Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190040A
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, and welcome to another 3ABN Today 01:12 Family Program. 01:14 We thank you for being with us. 01:15 My name is John Dinzey, 01:16 and it's a joy for me to with you 01:18 along with my wife Idalia 01:19 and to tell you, Jesus loves you. 01:22 Amen. 01:23 Well, during this hour we're gonna have the pleasure 01:27 and the blessing of hearing some miracles stories 01:30 and how the Lord is working in our guests' lives 01:36 and also their ministry. 01:38 If you have a request from the Lord 01:41 and you're waiting for an answer, 01:43 don't give up, our guest will share with you, 01:45 how long it took and what the Lord has done, 01:48 where they were and where they are today. 01:51 God is willing to transform your life 01:53 and fill you with blessings forevermore. 01:56 That's right. That's right. 01:58 And we are grateful to the Lord for His blessings, 02:01 and we like to introduce the Strong Tower family, 02:05 part of the Strong Tower family... 02:07 Yes. 02:08 A Strong Tower Radio family, that is here with us. 02:10 Would you like to introduce them? 02:11 Oh, sure. 02:12 It's my pleasure to introduce to our friends at home... 02:16 Bethany Bolduc. 02:18 Welcome, Bethany. 02:19 Welcome. Thank you. 02:21 So you're visiting from which state? 02:23 Michigan. From Michigan. 02:25 And next to you we have David Bolduc. 02:28 Welcome, David. Oh, thank you. 02:29 Welcome. Good to see you. 02:31 You guys are keeping busy as Strong Tower Radio? 02:32 Very busy. Yes. 02:34 Praise the Lord. The Lord keeps blessing. 02:36 Amen. Amen. 02:37 We look forward to hearing those blessings. 02:40 And, of course, we have with us Jilane Fenner. 02:43 Welcome, Jilane. 02:44 It's good to be here. 02:45 It's wonderful to have you with us. 02:47 Thank you. 02:48 We're in for a treat this hour, aren't we? 02:50 Yes. 02:51 You know, I think that we can say 02:54 from this moment that it's... 02:56 We may not have enough time to peruse 02:58 all of the great things the Lord has done 03:01 to Strong Tower Radio. 03:02 This is taste and see that the Lord is good. 03:04 Taste and see. Taste and see. 03:06 I don't know who'd like to answer this question. 03:09 Before we get going, 03:11 what area the Strong Tower Radio, 03:15 and I know you also have TV, 03:16 what area of the country do you cover? 03:20 We cover half of the State of Michigan currently, 03:22 and we have a TV station there in Cadillac, 03:25 and we'd serve 50%, 03:27 about 4 to 5 million people in Cadillac. 03:30 And we also, through the Lord's providence 03:32 have a translator in Decatur, Illinois as well. 03:35 Wonderful. Praise the Lord. 03:36 Well, we're going to hear more about this, 03:39 and the background to this, because, you know, 03:42 when you try to do something for the Lord, 03:44 it seems like the devil tries to bring 03:47 problems and obstacles to discourage us. 03:49 So we're going to find out 03:50 how the Lord blessed in such a wonderful way as well. 03:53 Definitely. 03:54 So before we continue... Yes. 03:56 We would like to go to the Lord in prayer. 03:58 And we want to ask you to remember 04:01 to pray for the prayer requests 04:03 that you see on the screen or hear on the radio. 04:07 Because we receive a lot of prayer requests 04:09 here at 3ABN, 04:11 and we praise the Lord for the pastoral staff 04:13 that prays with you when you call. 04:16 And people are sending prayer request 04:19 via phone call, email, and they go on Facebook, 04:23 I mean, they're coming from in different directions. 04:26 And we are grateful for all of the prayer partners 04:29 we have all over the world. 04:31 And if you are not a prayer partner, 04:33 you can register on the webpage 04:36 but, or you may just want to say, 04:39 "I'm just going to pray for those requests I see." 04:41 And you know what happens? 04:43 When you pray, you get close to the Lord. 04:45 Amen. 04:46 And you also receive a blessing, 04:48 so there's blessing after blessing after blessing. 04:50 So we encourage you to pray for the request. 04:52 So at this time, we're going to go to the Lord in prayer, 04:55 and ask Him to bless this program 04:57 and bless everyone that is with us 04:59 all over the world. 05:00 How about that? Let's pray together. 05:02 Our loving Heavenly Father, 05:04 we are grateful to You, Lord, because You love us so much. 05:09 We thank You, Lord, for taking care of us 05:11 even when we went our own way, 05:14 even when we turned our backs on You, 05:18 You were there, 05:19 You were taking care of us. 05:22 And we thank You, Lord, that as we pray now, Lord, 05:24 You are getting close to everyone 05:27 that has paused to pray with us. 05:29 We pray for Your blessing upon them, 05:31 and we pray that You will consider 05:33 every request that has come to 3ABN. 05:37 We thank You, Lord, 05:38 for the privilege to pray for others. 05:40 And we ask You Lord to consider each need 05:44 those that have been presented 05:46 and those that 05:47 they thought about calling 05:49 and they thought about writing in 05:50 but for some reason, they hesitated, 05:52 consider that request as well. 05:54 And we pray, Lord, even for those 05:56 that are tuning in, 05:57 perhaps for the first time 05:59 and are watching this program, listening. 06:01 We pray that You will touch their hearts as well. 06:04 And we ask and plead with You 06:07 that You will bless us with Your Holy Spirit, 06:09 that we may speak the words 06:11 that will bring Your honor and glory, 06:13 but also draw people to You. 06:15 We ask You, Father, for these things 06:17 in the holy and blessed name of Jesus. 06:20 Amen. Amen. 06:22 Amen. 06:24 Well, 06:26 we now go to a part 06:28 that is also a marvelous part of our program, 06:32 and that is to read the scripture. 06:34 And one of the scriptures 06:36 that has been a part of Strong Tower Radio 06:39 is Proverbs 18:10. 06:41 Is that right, Proverbs 18:10? 06:42 That's right. Yes. 06:44 Let's go to Proverbs 18:10. 06:45 I'm going ask Idalia to read that for us. 06:46 Yes. 06:48 Proverbs 18:10 says, 06:49 "The name of the Lord is a strong tower. 06:52 The righteous run to it and are safe." 06:55 Praise the Lord. Amen. 06:57 Amen. 06:58 And this Bible text was picked 07:00 by the staff of Strong Tower Radio, 07:03 3ABN affiliate, right? 