It has been 10 years since Mercy and Truth Ministries television (MTM-TV) began beaming its fare of Christian programmes to local audiences. To mark this anniversary, MTM-TV will be convening a three-day conference under the theme 'That they may be one'.
The conference is scheduled for October 29-31 at the Jamaica Evangelistic Mission Church, Waltham Park Road, in St Andrew. The featured speakers are bishops John Cline of Tortola, Lester Cox of St Kitts and V.T. Williams of Jamaica.
"Ten years means we have been tested, we have been proven, we have been tried, we have been through some stuff and we are still alive. So that's what 10 years means for me. A decade in any business is something good, especially with little or no resources.
When you have come this far, you need to celebrate. You need to give God thanks because you are recognising that it could not happen without God," said Basil Hanson, evangelist and president of MTM-TV.
Hanson got his grounding in television through the influence of Lancelot 'Lloydie' Watson (now deceased) who was a pioneer of Sauce cable company. One day Watson charged Hanson with the responsibility of starting a channel at Sauce, which would cater to church folk. It was with the benefit of that experience that Basil formed MTM-TV in 1998. Sauce was later sold to Flow Jamaica Ltd.
Cold shouldered
Basil Hanson, at his St Andrew home, viewing Mercy and Truth on the Internet. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Hanson explained that in the early days of MTM-TV, many pastors gave him the cold shoulder. He asked a number of pastors in Jamaica who were already on television and cable to give him their tapes so that he could broadcast their sermons on MTM-TV. But a lot of them turned him down. Some church folk even regarded cable as messy and evil.
"Christian television is difficult. To get programming is hard. I started and came through. I mean, I had no money. Nobody gave me any money. I borrowed nothing. To be honest, I don't know how I did it. I used to preach a lot at that time, and whatever love gift I got, I put it into MTM-TV. I denied myself a number of things and put it into MTM. Anywhere I go and I see a video cassette that speaks to Christianity, I would take it and play it," said Hanson.
Today, he said, through Flow and other cable operators, MTM-TV covers about 90 per cent of Jamaican households. Furthermore, MTM-TV, through its partnership with Caribcast Television, has grown to the point where it is broadcast to the Jamaican diaspora in the United States and as far as Singapore. Caribcast Television streams live Caribbean content through radio and TV to the diaspora all across the world. It is owned by Florida-based Jamaican entrepreneurs Michael Lewis and Tyrone Robertson. Apart from cable, MTM-TV programmes may also be viewed 24 hours per day on http://www.mercyandtruth.tv/.
"I believe in MTM. I really put my heart and soul in this ministry. I believed in it even when it looked impossible, and I endured hardships. To be honest, Christian programming is never easy. It is very difficult to run a Christian television station. People would say, but there are so many churches around. Yes, there are so many churches, but a lot of churches don't understand the importance of the airspace. Satan limits us (Christians) behind the four walls (of the church building). He does not mind doing that, because if he keeps you behind the four walls, he limits you and he is going to confuse you. When you go up in the airspace, you are actually confronting Satan. You are actually in his face. That terrifies him. He does not allow us to see that. So many pastors don't see the airspace as important," said Hanson.
MTM-TV is comparable
Hanson believes that MTM-TV is comparable, if not ahead of many of the world's leading Christian television networks. "We have put in place some facilities to take MTM-TV to another level. I honestly believe we can be like what Usain Bolt did to the world ... I believe MTM-TV can shock the world. MTM-TV is right now the largest Christian network in the Caribbean. That is not the end," Hanson said.
Up to two years ago, most of the programming was from non-Jamaicans. That has changed. Half the content providers are from Jamaica. The other 50 per cent are from pastors serving in other parts of the Caribbean, notably Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis and Tortola. But there are also a few shows that originate from Caribbean pastors based in Florida and New York. Altogether about 50-odd churches/ministries are broadcast on MTM-TV at this time.
TBN of the Caribbean
Other board members of MTM-TV are (from left) Ian Robinson, Locksley Smith (chairman) and Diane Hanson. MTM-TV is celebrating 10 years of existence. - Contributed
In a 2006 interview with The Gleaner, Hanson said he wanted MTM-TV to become the Trinity Broadcasting Network of the Caribbean. One of the things he hopes the television ministry will achieve is to unite churches and pastors in the Caribbean.
"The church is divided on issues such as baptism. We are divided on the day we should in terms of worship. Because we are divided, it is very difficult for us to accomplish much. The Church is handicapped right now. We are so fragmented. I am on a mission to say to the Christian community, 'This is the heart of God that we will be one.' Let us work together in spite of our differences. If we cannot come together and click then we don't have the heart of God. We have some other heart. If you have Jesus' heart, you can't help but be one with your brethren. In spite of the shortcomings and the defects in our lives, we still can find common ground where we become one ... that is when we can change the nation. Yes, in spite of our differences on baptism and the day we should worship, all of us are saying casino wrong, abortion wrong. We are the biggest group of people in the country. We should have a serious voice, in this nation, that should be respected.
"One of my visions is to unite the Caribbean, especially the Christian leaders. I believe God is saying we are coming together as the Church, but we are not clicking. I am trying through MTM-TV to bring the Christian leaders together. That is my heart. One vehicle for doing so is this conference."
'I believe in MTM. I really put my heart and soul in this ministry. I believed in it even when it looked impossible, and I endured hardships. To be honest, Christian programming is never easy.'
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