Ellie grew up in a large Catholic family in Wisconsin. “I was number six out of seven siblings,” she says, “and life was difficult. All of us were made to attend Mass every week, and we sang in the choir, served food at weddings, and went to Catechism classes on Saturday. I loved God, and I loved singing the songs,” she continues. “It made me feel warm and fuzzy to be in church. But that’s about all I got out of it. I didn’t understand the communion thing. I just didn’t know what it meant, because I wasn’t taught well. There was never meaning in it for me, just symbolism.
“The first year I was out on my own, there was a Catholic church between my apartment and the school I was going to, so I thought, I’ll go to church. But it didn’t turn out how I expected. Instead of feeling warm and fuzzy, I realized I was in a church I didn’t know in downtown Madison—and I was almost alone in there. Then, after mass, everyone stepped out of their pew and walked home—and that made it easy not to go back.”
After many years of not going to church, a friend invited her to a Pentecostal service, and soon Ellie joined enthusiastically. “I was in 100 percent, and I went to church three times a week. But despite being happy and excited, my Pentecostal friends kept asking me if I had the Holy Ghost yet. I begged for the Holy Spirit to show Himself to me in the evidence of tongues, and I did it so often that it became old, tiresome, and even embarrassing. Why won’t the Holy Spirit come to me? I wondered. I must not be good enough, but why can’t I have the gift of tongues?”
Watch Out for Television!
Ellie says she remembers the pastor preaching once about how we should be careful about TV evangelists, and what they had to say. “He also preached that it wasn’t good to watch TV all the time, and I was becoming convicted. On the occasions where I turned it on, I knew I shouldn’t be watching it,” Ellie confesses, “but one night I flipped through the channels, and at that very second, I heard a preacher on this channel called 3ABN, so I stopped to listen. Let me see if they’re lying, I thought. But soon I realized that he agreed with everything I knew to be true.
“The next night I watched House Calls, and they were constantly referring to the Scriptures. They don’t say one word without backing it up with the Bible, I thought, so this is safe! I didn’t know if the other Pentecostals would approve, but I knew in my heart that God approved, so I didn’t tell them about it.
The more she listened, the more Ellie came to believe that she was hearing the truth. “Then one day, the Holy Spirit came to me in sudden inspiration, and told me, You Should find these people. It never occurred to me that there were Seventh-day Adventists in my city. I called around, found a church and was so excited about it. Then I realized that I had driven past it many times, and thought, Those are probably really nice people. They must be like the Amish.”
While Ellie visited the Seventh-day Adventist church, she continued attending her Pentecostal church, as well. “When I started going I had no intention of having to choose between them,” she says. “I knew I’d be an Adventist.”
Ellie was baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist, and although she was committed to her new faith, she longed for more church fellowship. “Then a friend in Watertown invited me to her church, and when I visited, I found that it was adorable, so now I come here every week, although it’s a 45 minute drive.”
Ellie loves to tell anyone who will listen about the station that introduced her to the truths of the Bible! “I’m grateful for 3ABN, but I’m also grateful for the Holy Spirit urging me to find the Seventh-day Adventist people,” she says. “If it wasn’t for Him, I would still just be watching TV.”
Watertown Seventh-day Adventist Church
Photo: Street View – www.maps.google.com
We praise God for how He has brought more Bible truth into Ellie’s life, and for all she does for those around her. If you’re in the area, why not visit with her church family at the Watertown Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wisconsin, located at 500 South 5th Street. They would love to meet you!
When I first heard of Fred Moore from 3ABN engineer Dan Peek, I was instantly impressed at the many ways God has to reach His children who are seeking truth.
On the surface, Fred’s story may seem like so many coincidences, but a closer look reveals the unmistakable fingerprint of God directing every step of his path!
“I grew up in La Crosse, Wisconsin,” Fred begins. “My father was a funeral director, and my mother managed the insurance department for a local manufacturer.
From an early age, I showed interest in all things electronic. In fact, my mother told me that at nine months of age I was watching the back of the TV set! Apparently I was more interested in the glowing tubes than what was showing on the screen!” He chuckles, and then adds, “I enjoyed adjusting TV sets, too!”
