Pastor Jeff Schreve, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Texarkana who serves a congregation of more than 4,500, now has a reach far beyond the borders of Texarkana.
"This big move is to Salem Networks Family Talk channel on Sirius/XM satellite radio, which has 'From His Heart' broadcasting in drive time on the West Coast," Schreve said. "We broadcast on American Family Radio on 6 p.m. drive-time central. So now we've got a radio broadcast that covers both areas during drive-time hours."
Schreve arrived in Texarkana in 2003 from a church in Houston. He had been in the ministry since 1997.
"'From His Heart' was the name of the broadcast ministry from the start," he said, adding that the title refers to a Bible verse, Acts 13:22. "After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do."
"From His Heart ministries is intended to be word delivered from God's heart through mine, to the heart of the congregation." "From His Heart" started as a television ministry in 2005 on Family Net and was broadcast until 2009. The first version of the radio ministry began in 2009 on KHCB, carried locally on Sundays on 92.5 FM. Eventually, in 2014, the radio ministry found itself on American Family Radio network, whose home studios are in Tupelo, Mississippi.
"It was advice we got from the network guys with Adrian Roger's ministry that showed us how to package the program," Schreve said. "Even though it is based on sermons from First Baptist Church, we remove the local elements and references. It features only the music and the message."
When the television ministry expanded into bigger outlets, including the Trinity Broadcasting Network, Schreve learned that going that route would not be cheap.
"We needed six figures to have a chance to get a television network ministry going," he said about what he learned at a National Religious Broadcasters convention. "At the time, I did not know how we would generate that kind of money. This one, I just needed to hand to the Lord. But suddenly, the checks began coming in that covered the cost. The thing is, we did not ask for the money from our congregation and did not actively pursue it. I had just put this in God's hands. Lord, if this is your Will and He provided."
Eventually, the television version of "From His Heart" moved on from TBN and eventually ended up on several outlets through Hillsong, DirecTV, NRB Network, Cornerstone Skyangel and the Walk TV Network. The radio ministry is on American Family Network and Sirius/XM. Schreve said the next effort will be to extend the program's presence online.
"When it comes to bang for the buck, the internet offers the best, so that's where we will be focusing next for the ministry," he said. "It takes awhile to build something like this, but it was through the Lord's leading. He provided and this comes from His heart."