07:05 Yes. 07:06 David, why is this Bible text so special to you, guys? 07:09 One of the things we've run into, 07:12 you know, here at 3ABN there's always controversy. 07:15 The enemy is always trying to block us 07:16 no matter what way we turn. 07:18 There's always that controversy. 07:20 And so we look at that text, 07:21 and we see that God is our strong tower. 07:24 And that we can run to Him, 07:25 and we know that with our Father in heaven, 07:27 we're going to be safe. 07:29 And so we just cling to that. 07:30 And we encourage our listeners to do the same, 07:32 to go to the Lord in prayer and seek Him. 07:35 It's not Strong Tower Radio, it's not 3ABN, 07:38 but the message you're carrying is a message 07:40 to a lost and dying world, like Danny says. 07:43 And so we're just trying to get people to see 07:45 that God is a strong tower that He will never fail them. 07:48 That's right. 07:49 Amen. Amen. 07:50 How has this personally impacted your life, Bethany, 07:53 this Bible text? 07:54 Well, we probably need to start, 07:57 you know, we're here to talk about the ministry today, 07:59 and we probably need to start with our son, Seth. 08:04 And kind of maybe share a little bit about 08:07 what has happened with him. 08:08 He was... 08:10 We see him on the screen, right? 08:11 Yeah, we see him. 08:12 And he's smiling. Yeah. 08:14 Talking to grandma. 08:15 Please share the story about it. 08:16 Yes. 08:18 So, Seth, when he was two and a half months old, 08:19 he started having seizures. 08:21 And the picture 08:23 where he's on the floor in front of the couch, 08:25 he was trying to learn to crawl, 08:27 and he gave himself a bloody nose 08:29 because he started having a seizure 08:30 and banged his head into the carpet. 08:33 And so we very soon had to start going 08:36 through a lot of medical procedures. 08:38 There's a picture of him with the LED the EKG, 08:44 excuse me, the EKG leads on his head. 08:47 We had several stints in the hospital. 08:50 We were very, very fortunate to be at an incredibly good 08:54 children's hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 08:56 with a very wonderful staff, 08:59 and the specialist that could really see 09:04 into what needed to be done for him. 09:07 And, of course, it was a trying time in our lives 09:12 and we turned to God, we turned to the scriptures. 09:18 Years ago, I started writing dates in my Bible, 09:21 so when I would find a special verse, 09:22 I would highlight it or underline it, 09:26 and then I would put the date there, 09:27 because then I can look back 09:29 and I can remember what God did for me in the past 09:33 and not forget. 09:35 And so we ended up having brain surgery for our son 09:40 at 11 months old. 09:42 And they removed the focal point of his tumor. 09:46 It was a tumor, non-cancerous tumor. 09:48 He has medical condition called tuberous sclerosis complex. 09:53 It is a genetic mutation 09:55 that causes non-cancerous tumors 09:56 to grow in any organ of his body. 09:59 And so it's not something 10:01 that he'll ever be cured of until heaven, 10:04 it's something you manage. 10:06 And so they removed the tumor that was causing those seizures 10:10 that he had as a baby. 10:11 So if you see him today, he's running around and... 10:15 Praise the Lord. 10:16 Climbing and getting into things. 10:18 And you know, he's a little developmentally delayed, 10:21 probably two to three years behind someone of his age. 10:25 But that's okay. 10:26 You know, he's tracking along and he's growing 10:28 and developing very nicely, and we're very pleased. 10:31 And he's the poster child of tuberous sclerosis, 10:34 of all the children that have had 10:36 the doctors talk to us about, he's done the best. 10:40 He had one surgery, that is it. 10:42 Most children have had to have multiple surgeries, 10:44 life flies the whole thing. 10:46 God has really blessed him. Amen. 10:48 Praise the Lord. 10:49 You know, I have to think that you have seen 10:53 that the Lord is present help in times of trouble. 10:55 Amen. Yeah, yes. 10:56 Absolutely. Absolutely. 10:58 So after our faith experience with our son, 11:01 we had an opportunity, 11:03 my husband has always had a heart for radio. 11:05 So... 11:06 So we were looking at that time 11:09 for an opportunity to build a radio station. 11:11 And we've looked at low power FM several years before, 11:15 but that opportunity wasn't available. 11:17 But about the same time our son had the operation, 11:20 the FCC announced a filing window 11:23 for non-commercial education radio stations. 11:26 So I started looking in the area 11:27 around our house there by Decatur, Illinois, 11:30 and I couldn't find anything. 11:32 And so we looked all summer, couldn't find anything. 11:37 We came to camp meeting, I talked to Jay Christian. 11:39 And Jay said, 11:41 "Why don't you look one more time?" 11:42 So we went back home, 11:44 and I found a frequency not in the Decatur area. 11:49 But I decided the Holy Spirit prompted me 11:51 to look in Michigan, 11:52 because my wife Bethany's parents lived in near Cadillac. 11:56 So I looked up there, 11:58 and there was a frequency available 11:59 in the Cadillac area. 12:01 So we just move forward on that 12:03 in faith, we didn't have the money. 12:05 But we knew from our son's experience with this surgery 12:09 that the Lord would provide, and so we applied. 12:11 We got together a board, long story short, 12:15 we got everything together. 12:17 And the FCC accepted our application, 12:19 and the Lord has been blessing ever since. 12:22 Amen. Amen. 12:24 It's incredible how the Lord works. 12:26 And so the experience of your son, 12:28 you saw that as a faith builder 12:32 to lead you to believe that the Lord is able to provide, 12:37 you know, you went out in faith, 12:39 and you've seen that the Lord has provided. 12:41 Yeah. 12:43 How long ago was that there, remind us again of that? 12:46 Well, the surgery was in 2007, 12:49 and the opportunity to build was in October, 12:56 in late October of 2007. 12:59 And so then we eventually moved to Michigan in 2009. 13:04 So we've been on the air in the Cadillac area 13:07 since 2009. 13:08 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 13:10 You know, there are so many things 13:12 that take place during this process, 13:14 you know, when you talk about a filing window, 13:17 the Federal Communications Commission, FCC, 13:20 it's every so often that they do this. 13:22 And this was an opportunity, they call it a filing window. 