My Story: Faith-Forward Transformations

"When I Turned Up the Volume, That Was the First Time I Met Jesus."

Steven Setu came out of a bad relationship a couple of years ago and was hurting. Somehow, he became convinced the best way to “get over it” was just to end his life. He’d never seen himself as the kind of person who would consider suicide; yet there he was, forming a plan to end his emotional torment by leaving this world. He wrote a long letter to all who loved him, explaining his need to end the pain.

Steven then went to the kitchen and got a butcher knife. Back in his room, he put the knife to his throat, ready to end his life. In a final plea of desperation, he called, “God, if this is meant to happen, then let it happen. But if there is a real God out there, I want You to intervene immediately.”

In that instant, shouting from downstairs reminded him of his brother’s recent return home from work. “Steven! Steven! Steven!” his brother yelled, as though he were in severe pain. Steven dropped the knife and hurried downstairs. There, he found his brother in front of the TV, tuned to TBN, but the volume was too low to hear. Steven grabbed the remote.

“When I turned up the volume, that was the first time I met Jesus. Joel Osteen was speaking. For the first time, I heard about the grace of God. Pastor Joel said that even though it doesn’t make sense in the natural, you serve a good, supernatural God. ‘Let your heart beat again. There may have been a setback, but God has a comeback planned for you.’

“From that moment, I knew my worth. From that moment, I knew my value. From that moment, I knew who Jesus Christ was. “At the end of the message, the invitation came to give my heart to Jesus. I prayed with Pastor Joel, ‘Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart, and I’ll make You my Lord and Savior.’ Chains were broken.

“Now I’m free ... and I’m a youth pastor,” Steven says. “Many lives are still being changed because TBN was there with exactly the message I needed, at exactly the right moment.”

Steven is grateful “to TBN—and all who make it possible” because so many people are finding salvation through this platform. Steven shared his powerful testimony last year on TBN Pacific from the New Life Conference in Auckland, New Zealand.