Like a lot of preaching initiatives in the brotherhood, television broadcasting on the east coast became a reality through a combination of circumstances and willing brothers and sisters. The pioneering work of Bro. Maurice Stewart on the West Coast was ever an inspiration for us to make use of television as a way to preach the gospel. The expansion of cable television into urban areas and the resulting laws that made broadcasting rights free to the public removed a huge financial barrier that stood in our way.
And the right people came together to make it work. Brethren with a specific preaching project in mind; brethren with the ability to carry it out; brethren with the technical expertise to produce the programs; some private capital and some additional seed money from ASK; and a willing spirit: “Let’s do this!” Half-hour interview programs were proposed; a room in a private home became the television studio; a few brethren were assembled, and two years’ worth of videotaped programs were produced. It was in the 1980s, and the project that would become Christadelphian Outreach was under way.
The interview model for the programs required two brethren, a program host and a guest teacher, to converse with each other, Bible in hand, on a prearranged subject. The circle of brethren who became guest teachers quickly widened. Brethren began flying in from far and wide to spend long weekends in the homespun television studio, producing half-hour Bible programs. A weekend of work would produce as many as 26 programs, and the brethren involved went home with an enthusiasm for this kind of preaching. “This Is Your Bible” television programs began appearing on cable stations across North America. In due course, it became more practical to take the recording work to the participating brethren than it was to fly them all to one east coast location. Regional recording sessions began to take place across the United States and Canada. Brethren converged on nearby ecclesial centers for working weekends, and the local ecclesias rallied their resources to accommodate the work. The fellowship of a common preaching cause was invigorating for everybody. The activity continued until the late-1990s.
And then technology changed. Video tapes became obsolete. Some of the old equipment that was used for recording, editing, and duplicating the tapes broke down. New equipment was needed, not to replace the old but to support entirely new ways of producing and transmitting programs. Cost factors again became an issue, at least for those involved in the Christadelphian Outreach project.
Television viewing has also changed. The Internet and handheld mobile devices are quickly becoming the more popular way for people to access information. Does this mean that the time is now over for us to use television in our preaching work? Certainly not. Television remains a viable way for us to put the Christadelphian name and Bible message before the public, and there is every reason to think that it will continue to serve this purpose for some time to come. In addition, there is always a use for well produced programs in the internal preaching and Bible class programs of many ecclesias. It would be helpful if there were an organized source of such video programs, similar to the way audio programs are available on the Internet.
While some of us no longer have the means to produce television programs, thankfully, other brethren in other parts of the country are going forward with newer technologies. The brethren in southern California produce half-hour “This Is Your Bible” television programs in a DVD format. This format is very acceptable right now to many cable access providers. The brethren in New York City have also started their own television project, as seen below.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One