13:25 Window, yes. It's our great shot. 13:27 So the opportunity was there, 13:28 and did you know at the time you were applying 13:32 how much this would cost? 13:34 No. No? 13:36 No. We didn't know. 13:37 So looking back, can you tell us 13:40 how much it cost to put the station on the air? 13:43 Well, we built a Cadillac station in Cadillac, 13:46 and it cost us, well, for the transmitter is $25,000, 13:51 and for the antenna, it was another $25,000- $30,000, 13:54 because it had to be specially suited 13:56 for the area to protect other radio stations. 13:59 So we just did the transmitter 14:02 and the antenna cost over $50,000, 14:06 and that's not even including the studio equipment 14:08 we had to purchase. 14:09 Okay. 14:10 So tell us about the money 14:12 that rained down from the sky 14:14 or they grew from the ground. 14:16 Where did the money come from? 14:17 Well, one of our initial board members 14:22 was impressed by the Lord. 14:23 Early one morning in July of 2008, 14:29 and if you remember what happened in 2008 14:31 with the stock market, and the housing... 14:33 Oh, there was chaos, economic in the whole world. 14:36 Yeah. Financial problems. 14:38 Just a few weeks, right? Yes. 14:40 Before that, 14:43 this person who was impressed by the Lord 14:46 to basically clean out all of their stocks, 14:50 their whole portfolio 14:52 and give it to the radio station. 14:54 Wow! Praise the Lord. 14:55 So they did. 14:57 They followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. 14:58 And they gave that in 15:01 because the housing collapse hadn't happened yet. 15:04 The family says, "We made out like gangbusters." 15:08 They gave us... 15:09 How much was it? 15:11 I don't know an exact figure. Yeah. 15:13 But it was in the range of $100,000. 15:14 Hundred thousand dollars. 15:15 Wow! Praise the Lord! 15:17 Enough to cover the needs to purchase all the equipment 15:19 for the radio station, 15:20 and then the housing market collapsed. 15:23 But the money was safe, because it had been taken out. 15:26 And we had enough to cover all the needs, 15:28 all of our needs were provided. 15:30 Amen. 15:31 I think is admirable 15:33 how the Lord has provided for your son, 15:37 you know, how you've come across, 15:39 because a lot of times 15:40 we hear how big and good God is. 15:43 And He's a physician of physicians, 15:45 that to trust in the Lord 15:48 and our brethren will say, 15:50 "Just trust in the Lord, just trust Jesus." 15:53 But we trust Him. 15:54 But we feel the pain 15:56 and agony of watching our sons 15:58 or children going through some much. 16:00 And it's amazing how the Lord comfort you, 16:03 and He reveals His power and His attention, 16:08 undivided attention to you as you pray, 16:12 and you see 16:13 how He is answering one prayer after the other, 16:16 and after the other and you end up saying, 16:19 "He answered it way better 16:21 than what I ever had even imagined or asked." 16:25 So this built your faith up and say, 16:28 "Hey, we can do anything with God. 16:31 You know, through Christ, we can do anything." 16:33 So here you're encouraged 16:35 to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit 16:38 to go into ministry through radio. 16:41 So you just let the Lord work. 16:45 You took that step of faith, and here we are, 16:48 how many years later? 16:49 Ten years. 16:51 Ten years! Ten years. 16:52 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 16:53 Well, we've been on the air for 10 years. 16:55 Yes. 16:56 We started 12 years ago with actually 16:57 making all the applications and forming our board 17:00 and stuff. 17:01 And that's where Jilane comes in. 17:03 Jilane was one of our original board members. 17:05 Amen. 17:07 She's been an amazing cheerleader 17:08 along the way and a help. 17:10 And we have a picture of our first building 17:13 that we used for our studio. 17:16 Right. 17:17 And a picture of some of our people 17:20 back in those early days. 17:21 Yeah. Amen. 17:23 This building, the total building 1600 square feet, 17:27 but we started with only about half of that building 17:30 when we started. 17:32 And then we kept growing 17:34 because we started just 17:36 thought was going to be little Cadillac on the map. 17:39 And now we have 12 radio stations and a TV station. 17:43 And a couple years ago 17:45 we realized that building was too small 17:46 'cause we started a remodeling to go to 1600 square feet 17:50 before we were done remodeling. 17:52 It was too small. 17:53 Well, you know, 17:56 we know where the scripture that you have used 18:00 for Strong Tower Radio, we read Proverbs 18:10. 18:04 But how did you come to the decision 18:08 that the name of the ministry will be Strong Tower Radio? 18:13 Well, one of our founding board members was George Corless, 18:20 and he was looking on a shelf of his books, 18:23 bookshelf one day, 18:24 and he saw a book entitled "Strong Tower." 18:27 And he thought... 18:29 You know, George's really, 18:30 to say he was good at marketing is an understatement. 18:33 He could put things together really good. 18:36 And he saw the name strong tower 18:38 and he thought, "Strong Tower Radio." 18:40 And then he remembered the verse we looked it up 18:42 and all these, and it just fit, Strong Tower Radio. 18:46 And so we stuck with that, Strong Tower Radio. 18:47 Amen. Praise the Lord. 18:49 Praise the Lord. Amen. 18:50 It's a lot easier to say 18:51 than the actual name of the ministry. 18:54 The name of the ministry is 18:55 West Central Michigan Media Ministries. 18:58 West Central... 18:59 Michigan. Michigan. 19:00 Michigan... 19:02 Media... Media... 19:03 Ministry. Ministry. 19:05 Because our focus we thought would be West Central Michigan. 19:06 Right. 19:07 So, we just thought there. 19:09 But you must go to other lands 19:10 and so you're growing and going. 19:12 Lord said, go. 19:13 That's good. 19:14 We had the privilege of meeting George 19:16 and he was a kind, genuine, dedicated... 19:20 He's very dedicated. Dedicated. 19:22 I mean, he had Strong Tower Radio in his veins, right? 