico, the U.S., and, most recently, into Spain. TBN founder and President, Dr. Paul Crouch, recalled TBN's early partnership with Enlace in 1988, when the late Jonas Gonzalez Sr., Enlace's founder, was struggling to get his first small station on the air in Costa Rica. “God gave us the honor of stepping alongside our dear brother and providing him with a small ten-watt transmitter that helped him get on the air for the first time,” recalled Dr. Crouch. “That little transmitter was so small I could hold it in one hand, and it only covered about four city blocks. But it opened the door to Christian television in Latin America. And now, 25 years later, these 1,500 new receivers represent a tremendous magnification of that early opportunity.”
Today Enlace and its EJTV youth network are the most viewed Latino inspirational networks, reaching across the Spanish-speaking world on a total of fifteen satellites. As one indication of their popularity, Jonas Gonzalez Jr. noted that Enlace and EJTV have a combined total of more that two million Facebook fans across the U.S. and Latin America.
“The most important indicator of Enlace's impact is the number of people who call to tell us how they have been changed by our programming,” he said. “In fact, during one of our recent telethons that ran throughout Latin America, we received nearly 4,000 calls from people who came to faith in Christ through Enlace in just a few day's time. Thousands of other viewers call our prayer lines each month with testimonies of salvation, healing, needed financial blessings, and miracles.”
That impact has been duplicated throughout the many countries with Enlace broadcast stations and studios. For example, Jorge Lopez in Enlace's Guatemala office shared how a 75-year-old man called him to share that God had healed him in a very unique way after he had fallen in his home and hurt his back. “This man related to me that as he was laying on the floor in pain, Enlace was on his TV set and I was praying. He said that I spoke directly to him over the TV with faith and boldness, 'You! In the Name of Jesus, Get Up!' And in that moment he was gloriously healed.”
Similarly, Rebecca Osorno from Enlace Nicaragua recalled how a ten-year-old Nicaraguan boy called the Managua, Nicaragua studio to ask for prayer for his father, who had recently left home. “This little boy just wanted his father to come back home to his family,” Ms. Osorno related. “And so we agreed with him in a simple prayer of faith, and three days later his father not only came back home, but he had come to faith in Christ.”
And from Venezuela a woman wrote to relate how she was healed of cancer as she watched Enlace from her bed. “The people on TV were praying for miracles and encouraged viewers to have faith in the God who heals,” she related. “I immediately called in to touch the Lord Jesus for healing. As I prayed with a lady on the phone, I felt a special presence of God.” She went on to relate that several weeks later she went to see her doctor. “He was astounded at the change in me,” she recalled. “He said, 'Our tests show nothing! You have no cancer.'” The woman added: “I can testify that the blood of Jesus still heals. I thank God for Enlace. I know it is reaching many people in need.”
TBN Vice President Matthew Crouch said the thousands of testimonials like these that Enlace receives each month confirm the Christian network's phenomenal impact across the Spanish-speaking world. “For 25 years we have had the privilege of partnering with Enlace to broadcast the best in Spanish-language faith and family programming,” he said. “We're thrilled to see the explosive growth of this key member of our Trinity Broadcasting Family of Networks, and we're looking forward to its increasing influence around the world.”
For more information about TBN's Latino television affiliates, log on to Enlace.org and EnlaceJuvenil.tv.
Media Contact
Colby May, E-Mail: cmay@tbn.org; Tel: 972-313-9500
About the Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network is the world’s largest and most watched faith-and-family broadcaster, reaching over 175 nations across the earth with inspirational and entertaining programming 24 hours a day in 14 languages and on 32 global networks. As the world’s most influential non-profit religious broadcaster, TBN has led the way in expanding the impact of faith-based television across the earth through the creation of innovative content designed to reach every viewer demographic with the life-changing message of hope and grace. To find out more about the TBN Networks, visit us at www.tbn.org.
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