The 54-year-old television ministry of Faith for Today has brought thousands of persons to belief in Jesus Christ and membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church through the decades, and earned an abiding place in the affections of many church members. Founded by William and Virginia Fagal, the ministry has featured studio preaching, dramatic episodes, talk-show-style programming, and outreach to secular viewers in a variety of formats. In mid-2004 the North American Division invited Michael Tucker, pastor of the 1,600-member Arlington, Texas, Adventist Church, to become the new speaker/director of the ministry.

Tucker, 52, began his ministry in Texas as a Bible teacher at Adventist academies. For some years, he also helped to operate a family business managing nursing homes. Invited by the Texas Conference to fill in for "just a short time" as a volunteer pastor at the Burleson congregation, he served for more than seven years before accepting a position as a hospital chaplain at nearby Huguley Hospital. He and his wife, Gayle, have served the Arlington congregation as pastors for 13 years, during which it has grown by nearly 40 percent. Tucker was recently interviewed by Bill Knott, associate editor of the Adventist Review.

KNOTT: What feature of your congregation's overall witness do you think has been most responsible for the significant growth?
TUCKER: Arlington does not engage in what Adventists would refer to as "traditional" evangelism, by and large. Arlington is more involved with relational and felt-need evangelism.

Forty percent growth is certainly an unusual success statement for relational evangelism.
It really is. But I'm convinced that long-term, it's the best kind of evangelism, because you're more likely to get people to stay once they get in. I found one set of statistics indicating that when you bring people in through traditional evangelistic methods, they must make at least six good friends in their first six months, or they're gone, regardless of what they think of the message. If you can build those relationships first and then bring them into the congregation, you're more likely to keep them. It takes longer to do that, but I think that the end results are much, much better.

How have you gone about nurturing that style of soul winning?
The truth is--that style of soul winning was already in place in Arlington when we arrived, so we've just been able to maintain it. But it's a part of the culture that we keep talking about. Even the motto of the church is "The fellowship of love, forgiveness, and acceptance." The people at Arlington take pride in that. That's who they are, and who they want to portray themselves as being in the community. And they truly do live that. This is not a judgmental, critical group--it's a very much gospel-oriented group.

How have you used the pulpit to encourage that kind of relational approach?
Actually, what we do is, we preach the gospel. Every sermon is going to be based upon the cross and upon the grace of God. Yes, we talk about relational evangelism, and we talk about building friendships, but more important is the focus on the grace of God and its application to your life today. We preach the doctrines, but we preach them in the light of the cross. That kind of preaching, focusing on our assurance in Jesus and what the cross has done for us, is what makes the difference in this church.

Tell me about your own discovery of grace.
That happened when I was a young man working with Wayne and John Thurber. I had grown up in a very rules-oriented church, and that's all my parents knew as well. Certainly that's how I was being raised. And I was being destroyed by it. But the Thurbers introduced me to the gospel, and it changed my life completely. I can't say that it all happened right away, but through the years as I have grown in an understanding of grace, it has affected my preaching, my ministry style, and my relationships. And it has changed me personally. The gospel just has a way of doing that.

That period in your life must make you sensitive to people who are still wrestling with the same issues.
Absolutely. The gospel is the most important thing in our world. As much as I believe in Seventh-day Adventist doctrines, and I do--you cut me, and I bleed Adventist doctrines--I don't believe them in any context other than the gospel. Very often in our preaching, the missing ingredient has been the gospel. We're very good at sharing the texts to prove that we're right, but not always do we put those proof texts in a context of grace. When we have failed to do that, we have short-changed the gospel. I think there are two major audiences for my preaching of grace. The first is those who know nothing about Jesus, those in the secular world. Second, however, are Seventh-day Adventists who have grown up without the gospel. They may have grown up with the doctrines, but without the gospel. I love our church, and I love our people, but my heart breaks for those who have not yet discovered the glory of the gospel in their lives.

If I sit in your church on a Sabbath morning, Mike, or watch your media ministry, what do you want to happen in my life?
I want you to see Jesus, and I want you to see the cross. I want you to see the joy of daily living in Him, an enthusiasm for life.

Do you call for commitments in your preaching?
Absolutely. I call for commitments to Christ. I call for commitments to discipleship. I call for commitments to the doctrines, but only in the light of the cross. Everything revolves around the grace of God, and there is an enthusiasm and an energy that grows naturally out of that experience.

