A religious television ministry sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As television rapidly developed, Seventh-day Adventist leaders began to see in this means of mass communication a powerful medium for reaching people’s hearts and minds with the gospel. In the spring of 1950, at the urgent request of the Atlantic Union, a committee was appointed by the General Conference to investigate the possibility of telecasting on one of the New York City television stations. With the signing of a 13-week contract with WJZ-TV for release of an SDA telecast at 9:30 each Sunday evening, William A. Fagal, a pastor in New York City, who had conducted a successful six-year program of radio and public evangelism in the area, pioneered this project.
After wide counsel both within and without the denomination, the “parable approach” program format was adopted, which allowed for a wide latitude in subject matter to be presented in story form: the portrayal of everyday problems of life, followed by the Bible’s solution; then a five-minute sermonet by the pastor to solidify the discussion in the story. Several gospel songs were included, the program ending with an invitation by Mrs. Fagal, along with her husband, to enroll in the Bible correspondence course. The new program, named Faith for Today , was launched on May 21, 1950, and it enjoys the distinction of being the longest-running nonnews program currently being aired on television. Only Meet the Press has had a longer run.
Sixty-six letters came in as the result of that first telecast, all of them requesting the Bible course and other material offered on the program, and the mail response continued to grow.
Upon action by the General Conference Committee in Autumn Council, Faith for Today expanded to network status in December 1950, reaching New York, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Birmingham, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Fort Worth. After the Voice of Prophecy radio group had presented a similar TV program beamed to Los Angeles and San Francisco for several months, these two stations were also added to the Faith for Today network.
In June of 1951 the first full-time Faith for Today quartet was formed, with Harold Lickey, first tenor; Walter Isensee, second tenor; Herbert Hohensee, baritone; and Lyle Jewel, bass.
At first local conference Bible schools cared for the Bible School enrollees, but Faith for Today began to operate its own Bible correspondence school in January 1952. That spring when funds for the expansion of the program seemed to be nonexistent, a providential opening occurred. The television station in Utica, New York, requested the privilege of showing Faith for Today kinescopes without cost, as a public service. Other stations rapidly followed, and the United States armed services asked for kinescopes to show in far-flung Army and Air Force bases throughout the world. Eventually more than 300 stations were showing Faith for Today each week, a large proportion as a public service.
It was not long before denominational leaders in other countries began forward strides in television planning. In January 1955 DZAQ-TV in Manila, the Philippines, began to use Faith for Today kinescopes, with a local address inserted. In the fall of 1956 in the very first week that television came to Australia, Faith for Today was televised in Sydney and three weeks later in Melbourne, thus becoming the first religious program to be seen in Australia. It was the same on Guam, where Faith for Today began to be aired during the first week of television operations.
During the fall of 1960 denominational leaders in Nigeria took advantage of a providential opening to have Faith for Today released regularly from Ibadan. Thus it was the first religious program to be shown on what was then Africa’s first and only TV station. Another “first” occurred in November 1962, when the South American Division began its own version of Faith for Today in Portuguese in São Paulo, Brazil—the first non-government-sponsored religious telecast to be seen in all South America. Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Korea were also showing the programs.
Until January 1956 all telecasting had been done “live.” Changing to film made it possible to provide stations with better picture quality than the kinescopes afforded. To the parable approach were added interviews with missionaries and other Christians with meaningful stories to tell. By 1963 Faith for Today went to color, making the program more desirable in the big city areas.
The mail response grew from the original 66 letters to a high of 10,000 in a single week. In the first decade of the Bible school the lessons were requested by more than 1 million. To the Faith for Today Bible Course were soon added courses based on The Great Controversy and The Desire of Ages. Other courses followed-Daniel and Revelation, health and nutrition, and lessons for juniors and youth. In 1974 a new Daniel and Revelation course called “Today’s Life” was released, and also a new full-message course under the title “Living Faith.”
By the time Faith for Today celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary, the Bible school had graduated more than 183,000 students, resulting in more than 24,000 known baptisms.
In 1972, after being based in New York City for 22 years, the telecast moved its headquarters to Thousand Oaks, California. Quality control was greatly enhanced in the new location with the development of a dedicated staff of SDA technicians, working hand in hand with the technical/professional assistance readily available in Hollywood. At the close of 1974 Faith for Today joined other denominational media components in the new Seventh-day Adventist radio, television, and film center complex in Thousand Oaks.
Soon after the move to California, the Faith for Today staff saw the potential for reaching secular viewers through a hospital-based drama program. The Westbrook Hospital series proved highly successful. In 1975 Faith for Today produced its first hour-long film—on the life and martyrdom of Reformer John Huss. Later several prime-time specials reached thousands of homes, and a thriving Christian film rental market resulted.
The year 1980 marked a major transition for the program. Pastor Fagal continued to be active, but turned the leadership of the organization over to Daniel G. Matthews. Pastor Matthews had broad experience as a pastor, public relations director, and conference administrator. He hosted an entirely new format in 1985 entitled Christian Lifestyle Magazine , featuring interviews and mini-documentaries of people who put their faith into action to make a difference for good in a needy world.
Out of Christian Lifestyle Magazine , Lifestyle Magazine was born in 1991. Using this approach, Faith for Today reaches a North American television audience of up to 1 million people each week. The program is also shown over the United States Armed Forces Television Network in 56 countries and over regular television outlets in Greece. In addition, the program’s audio version airs on the 13 stations of the Adventist Radio Network and over Adventist World Radio-Europe.
To follow up, Faith for Today has established the Lifestyle Learning Center, offering material dealing with basic themes of the Bible: keys to wellness, nutrition, marriage, relationships, and parenting. Faith for Today likes to think of the program as the health voice of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Through these means Faith for Today utilizes “the right arm of the message,” continuing to guide the seeker to a deeper appreciation of and commitment to spiritual values. See Lifestyle Magazine .