19:25 Yes, he did. 19:26 And love for ministry, love for the Lord. 19:28 So we had that privilege of meeting him. 19:32 So your staff has grown and your ministry is growing, 19:36 and all of this because you were willing to heed 19:41 to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. 19:42 Yes. All of this. 19:44 Much of this is the direct answer to prayer. 19:46 Amen. Amen. Amen. 19:48 Back in the dark days, 19:49 when we were struggling with our son's diagnosis... 19:52 Yes. 19:53 Struggling with the seizures on a daily basis, 19:55 keeping a log of the seizures, 19:57 writing down every seizure on a log. 20:00 You know, I went to the scriptures, 20:03 and I, you know, trying to find that comfort, 20:05 that encouragement. 20:06 And you know, we have such an awesome Heavenly Father. 20:10 And He encourages us to wrestle with Him 20:13 over our struggles and our needs. 20:16 And so one day, 20:17 I kind of got in God's face almost. 20:20 And I said, 20:21 "We live in a bad world, I know that, 20:24 the devil is going to do horrible things in this world." 20:28 But I don't want the devil to play with my baby. 20:31 And so I said, "Lord, 20:33 if you choose not to fix this, okay. 20:36 But the devil is not going to have my baby. 20:39 You are going to turn the situation for good. 20:42 You are going to cause people 20:44 to be saved in the Kingdom of Heaven, 20:46 because of what we are going through 20:48 because I'm not going to stand for it any other way." 20:51 That was very prompt. Amen. 20:53 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 20:56 It's really incredible. 20:57 Well, Bethany and well... Praise the Lord. 21:00 Tell us a little bit about some of the response. 21:02 I don't know if anyone 21:04 who received the first phone call 21:06 from one of the listeners, 21:08 tell us one experience from a call or a letter, 21:12 email you received 21:14 people listening to the programming? 21:17 Well, we received several calls. 21:20 One interesting call 21:22 and maybe Jilane could give us 21:24 a little bit more information about. 21:26 There was a lady driving down the road, 21:28 and she called to the station, she talked to George. 21:32 But... 21:34 Well we've two different stories 21:35 about the radio, car radio. 21:37 Yeah. 21:38 The first one was a few years back, 21:42 and she was on I-75 in Michigan, 21:45 driving 21:46 and listening to her favorite Christian radio station. 21:50 And it happens to be 99.7, 21:53 where she lives. 21:55 And then all of a sudden, 21:56 her radio went down to 91.9, 22:00 where Strong Tower Radio was. 22:02 Interesting. 22:03 And she's like, turns it back. 22:06 It went back, hopped again back down to that. 22:09 She was irritated, did it again, 22:11 went back down. 22:13 And she's like, "Okay, Lord, 22:14 you want me to listen to something," 22:16 'cause that was her favorite station for 50 years 22:18 that she'd been listening to 22:20 Doug Batchelor was the air 22:21 and we talking about the Sabbath. 22:23 And when she was a young girl, about 12 years old 22:25 reading the scripture, Sabbath, 22:27 wondered why she went to church on Sunday. 22:30 But you know, never went anywhere, 22:32 'cause Sunday is the day you go to church. 22:34 But she started listening to that, 22:36 she became a baptized member 22:37 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 22:38 Amen. Praise the Lord. 22:40 And then another time, so our lady had called 22:43 and talked to George 22:44 and accusing George's Strong Tower Radio, 22:49 manipulating her radio station in her car. 22:52 Oh, really? Yeah. 22:53 Oh, wow! 22:55 She said, "How are you changing my radio station?" 22:57 And George's like, "Lady, it's the Holy Spirit. 23:01 It's not us." That's right. 23:03 Amen. 23:05 Well, I think at this time, 23:06 we'd like to listen 23:09 to a musical offering to the Lord, 23:11 and because of the things we've heard, 23:14 this is very appropriate, 23:15 as Idalia mentioned to me a moment ago. 23:19 We have Pastor John Lomacang, 23:21 that recorded a song 23:23 that speaks of what we should do, 23:27 I would say 23:28 and the title is "Be still and know." 23:53 Be still and know that He is God 24:01 Be still and know that 24:04 He is holy 24:09 Be still oh restless soul of mine 24:14 Bow before the Prince of Peace 24:18 Let the noise and clamor cease 24:25 Be still and know that He is God 24:33 Be still and know that 24:35 He is faithful 24:41 Consider all that He has done 24:46 Stand in awe and be amazed 24:50 And know that He will never change 24:56 Be still 25:04 Be still 25:08 And know that He is God 25:12 Be still 25:16 And know that He is God 25:20 Be still 25:24 And know that He is God 25:28 Be still 25:32 Be speechless 25:38 Be still and know 25:41 That He is God 25:47 Be still and know 25:49 He is our Father 25:55 Come rest your head upon His breast 26:00 Listen to the rhythm of 26:04 His unfailing heart of love 26:08 Beating for His little ones 26:12 Calling each of us to come 26:20 Be still 26:29 Be still 26:45 Amen. Amen. Amen. 26:46 Yes, we have to do it. 26:48 From time to time, we have to be still 26:50 and know that God is God 26:52 and He will take care 26:53 of whatever situation or problem we're facing. 26:56 I like to ask you a little bit. 26:57 We're talking to our Strong Tower Radio family. 27:01 Tell us a little bit about the programming you use 27:04 and how many hours a day you're actually on the air? 27:08 We're a 3ABN radio affiliate, 27:10 but we also do carry programs from 3ABN TV, 27:14 and from Dare to Dream. 27:16 And we just try to reach a wide variety of people and children. 27:22 We're always focused on children, 24/7. 27:26 Like I said, before we reach about 27:28 half the state of Michigan currently. 27:31 We're just getting now to the point 27:35 where we are producing some more of our own programming. 27:39 We're working on doing live programming. 27:42 Excellent. 27:43 Just trying to ease into 27:44 even though we've been on the air for 10 years, 27:46 we're still growing. 27:48 And like Jilane said, 27:49 the Lord has really blessed as far as 27:51 where we have started. 27:53 Amen. Amen. 27:54 I've heard the name, George. 27:56 Tell us about George. 27:59 He was part of the ministry? Yes. 28:00 He was part of the ministry. 28:02 Unfortunately, his health he's passed away. 28:05 And we do have a picture of George and me. 28:08 Because of 3ABN Today program, 28:12 George and I started doing a Strong Tower Radio 28:15 Tuesday program. 