Montgomery, when he was on a double- of Pakistan, and the first on cable in the ies. But hostile regimes are helpless to pro-
decker set of scaffolding hanging lights, Buddhist nation of Nepal. On the wall of hibit satellite beams and Internet streams.
and Joni, several months pregnant with his office, Marcus showed me a copy of The gospel of the Kingdom is reaching the
their first child, stood below, gently push- the broadcast license for the nation of unreached through Christian television.
ing the scaffolding along in over-100- Israel, which prior to Daystar had never The Word of God is being beamed from
degree heat. Today, she sits alongside her licensed a full-time Christian TV network. Dallas, Texas, some 23,000 miles into
husband beneath the glow of the lights and Today, Christian programming is avail- space and then down into the hearts of
partners with him in ministry leadership. able across the entire nation of Israel and multiplied millions—many of whom have
Joni’s ministry not only includes part- surrounding countries. never heard the name of Jesus.
nership on Celebration, but also her own Daystar owns more than 50 local tele- Marcus declares that when the first
show, Joni, and her active involvement vision stations, including in 15 of the 20 station went on the air in Montgomery, it
with the Daystar Singers. She is an accom- largest markets in America. From its hum- was held together by papier-mâché and
plished recording artist, motivational ble beginning in Montgomery, Alabama, bailing wire. He tells about rescuing dis-
speaker, evangelist, and author. Her new in 1985, the network has expanded expo- carded cameras from the city dump, and
book, Surrender All, is listed on the Wall nentially and, via satellite, is now accessi- about working in front of a stationary
Street Journal’s Bestseller List. At the ble in every city in America and in every camera with no real live person behind it
Church of God International General nation of the world. to operate it. He also tells about the time
Assembly in San Antonio, Texas (August On August 25, the day I was a guest when the one working camera blew up
2008), she was the guest speaker at the on Celebration, as I prayed on the air, during a live program, causing the picture
Women’s Ministries luncheon, where she Marcus handed me prayer requests from to vanish from the viewers’ screens.
addressed more than 2,000 women. South Africa, India, Iran, and Iraq. Regular Those were the early days when veteran
Although Daystar is the second-largest e-mails come from Afghanistan and Saudi broadcasters were nice to them to their
Christian network in the world, God has Arabia, where there are no Christian faces but behind their backs prophesied
blessed them with a series of firsts. churches. Christian denominations can- their demise. But Marcus and Joni Lamb
Daystar was the first Christian TV net- not establish churches in many of these had a plan. So did God. That plan was
work to be on cable in the Muslim nation countries which are closed to missionar- Daystar Television Network, now the sec-
ond-largest and fastest-growing Christian
network in the world. As telecasting in
America switches this year from analog
broadcasting to digital, Daystar will
potentially be available to almost every
home in America.
Marcus and Joni and the entire
Daystar team have committed themselves
to the Great Commission. To them, it is
more than a mission statement; it is a
mandate for life: “Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
James Cossey with
in the name of the Father and of the Son
Joni and Marcus Lamb and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20,
NKJV). Around the world, Daystar shines
forth with the glorious, life-changing
gospel of Jesus Christ.
James E. Cossey serves as editor in chief for
Church of God Publications.
Editor’s Note: In addition to the author’s
interview, portions of this article were pro-
Marcus interviews James
vided by Cameron Fisher, from an article
Cossey on Celebration.
which appeared in the Torch, a publication
of Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee.
26 EVANGEL • FEB 2009
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