During his high school years Fred says he kept busy with ham radio and electronic projects, and during the summers he fixed church organs, CB radios, and audio gear to help pay for his education. “Yes, I was really geeky,” he laughs.
Spiritual Journey
“I was born into a Norwegian-American Lutheran family that, by tradition, was pietistic,” he says, referring to a seventeenth century religious movement in Germany that stressed personal piety over religious formality and orthodoxy.
“I experienced infant baptism, Sunday School, and confirmation. I read the Bible once through, and the New Testament a half dozen times when I was in high school, yet without life experience, much of its meaning was unclear.
“I would say that my spiritual journey has been a winding road, leading back pretty much to where it began. Like C. S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, I tried out a lot of ideas before finally coming to understand what I have in Jesus.”
While attending Saint Olaf College in Minnesota, where he majored in physics and religion, Fred became interested in other religions. “As too often happens,” he says, “when I encountered the world’s religions, I became a little confused. I thought I was thinking more like a Buddhist than a Christian, so I moved in that direction and spent the next 18 years in Buddhist study and practice. I studied both the main schools of Buddhism, and spent five years in part time study of Buddhist ethics.”
Working with 3ABN
“I’ve been an amateur radio operator since fifth grade, and before that, I was a shortwave radio listener,” he continues. “So there I was one day in the late 1990s, playing with an analog TV tuner and exploring life above channel 47. Suddenly I found a snowy picture from a 3ABN station in Madison! I’d watch it now and then, and as I look back on that, I believe it was a turning point for me.
“After finishing my doctorate, I taught for two years. I tried really hard to be a professor at a college that was becoming secular, and that’s when I felt a calling to visit 3ABN to help them with my electronics skills.”
The Influence of Friendship
There’s no doubt in our minds that God brought Fred to 3ABN. We were in the midst of building the 3ABN Worship Center, and his electrical skills were sorely needed!
3ABN engineer, Dan Peek, has no problem believing God brought Fred to 3ABN. ““Fred hadn’t contacted anyone about volunteering,” he says. “He just showed up out of the blue.”
“Fred hadn’t contacted anyone about volunteering,” says 3ABN engineer, Dan Peek. “He just showed up out of the blue. We didn’t know he was coming, so he was just camping out in his van. When I discovered this, I invited him to at least come and take a shower at my home—and that’s how our friendship began. Some time later, I called Fred and asked if he’d be willing to help me change our Madison station over to channel 23. He seemed happy to do so, and he was a great help.
“Our friendship deepened, and he began inviting me to stay at his home when I was in town. He also took meticulous care of that station over the years, and even came to church with me when we installed a studio there at the Madison East Seventh-day Adventist Church.”
As Christians, we must be aware that others watch us carefully, and that our influence can be far-reaching.
“I’ve been working with 3ABN and Dan Peek for over a decade now,” Fred says, “and I have to say that I’ve always been struck by his simplicity, intensity, and earnestness. More than once I have seen his prayers answered—not only in the big things, but in many little ways, too. His favorite verse must be James 2:17, ‘Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead,’ because he sure keeps himself busy!”
Last summer, we also kept Fred busy installing digital transmitters, and building a new 3ABN station in Michigan. But it was his commitment to this work that proved to be the Holy Spirit’s opportunity!
Surprises
“All this time, Fred continued to maintain the television equipment at the Madison Church,” Dan says, “and I continued to pray for his family regularly. So I was thrilled when he called and told me that since there was no one to videotape the services each Sabbath, he’d decided to do it himself.”
However, Fred had something else on his mind when he met the pastor.
“I had the privilege of meeting Fred for the first time just before Sabbath School,” says Pastor Titus Naftanaila of the Madison East Seventh-day Adventist Church. “After he was introduced to me by Paul Britain, he told me, ‘Pastor, I want to tell you two things: First, I came to help you broadcast your services on TV channel 23; and second, I want to become a member of your church.’
“I was so surprised by both tremendous opportunities,” he adds. “Things like this don’t happen every Sabbath!”
Dan Peek was unaware of all this, until he called Fred to see if he could help on another job.
“Fred apologized and said he couldn’t leave until Sunday because he was going to be baptized on Sabbath!” Dan exclaims.