28:16 There you are. There's George. 28:17 And so we would interview people like 3ABN, 28:20 you know, with ministries. 28:22 And one thing, especially starting out, 28:24 you know, so many years ago, 28:26 there's in Cadillac 28:28 there's not a lot of Adventist ministries going on. 28:30 So we reached out to the community, 28:32 to the Baptist Church, the Catholic Church, 28:34 Dutch Reformed. 28:35 And so we would bring them in and find out 28:37 what their ministries are doing around. 28:40 Missions, missions, 28:41 they were going to different islands in the Caribbean, 28:44 in different places around the world after that. 28:45 Yeah. Do wells and yeah, just do. 28:47 And then that got the community 28:49 listening to Strong Tower Radio. 28:51 Amen. Amen. 28:52 Excellent. 28:53 Well, we praise the Lord for technology, 28:55 but we praise the Lord for people that 28:59 listen to the Lord into launching 29:02 into ministry 29:03 through technology. 29:05 Because a lot of harm can do, be done with technology, 29:08 but for God's glory, and for His honor, 29:13 here stands Strong Tower Radio, strongly serving the ministry. 29:18 You know, and I've got to mention something about that 29:20 because, you know, radio, 29:23 a lot of people associate radio with music, 29:25 and that is one of the very first things, 29:28 we'd only been on the air for three weeks in 2009. 29:31 And I had a friend that saw me in this parking lot. 29:34 And she come to me, she said, "Oh, Jilane, 29:37 I love your radio station." 29:39 And she said, "I love the music." 29:41 And I was standing there trying to think 29:43 how like, 29:44 the only thing I could come up with, 29:46 "Yeah, I know it's different." 29:47 And she kind of touched my shoulder, 29:48 she said, "No, Jilane, it's reverent." 29:51 Because it's not the Christian rock and pop 29:54 that most of Christian stations play. 29:57 And I just thought, "That's right. 29:58 We play reverent music." 30:01 One of the music programs actually was instrumental 30:05 in bringing one of our baptisms. 30:08 We have some pictures with baptism. 30:10 Oh, great! Praise the Lord. 30:11 And the first picture is Chris. 30:13 Praise the Lord. Here we have Chris. 30:14 Chris. 30:16 And she was having trouble sleeping, 30:19 listened later in the evening. 30:22 We have a program that we play 30:24 that has very soft music that helps with, 30:28 you know, kind of soothing, 30:29 and that got her hooked, 30:31 and she started listening. 30:33 And after while she came to church, 30:34 she heard about some meetings at the church 30:38 and she came to church, 30:39 and she gave her life to the Lord. 30:41 And now she is one of our cheerleaders 30:43 and our volunteers, and she comes in regularly. 30:45 Volunteer? 30:46 It's wonderful! Amen. 30:48 She helps with the front desk, 30:49 she helps with screening programs 30:51 and all sorts of other stuff. 30:53 It's amazing. 30:54 We've had several other baptisms as well. 30:56 Yeah, we've had. 30:58 Like we said, we moved from Decatur, Illinois area 31:01 up to Michigan, 31:02 through the Lord's providence 31:04 and a very long story, really quick. 31:06 He opened up to us an opportunity 31:08 to purchase radio station in Decatur, 31:11 a translator in Decatur. 31:12 And there was a gentleman in Decatur that was listening, 31:16 but he was outside of the Decatur area, 31:17 but the signal is still reaching him. 31:19 You know, many times here 31:21 where the Lord allows the signal to go way 31:22 beyond we're supposed to be going. 31:25 And so we have a picture of Pastor Joe Lewis 31:28 and this gentleman is one of the deacons now 31:31 in the Decatur Church. 31:32 Oh, praise the Lord! Amen. 31:33 Lord is so grateful 31:35 that he is so faithful in church there. 31:36 Amen. Yeah. 31:38 Yeah, and it's just amazing 31:39 to see how the Lord is using that. 31:41 And where we left we thought 31:42 we weren't going to have a presence, 31:44 and now the Lord opened for us 31:45 to have a presence in Decatur. 31:46 Amen, amen. 31:48 Isn't it amazing how the Lord works? 31:50 And you know, it's by the fruits, 31:53 you shall know them, right? 31:55 So it's a fruitful ministry, 31:57 the Lord is in this ministry for sure. 31:59 Our next picture is Mark and Mary. 32:02 Oh, Mark and Mary. 32:03 Yes. Okay. 32:04 And I think Jilane's gonna share their story. 32:06 And that's George with them. 32:08 And Mark had a fairly new car 32:11 that had radio, satellite radio, 32:12 I believe. 32:14 But it wasn't working. 32:15 So he got just scan the dial and the only thing 32:18 he could get in happened to be the Strong Tower Radio. 32:20 Isn't that something to that? Yeah. 32:24 And so he started listening 32:25 because he travelled a lot for his job. 32:28 So, anyways, 32:30 he would come home and he would sit in his car 32:32 to finish hearing a sermon or maybe one of the stories. 32:36 And his wife's wonder, "What are you doing?" 32:38 You know, and he started listening. 32:40 And I don't know, David, 32:41 how long did he listen, do you remember? 32:43 It was several weeks. Yeah. 32:44 And then all of a sudden, he decided 32:46 he needed to find a Adventist Church. 32:47 Right. And so he went. 32:50 And then we've heard these stories too, 32:52 people come into Seventh-day Adventist Church 32:54 in the parking lot sit there, 32:56 and then leave. 32:58 And that's what he did at first. 32:59 But then he came, 33:01 and he was the first one there, 33:03 one morning at 9 AM, 33:06 almost everyone else... 33:08 He greeted the greeter. Yeah, he greeted the greeters. 33:10 And he never left. 33:12 Wow! Praise the Lord. Oh, praise the Lord. 33:14 And then his wife, 33:15 "Just go ahead, do whatever." 33:17 But then when the pastor started talking to him 33:19 about being baptized, 33:21 she was encouraged to come in 33:23 and support him at his baptism, 33:25 and she's never left either. 33:27 Amen. Praise the Lord. 33:28 Amen. Praise the Lord. 33:29 You know, Jilane, 33:31 you touched on something that 33:32 when somebody is greeted or received into the church, 33:37 it just shows you that it's teamwork, right? 33:40 Yeah. 33:41 The Lord does His job, He calls us to what? 33:44 Go ye, right? Right. 33:46 So we obey, we go in whichever direction, 33:49 whichever way the Lord wants us 33:53 to share the gospel. 