Torch, Spring 1984

Dr. David Jeremiah, senior pastor of the 3 ,000 member Scott Memorial Baptist Church in San Diego, California, has been involved in church broadcasting from the begin– ning of his ministry over I 0 years ago. Recently, he agreed to an inter– view with the TORCH magazine. Fallowing are his comments on the topic of church broadcasting . TORCH: Pastor Jeremiah , what is the status of church broadcasting in this country today? JEREMIAH: It has never been greater. In fact, in the last four years radio has had a resurgence that is un– believable. Much credit must go to the popularity of ·the Bible teaching programs of James Dobson, John MacArthur, Charles Smith, and Chuck Swindoll. T: How did you become involved in church broadcasting? 14 J: My first church was Blackhawk Baptist Church in Fort Wayne, In– diana. I recall that we started with seven families and had 35 people in attendance at our first Sunday ser– vice. God prospered the ministry and the church grew. Then I started a 15 minute program five days a week. It was a devotional format with some music. It was an excellent communi– cation tool and I believe it really put our church "on the map." Later the ABC affiliate in Fort Wayne asked us if the church would be interested in broadcasting our Sunday morning service . We agreed and they pro– vided the equipment. Our costs at that time were about $500 per week. T: How did your broadcast efforts af– fect the local church ministry? J: Without a doubt it was a tremen– dous asset to us because it gave us a real sense of presence in the commu– nity. It broke down preconceptions about a Bible believing church. This aided our visitation program because people already knew who and what we were. In addition, many folk came to know Christ as a direct result of our broadcast; they came to church, were baptized, and became part of our fellowship . T: What are your current broadcast– ing efforts? J: Shortly after I began my ministry at Scott Memorial Baptist Church , we took up a special ingathering of– fering between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The total received was about $185,000 . With this we pur– chased a video truck, two cameras , and editing equipment. That is how our television program, "Turning Point," began. It is seen here weekly on the independent station XZTV, channel 6, and is also broadcast two additional times on our local Chris– tian cable station. T: What are some goals of your broadcast ministry?