Back To The Beginning
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with Joni and Friends and with Al Sanders. Good to be with you, Al, and to my listening friends, some of you may not know, may not remember that name, but Al Sanders is the one who started it all. He started “Joni and Friends” back in 1982 when this program began airing. It was his idea! Al, it was all your fault, and it was quite a big idea back then, right?
AL: I thought it was 1832.
JONI: It better not be! But you know what, our listening friend, that shows you who Al is. You gotta watch this guy. He is full of fun and humor. And it was a strange situation, though, not very humorous, when you came up with this idea. You want to describe what it was all about when you introduced the concept of a “Joni and Friends” radio program to me?
AL: Well, Ambassador is not about putting people on the radio. Ambassador is about finding people who know Jesus Christ, who love him, and can communicate his truth to the multitudes. And when I first saw you – I think it was when we lived in Florida and you were on “The Today Show” with, maybe Barbara Walters. I’ve forgotten, it’s so many years ago.
JONI: Yep.
AL: But I knew right then – here was a person who knew how to communicate the truth of the Gospel to the multitudes. And that’s why we came to see you, even though you had a bed sore that was plaguing you at the moment.
JONI: That’s right. I should describe to our friends – you Al, with your son-in-law, who was vice-president of Ambassador, the Christian media association that broadcasts many other Christian personalities, as it were. You and Jon came up to my home in Southern California ’cause I was in bed.
AL: You were.
JONI: And you traipsed back to my bedroom, and I wasn’t even married at the time. You and Jon sat down, and there I am, lying in bed…
AL: I was afraid you might say no, and I was so convinced that you had a message to tell to the people, that we needed you on the radio.
JONI: I kind of looked at you and said, “Say what? You want me to do what? Get on the radio to say what?”
AL: Now look back, 10,000 programs and look at the millions of people who have been stirred for Christ. Not only those who may have some sort of affliction, but any of us who need to get out and do what it takes to tell others about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
JONI: Yep. And you and I used to do the “Joni and Friends” radio program together. You hosted, you were co-host. You helped me kind of get my feet wet, as it were. ’Cause you were quite the professional, having been in Christian media for well over, what?, fifty, sixty years.
AL: Somebody asked me recently, “Have you been in radio all of your life?” And I said, “No, not yet.”
JONI: Our listening friends should know that you are how old, Al?
AL: Ninety-three years of age.
JONI: And, friend listening, I’ve posted a wonderful photo of my good friend, Al Sanders and me. We look a lot younger, Al. Al, you were such a guiding light for me. You were my mentor. And actually, you still are; the one that I look up to. You started Ambassador Agency, which represents not only this radio program, but many others that you hear each day. Al, when I look back on these many years, 10,000 radio programs. Sir, I want to thank you for casting a vision for me when I was way too weak, way too shortsighted, to have envisioned it for myself. Thank you, Al, for believing in me and in Jesus Christ and what he could do through me.
AL: And we thank the Lord for all of the Christian radio stations, as well as secular stations, that carry “Joni and Friends” throughout the year. It’s wonderful.
JONI: Love ya, Al!
AL: Love you, too, Joni, and pray for you every day.
JONI: Thank you, sir.
AL: Thanks for the privilege.
© Joni and Friends
Consider Supporting Joni and Friends!
Consider Supporting Joni and Friends!Joni and Friends would not exist without generous donors and volunteers like you! Would you consider supporting us in one of the ways below?