33:55 And then there's the congregation, 33:57 the local congregation. 33:59 So as you received the visitors 34:02 that are coming in to visit your church, 34:04 that leaves a lasting impression, 34:07 and they need to be received as family. 34:10 That's right. 34:11 Because that is very important for someone 34:13 to have enough courage to go to a congregation 34:19 all by themselves not knowing anyone, 34:21 that could be intimidating. 34:23 It was very intimidating. 34:24 Well, that's one thing we've been talking about 34:25 with marketing again, 34:28 is that we want to have a sign 34:30 out in front of that church 34:31 that, you know, like a Strong Tower Radio. 34:34 So they know that church is associated 34:36 with Strong Tower Radio. 34:38 And we're working on getting 34:39 some more marketing things like that, 34:41 because we'll have yard signs for people putting their yard, 34:44 you know, tune in or listen Strong Tower Radio 34:46 in their local radio... 34:50 Station. Station... 34:52 Frequency. Yeah, frequency. 34:53 That's the word. I'm sorry. Frequency. 34:54 Because the 12 stations 34:56 we have 12 different frequencies. 34:57 That's right. That's right. 34:59 Oh, 12 stations! 35:00 We've 12 stations. Yes. 35:02 Wow! Praise the Lord. 35:03 And just as our signal has grown, 35:04 our staff has grown. 35:06 We have a picture of our mostly current staff. 35:10 One of them has, is moving away. 35:14 But we have... 35:17 I know Keyen. Yeah. 35:18 Hello, Keyen, yeah. That's right. 35:20 I see you have a dog on the staff. 35:21 Yeah. Yeah. 35:22 He's our mascot. That's my dog. 35:26 Yeah. 35:27 And our past chairman of the board is there 35:31 and our current chairman of the board is there. 35:33 Oh, wonderful. 35:34 And all the different areas, 35:37 we have our IT person 35:38 and we have a maintenance person, 35:40 that's a volunteer 35:41 and we have our mascot. 35:43 So tell us something 35:45 how does supported financially Strong Tower Radio? 35:51 How does it work? 35:52 Donations. 35:54 So listeners supported. 35:55 We followed the model that 3ABN has established, and it works. 35:59 We see where it's done here. Yes. 36:01 And so we do not run any commercials anything for, 36:06 you know, even though we're non-commercial station, 36:08 we could still run commercials 36:10 like most Christian stations do. 36:12 Paid commercials. Paid commercials, yes. 36:13 We don't do that. 36:15 We do prayer requests, 36:16 we do PSAs, 36:19 public service announcements for local Christian groups. 36:23 As long as it's for a Christ centered ministry 36:26 we will air those. 36:28 But it's all listener supported, 36:30 whenever people are touched 36:31 by the Holy Spirit to support us, 36:33 and that's where we get the funds 36:35 to purchase more radio stations. 36:37 Grow, going grow. 36:38 Yeah. Yes. 36:40 Amen. 36:41 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 36:42 Now is everyone a paid staff on that staff picture? 36:45 No. No. 36:47 Please tell us about, how that works too? 36:49 Well, there's three full time staff, 36:52 myself, Thomas Jerry, and Dan Bailey. 36:54 Tom does marketing, Dan does the audio editing. 36:57 And then we have two part time people, 37:00 Joy Corliss, George's, his widow, 37:04 and then John Doman, who does our IT work. 37:08 Everybody else in the pictures is volunteer. 37:10 Everyone else's volunteer. 37:12 Praise the Lord. 37:14 And now I mention that the full time 37:15 and part time staff, 37:17 they're being paid missionary wages. 37:20 In one of our newest volunteers happens to be Jay Gallimoore, 37:26 who was the president of the Michigan Conference 37:28 of Seventh-day Adventist. 37:30 And he always mentioned that it is missionary wages. 37:34 You know, so God is providing. 37:36 Amen. 37:37 Just what we need, right? Yes. 37:39 The Lord always provides just what we need. 37:42 And then when you're in ministry even more. 37:45 That's right. 37:46 He gives us more because... Yeah. 37:48 We don't see the whole picture, but He's leading you... 37:50 Yeah. Right. 37:51 To a greater picture. So... 37:53 I like to say that before we continue 37:55 and told you that, 37:56 "Let it go, let it go," 37:58 that we will soon be sharing the contact information 38:01 for Strong Tower Radio. 38:03 So we want to let you know 38:04 to prepare for that opportunity to write it down. 38:08 And I'm going to give you a hint that has helped me 38:11 and that is, "I can't find the paper, 38:13 I can't find the pen." 38:14 You know, these phones that you have now, 38:16 we can record audio or even just video, so that... 38:18 Take a picture. 38:20 You can take a picture of the screen. 38:21 So find these different ways 38:23 to get the contact information to write to them. 38:26 Send them a word of encouragement. 38:28 And also, if the Holy Spirit impresses you 38:30 to support Strong Tower Radio. 38:33 You're reaching how much of Michigan you say? 38:34 Half of Michigan. 38:35 Half of Michigan, 38:37 and I don't think they're happy with just half. 38:39 They want to reach all of Michigan and beyond. 38:41 So now we encourage you to pray for them as well. 38:44 Yes. 38:45 But it's just amazing 38:47 how God can set things up ahead of time. 38:48 Yes, that's right. 38:50 So in 1995, 38:51 there was a highway that was being expanded, 38:54 Highway 131, 38:56 that was two lane through Cadillac. 38:59 They wanted to make it four lane 39:00 going around the Cadillac. 39:03 So a gentleman had built a Fox affiliate studio. 39:09 And he had checked with the state engineers 39:12 to make sure that they put it in the right spot. 39:15 Well, there was a wetland that they hadn't counted on. 39:18 So they had to move the highway path 39:21 right through the middle of his studio. 39:22 Literally. Literally. 39:24 So he had to move the building, they had to rebuild. 39:27 So he convinced a lady, 39:29 a Seventh-day Adventist lady in the Cadillac Church 39:32 to sell him 10 acres of ground. 39:34 And in 1995, he built a roughly 20,000 square foot building. 39:39 Has a garage, it has a pole barn, 39:41 it's amazing. 39:42 Well, as time went on, 39:45 the Fox affiliate merged with another local station, 39:49 and the studio no longer fit their needs 39:52 or where they wanted to be, 39:54 how they wanted to run their business, 39:55 so they decided to sell. 39:57 And through the Holy Spirit 40:00 and just amazing, amazing answers 40:03 to prayer, 40:04 we were able to purchase this building. 