Fred really surprised Pastor Titus Naftanaila by saying, “I came to help you broadcast your services…and I want to become a member of your church.”
“‘Fred!’ I said. ‘You’re supposed to tell me these things so I can be there!’”
Dan laughs about it, then adds, “Our full-time volunteer, Dan Giguere, had also been praying for Fred and wanted to go to his baptism. But although neither of us could be there in person, we were rejoicing with him
in the Lord!”
On Becoming a
Seventh-day Adventist
“I returned from Buddhism to the Lutheran faith of my childhood and remained in it over the last fifteen years,” Fred says. “So why would I want to become an Adventist?
“First, I believe all of the many Christian denominations, as well as all the world’s major religions, have important roles to play in God’s great purpose of drawing all of Creation to Him. We need to be sensitive to the social and historical contexts of faith traditions. We shouldn’t be judging God’s work in human events.
“Second, I think there’s something indisputably unique, precious, and transformational about Jesus. I gotta tell ya, I tried really hard to find something better, and failed. So, yes, I’m a ‘Jesus freak’!
“Third, many Christian denominations have made, and are continuing to make, key contributions to Christianity, both in the Christian community, and in the larger course of human history. God is using the Church—indeed He has been using many churches, and many congregations!
“The Lutheran Church made two great contributions. Salvation through grace is a battle the Lutherans waged for 500 years, until the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification was signed in the late 1990s. But the other great task that fell on Luther’s shoulders was the Reformation, which inspired much Catholic reform in the following century, and to this day.
“Today other churches and new congregations must carry the Great Commission forward. Being with the Adventists, and especially with Dan Peek, allowed me to see that the Seventh-day Adventists are a small, growing, and sincere Christian faith. That greatly impressed me.
“I believe I’ve found in the Seventh-day Adventists the things that the theologian Karl Barth calls the Old Protestantism. He said that what’s missing today is the capacity to confront and engage with evil in triumph. That is still present in Adventism. They believe that sin can be overcome, and I think it’s one of the qualities that makes it a Remnant Church.”
Pastor Titus Naftanaila is happy to have such an enthusiastic new member in his church and appreciates his contribution of time and effort in its television ministry. “Since his baptism, Fred has continued to be very actively involved in video production and broadcasting of our services on TV,” he says. “He spends a considerable amount of time and resources to accomplish his dream of spreading the good news in Madison.”
We asked Fred what difference he’d noticed as a young Seventh-day Adventist, and he didn’t hesitate. “All of a sudden I’m blessed with work!” he exclaims. “I’m still discovering the joys of the Sabbath,” he adds, “but the whole weekend seems to work better—and that is a joy!”
“Fred’s a happy man,” Dan Peek agrees, “and now he’s even happier in the Lord! He’s always ready and willing to help someone. It’s not about what he can get out of it; he’s just always eager to help. I’m absolutely thrilled that he’s come to a greater knowledge of the Lord!
“I am also humbled as I look back and see how the Lord developed our friendship,” he continues. “I wasn’t intentionally trying to convert him to my faith, but a while back I decided I didn’t need to apologize for practicing my faith in my vehicle, house, church, or my ‘space.’ I’m still a little shy sometimes, but my job is to pray that I might be useful in the Lord’s service, and let the Holy Spirit use me.”
Visit the Madison East Seventh-day Adventist Church
If you happen to be in the Madison, Wisconsin, area please stop by the Madison East Seventh-day Adventist Church at 910 Femrite Drive. Pastor Titus Naftanaila, Fred, and the friendly congregation will be thrilled to have you worship with them! (Photo supplied)
From an early age, I showed interest in all things electronic. In fact, my mother told me that at nine months of age I was watching the back of the TV set! Apparently I was more interested in the glowing tubes than what was showing on the screen!” He chuckles, and then adds, “I enjoyed adjusting TV sets, too!”
Pastor Titus Naftanaila is happy to have such an enthusiastic new member in his church and appreciates his contribution of time and effort in its television ministry. “Since his baptism, Fred has continued to be very actively involved in video production and broadcasting of our services on TV,” he says. “He spends a considerable amount of time and resources to accomplish his dream of spreading the good news in Madison.”