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When Dr. Garth Coonce, his wife Tina, and their family could not find quality Christian family programming in their new home in Cincinnati, Ohio, Garth prayed for programming for their children like they had back in Cleveland.
God answered Garth in a very unexpected way. On that Thanksgiving weekend in 1976, Garth heard a voice — as clearly as if someone was standing next to him. It said:
"I want you to build a Christian television station in Cincinnati."
But about two months later, he heard it again.
“Who was this voice?” Garth wondered. “Is God really trying to talk to me? If so, why me? I know absolutely nothing about TV except how to turn on my set and click through the channels.”
He finally told Tina what he had been hearing. In response, she said, “If that’s what God told you to do, I’m with you 100%.” From that moment onwards, they made it a top priority in prayer to seek to know God’s will … to know if this message was truly from Him.
Through prayer, a specific scripture verse encouraged them to go forward: … Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” (Isaiah 40:9, NKJV).
In spite of the FCC saying it was not possible to build a station (“There are no allocations for Cincinnati — this isn’t the way you do it!”), Garth left his director of international marketing position with a Fortune 500 company, knowing that nothing would be impossible with God. He was determined to obey the vision he believed God had given him and set out to build the Christian television station he knew they could.
Once it was built, Garth thought he had fulfilled God’s calling. He then did something unheard of — he gave the station away to someone else!
But God soon spoke to him yet again, and Garth’s obedience led to the birth of a global voice for God’s Kingdom. Today, after many years, TCT Television network continues to broadcast over-the-air, including more than fifty stations, via satellite, cable TV, and on the internet around the world. TCT features some of the best television ministries, award-winning original content, and yes, amazing God-centered children’s programming.
