Sometimes the clearest reminder of why we are on air comes from someone we meet in the most ordinary place.

Last week, while I was shopping, I found myself facing one of those surprisingly difficult decisions: which toilet paper offers the best quality for the best price?

As I stood there carefully comparing the different packages, an older lady approached me.

“Are you the man I have seen on television?” she asked.

People do not recognize me very often - or perhaps they recognize me and decide to walk quickly in the other direction! So I answered carefully.

“It could be. Do you watch Family TV?”

An Unexpected Conversation

“Yes,” she replied. “I found your station accidentally. I was looking for something that could lift my spirit.”

Then she told me why. Her husband had passed away only two months earlier. After sharing her life with him for so many years, she was now living alone. The house that had once been filled with conversation and companionship had suddenly become very quiet.

She explained that while her husband was alive, they did not watch Christian television very often.

“My husband always said that Christians are only asking for money,” she told me.

I smiled and answered, “Well, if you have been watching my programme, you may have discovered that your husband was not completely wrong. I am often there asking people to become partners!”

She laughed. But then her face became serious.

“When I watch Family TV, I hear people praying. I listen to the music and the messages, and I no longer feel completely alone.”

In that moment, we were no longer talking about television. We were talking about grief, loneliness and the struggle to continue after losing the person who had shared your life.

Somehow, in the middle of her pain, Family TV had become a friendly voice in her home.

Why We Are Here

Her words stayed with me. At Family Media, we regularly talk about programmes, presenters, cameras, studios, transmitters, frequencies and digital platforms. We discuss salaries, electricity bills and the cost of keeping our television and radio stations on air.

These things are necessary. A media ministry cannot operate without people, equipment and financial resources. But sometimes we speak so much about what Family Media needs that we forget to explain what Family Media gives.

What Family Media Gives

  • For this lady, Family TV gave companionship in a quiet house.
  • For someone else, Family Radio may provide a prayer during a sleepless night.
  • For a person driving home after a difficult day, a worship song may bring peace and remind them that tomorrow can be different.
  • For a family facing illness, financial pressure or conflict, a message may offer the strength to keep going.
  • For someone who feels forgotten, a familiar voice may gently remind them that their life still has value.

The People We May Never Meet

We may never know the names of most of the people we reach. We do not see the person listening from a hospital bed. We may never meet the watchman who finds encouragement during a long and lonely night. We do not know about the mother who hears a prayer while worrying about her children, or the young person who receives hope at the moment they are close to giving up.

But they are there.

Every day, people turn on Family TV or Family Radio because they are searching for something: encouragement, peace, guidance, prayer or simply a friendly voice.

We cannot solve every problem they face. But we can remind them that they do not have to face those problems completely alone. That is why Family Media exists.

Before We Ask, We Must Remember

Yes, we need partners to help us continue. Television and radio are expensive, and every programme that goes on air must be produced and transmitted. However, partnership should never be only about paying bills or supporting an organisation. It is about making moments of hope possible.

The lady I met in the supermarket reminded me of that. She did not talk about our cameras, our studios or the quality of our signal. She talked about what she experienced in her own home: prayer, music, comfort and companionship.

The Real Measure of Our Work

Perhaps the real measure of our work is not simply how many programmes we produce, but how many people find hope through them.

So today, before asking anyone for anything, I simply want to say thank you.

Thank you to everyone who watches and listens. Thank you to those who pray for us, encourage us, share our programmes and support the ministry. Together, we are helping to ensure that when someone is lonely, discouraged or searching for hope, there is still a voice reminding them:

You are not forgotten.
You are not alone.
God is still with you.

And sometimes, that voice reaches someone in the most unexpected way - even during a conversation in the toilet-paper aisle of a supermarket.