40:06 And we have pictures of the building 40:07 that will be shown. 40:09 Well, look at that! 40:10 This is the front entrance. 40:11 It's a beautiful facility. 40:13 And then we have an aerial view 40:15 that shows kind of the whole infrastructure of the campus. 40:18 It is incredible what God has done. 40:21 And it had everything we needed. 40:22 We needed faster internet connection, 40:24 it has two fiber optic lines coming in. 40:26 They made it a taller tower. 40:28 It has 140 foot tower, we needed a backup generator, 40:31 it had a 100,000W generator. 40:34 Oh, Wonderful! 40:35 We were, like Jilane said the building we were in before 40:37 we had 1,600 square feet, 40:39 this has 20,000 square feet. 40:41 Everything that we needed, God had already put in place. 40:44 And He helped us on the last day 40:46 to get the last bit of money, which was $224,000, 40:50 and He provided for that. 40:53 It's just, God's timing is amazing. 40:55 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 40:56 You know, as I saw more and more of the building. 40:59 I say, "We've been in that building." 41:01 So this is a tremendous blessing 41:04 the Lord has given to you all of the needs 41:06 and maybe needs you haven't looked at 41:09 are there already for you. 41:11 Plus, we have TV studio in there. 41:12 TV studio in there. 41:13 Tell us about the idea of TV studio. 41:15 Why is that interesting to you? 41:17 Well, it's the Lord who gave us a TV building, 41:19 and we have a TV station. 41:21 And so as He opens the door for that 41:23 we're going to launch into TV as well. 41:26 I mean, we went from 1,600 square foot building 41:29 to a 20,000 square foot building, 41:31 not knowing why do we need this. 41:33 And we've had it now for two years. 41:36 But we're filling it up with more part time staff, 41:39 more volunteers, 41:40 where we just keep expanding. 41:42 You know, God knows, 41:43 we don't, we're just following His lead. 41:45 Amen. Amen. Amen. 41:47 So you have seen the Lord provide through 41:50 over 10 years. 41:52 You have seen the Lord 41:54 lead you to be able to get more frequencies, 41:58 and you've also seen people coming to the Lord 42:01 and that's the blessing to be able to see that. 42:04 You know very well that 42:07 the Lord is planting more seeds 42:09 than you may be able to see the fruits immediately. 42:13 This will come later, perhaps even more, 42:15 you'll see more and more. 42:17 Some people will make decisions 42:18 and never even tell you that's what we discovered with 3ABN. 42:21 And you may be in a church someday, 42:23 "Oh, you're from Strong Tower Radio. 42:25 You know, I was listening to Strong Tower Radio, 42:28 and that's why I'm here." 42:29 You know, these things happen. That's right. 42:32 And it's just marvelous the way the Lord works, 42:34 and we would just encourage everyone 42:36 to pray for Strong Tower Radio. 42:39 We're part of Strong Tower Radio as well. 42:40 Oh, yeah. Yeah. 42:41 And we want to encourage you to continue going forward 42:45 as the Lord leads because the Lord is leading. 42:48 The Lord is leading. 42:49 Tell us what you see in the future coming ahead? 42:52 We are looking at some possibilities 42:55 in the Detroit area. 42:57 So the very last picture 42:59 that we have is a picture of our coverage map. 43:04 So these are conservative, 43:07 you know, coverage estimates. 43:10 And as you can see the thumb 43:14 and the lower part of Michigan is very much not covered 43:17 by Strong Tower Radio. 43:19 And we are looking at some possibilities. 43:22 We're not at a point where we can really explain 43:25 or expand on that. 43:26 But it is, in our experience 43:29 purchasing radio stations in the past, 43:32 if a population is say, 43:36 1 million people in a coverage area, 43:39 it would be like 1.5 million to purchase a station. 43:43 So it's about $1.50 per potential listener, 43:46 when we go to purchase a radio station. 43:49 So when you go into some of the bigger 43:52 metropolitan markets, 43:54 you find that your price tags go up. 43:57 So we're hoping 43:59 that the Lord will bring us something 44:00 that will be amazing and wonderful, 44:04 but we're still exploring. 44:07 David, as you look back 44:09 and see what you can now understand 44:12 as the Lord impressing you to do something. 44:16 Tell us a little bit more about that experience 44:18 that the Lord impressed you to do something, 44:20 and then what I would like, 44:22 what sometimes people call verification, 44:24 you know, you'd have something, 44:26 "I wonder if the Lord wants us to do this." 44:28 And then later you see, like a verification of that... 44:30 Confirmation. 44:31 Confirmation. Thank you. 44:33 Proverbs 3:5-6, really says it all. 44:34 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 44:36 lean not on your own understanding. 44:38 In all your ways acknowledge Him, 44:40 and He will direct your paths." 44:41 There are many times 44:43 even like with the purchase of the building, 44:44 or these stations in Lansing, or Grand Rapids, 44:47 up until the end, 44:49 it looked like it wasn't going to go through. 44:50 But you see where the Lord has blessed with our son. 44:55 And we know that God is faithful, 44:56 and we know the enemy. 44:58 Whenever he speaks a word into your mind, it's a lie. 45:01 Somewhere in there, there's a lie in there. 45:03 And so when the enemy whispers 45:05 this is not going to go through and, 45:06 but you see where the Lord has been blessing, 45:09 then you know, you can trust that God is going to provide. 45:12 And so you just hold fast, and it's not easy. 45:15 There are times where your faith is just, 45:17 "Lord, I don't know where this is going to go." 45:19 But you know that He is faithful, 45:21 and He's going to provide, 45:22 and so you just move forward in faith 45:23 and trust that He will provide. 45:25 Amen. 45:26 You know, I want to mention about this building. 45:28 David had a dream. 45:30 That was on Thanksgiving. 45:31 And he had a dream that 45:33 we were going to move into a different building, 45:35 we didn't know what it was, 45:37 and the people were going to move that had it, 45:38 we're going to move across the road and something. 45:41 Anyways, he come out to my house with my husband, 45:44 and we're sitting there and he starts telling us 45:45 about this dream. 45:47 He hadn't said anything to the staff before. 45:49 But the day before we had went to look at the building 45:52 because I'm a realtor, and he asked, 45:54 "Let's go look at this building, 45:55 that's for sale." 45:57 He's telling this dream. 45:58 And what he said 46:00 how a realtor brought us into that building 46:01 was this long hallway. 46:03 That was his dream of these doors... 46:05 And my husband said right then after David left, 46:08 that was confirmation. 46:09 This was of God. 46:10 Praise the Lord. Amen. 46:12 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 46:13 We just go where the Lord leads and He will provide. 46:15 But it's not us. 46:17 It's definitely not what we're doing, 46:18 it's Him being, 46:19 you know, were Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord." 46:23 Amen. Amen. Amen. 46:24 And you're being faithful as the Lord is prompting you, 46:27 you're listening, and that is our responsibility. 46:30 And we can sit and see the glory of the Lord, right? 46:34 It's inspiring. 46:37 Life has changed once you enter into the ministry. 46:41 How has been in ministry impacted you guys' lives? 46:47 Everything changed. 46:49 We've moved from a little town to the farm. 46:53 We've got three little guys. 46:55 We moved up when our third son was 3 months old, 46:58 and now he's 10. 47:00 And it's just everything is changed. 47:02 But you see how the enemy attacks 47:05 but yet the Lord provides. 47:07 And like Jilane said, we live on missionary wages. 47:11 We're just pressed from every side 47:13 but we know that we have a faithful God. 47:15 And you just try not to repeat the enemy's lies. 47:19 You know, you just try to keep on focusing 47:22 and remember that this is not yours, 47:25 and this is not our home, our homes' somewhere else. 47:27 Doing ministry brings you so much closer to God. 47:31 Amen. Unbelievable. 47:32 Yes, amen. 47:33 I remember meeting some young man at your anniversary 47:37 when we were there in 2017. 47:40 And that he was sharing his testimony 47:41 of how Strong Tower Radio was a blessing to him. 47:46 I don't recall his name. It's probably Dustin, yeah. 47:47 Dustin? Yeah. 47:48 Tell us a little bit about Dustin? 47:50 He was listening... 47:51 Do you remember that he's listening 47:53 to Strong Tower Radio at... 47:54 WGCP, I think. 47:55 Yeah, there in Cadillac. 47:57 And we just expanded our coverage, 47:58 because before we only read reached out 48:00 to the Cadillac area, 48:02 but again through the Lord's providence 48:03 we expanded much further. 48:05 And so he was listening to it, now that he can hear it, 48:08 where before he couldn't really hear it. 48:09 And when he was into rock and roll eventually. 48:13 And he was just hearing things that are truth, 48:16 and he just, he started studying it. 48:19 And then he was sharing with it at work. 48:21 And they were each of the guys, 48:24 his work could listen to the radio, 48:25 whatever they chose. 48:27 And so he was listening to us 48:28 and people would ask him questions, 48:29 and he would start doing, like Bible study work. 48:32 Bible study... Yeah. 48:33 Wow! 48:35 It's just, you know, the Lord was leading him 48:36 and then he hasn't stopped, 48:38 you know, the enemy has attacked him, 48:39 but we were at his church a few little month or so ago. 48:43 And his wife was there 48:45 and the Lord is still using them 48:47 and blessing them. 48:48 Amen. Amen. Amen. 48:49 So the Lord is reaching people... 48:51 Yes. 48:52 In different walks of life, 48:54 and people have made decisions... 48:55 You know, and when a person makes a decision, 48:59 I guess, I'll call it every person 49:01 has a circle of influence. 49:04 They have been impacted, but others know all. 49:07 "You're Seventh-day Adventist now." 49:08 So there's a circle of influence. 49:10 You never know how far this would go. 49:12 And so we just encourage you 49:15 to continue going forward in faith, 49:18 and the Lord will bring in the people. 49:21 You know, and part of this as well is praying 49:26 for the people. 49:27 And I'm sure 49:29 you know the stories you have told about the lady, 49:31 especially the one that was listening to her 49:33 favorite radio station. 49:34 And it was like the Lord was saying to her, 49:37 "No, this is what I want you to listen to." 49:39 "No, no, I got to go to my favorite radio station." 49:41 "No, this is what I want to listen to." 49:43 "My favorite radio station is this one." 49:45 And Lord says, "This is what I need you to listen to." 49:47 And the Lord takes control sometimes of these things. 49:52 Surely, she could have said, "I'm turning the radio off." 49:54 But she didn't. 49:55 She came to the conclusion, 49:58 "Seems like the Lord wants me to listen to this." 50:00 So the Lord gets involved in leading people 50:04 to listen to the programming, 50:06 and people find in the stations in different ways. 50:09 This is just the beginning. 50:11 You have just heard the beginning of the stories 50:14 that the miracles the Lord has already done 50:18 and will continue to do. 50:20 Amen. So I just praise the Lord. 50:21 At this time we are preparing you 50:23 for the contact information for Strong Tower Radio. 50:28 Remember, get your phone ready, 50:29 if you don't have a pen, 50:31 and for you to copy down the information. 50:33 Contact them, so that you can pray for them. 50:35 And if the Lord impresses you to support them financially, 50:38 we encourage you to do that. 50:40 As well, after the contact information, 50:43 we will share news and information 50:45 and blessings that are coming through 3ABN. 50:48 We'll see you in a bit. 50:51 Strong Tower Radio does not rely on commercials, 50:55 but rather on the prayers 50:56 and financial support of listeners 50:58 and people just like you, 51:00 who feel impressed to give, 51:02 so that others may find Jesus Christ. 51:04 If you would like to find out more about their ministry 51:07 or if you would like to support them financially, 51:09 please visit their website strongtowerradio.org. 51:14 That's strongtowerradio.org. 51:17 You may also call them at (231) 468-2087. 51:22 Or write to Strong Tower Radio, 51:25 PO Box 567, Cadillac, Michigan 49601. |
Revised 2019-08-01