Tell me about your first contacts with Faith for Today. How did the relationship evolve that led you into this new role?
Gayle and I both grew up watching Faith for Today--she in Oklahoma, and I in Texas. We were great fans of William and Virginia Fagal when we watched them as kids, through the old series and Westbrook Hospital. We grew up believing in Faith for Today and its unique ministry. So I was really quite shocked and honored when the North American Division approached me about the possibility of leading Faith. Faith for Today has been the media ministry that has most focused on relational evangelism. I was honored because the philosophy of Faith is so much like my own. Initially, the proposal was for us to move to California to lead the ministry much as Dan Matthews had. But Gayle and I really feel called to pastoral ministry. We believe that the strength for Adventism--long-term--lies in local congregations who receive and practice the grace of God through a proper understanding of the cross.

I wish more people believed that.
So we counter-offered. We asked if we could join Faith for Today and still remain at Arlington. In addition to what Faith for Today already does, we suggested adding a weekly church broadcast, and even a televised children's ministry. When we presented that plan, I really thought the deal was probably dead, because it was a different paradigm from what anyone else in media ministry in the NAD is doing. Much to my surprise, they accepted the counterproposal. We knew that this had to be the plan of God. Our other condition was that our congregation buy into this vision, which they've done wholeheartedly. There has been no reservation. The Arlington church, in fact, has specifically urged that we move boldly into televised children's ministry. As a denomination, we've always put great emphasis on reaching children, but usually in nonbroadcast ways--through our church schools, Sabbath school, vacation Bible school, youth camps. We've always had a high commitment to our young people and to the young people of the world. But when it comes to public evangelism and to broadcast, we've really not done much. We feel a burden to present the cross to that age group, and plans are under way to develop what we call Faith for Kids. In addition to the broadcast, we hope to take the programs and develop them into usable packages for local churches, using a DVD format that gives other congregations an easy package to do a children's church in their setting.

More and more television ministries seem to be moving to church-based programming, from what I see.
I believe that one of those powerful arguments for the gospel is to see people sitting in the pews, week after week, listening to the presentation, buying into it, and being able to incorporate it in their lives. We hope to be able to provide a living demonstration of that in Arlington with our church broadcast. We want to awaken an interest in religious things and lifestyle, and show that a belief in God is reasonable through the evidence. But we also want to go on to meet felt needs through family ministries and children's programming, so that a person can truly hear the presentation of the gospel and enter into fellowship in a real congregation.

How will viewers of Faith for Today from week to week experience the ministry? What are the component ministries that you see yourself or your church working in?
First and foremost, the church service broadcast. Faith for Today has always done a wonderful job of reaching the secular mind through programs such as Lifestyle Magazine, and more recently, The Evidence. Before that, of course, was Westbrook Hospital, and the other creative projects it has launched. But there hasn't always been a component to take viewers from that point of interest to full church membership. We see the additional programs as closing this circle of evangelism. Not only do we reach the secular mind with Lifestyle and with The Evidence--both excellent programs that we hope to be able to continue as funding allows--but also with Keeping the Faith, Connie Vandeman Jeffery's new project especially for women. Our family life ministries, dealing with relationships, will lead naturally to Faith for Kids and the entire experience of worship in the Arlington church.

What role will you have with The Evidence and Lifestyle Magazine?
Dwight Nelson has agreed to continue with The Evidence, for which we're really grateful. Christian apologetics is lacking in a lot of broadcast ministries, and The Evidence has done a wonderful job making the case for Christian beliefs. Dwight is simply excellent with that broadcast. On Lifestyle Magazine, Gayle and I will probably phase in our involvement. We're making plans for new episodes as funding allows, but those will be focusing primarily on health and relationships. I have a degree in family counseling and personal counseling. Counseling has been a longstanding part of both my ministry and Gayle's, so that's something we feel very comfortable including in Lifestyle.

What kinds of changes will there be for your local congregation as you move into national television ministry?
First of all, the physical environment will change some. The sanctuary will have cameras, additional lighting, and the things necessary to make a broadcast work. Our promise to our congregation is that we're going to have the cameras looking in on our worship service and not let the media be the focus. We want worship to be the focus. Worship has always been our focus at Arlington, and we plan to keep it that way. We realize there will be some intrusion, but we want to keep it to a minimum. Second, my involvement with the church on a day-to-day basis won't be as intense as it has been. I'll continue to be the pulpit pastor and lead the church board and provide overall direction. We're also adding another staff position at Arlington.

How much time are you likely to spend in California doing studio work in the course of the typical month?
Right now I'm traveling to California twice a month and spending about three days during that week doing some studio work there. Our early work has included a donor video and a series of 16 brief television devotionals called Faith Moments. As the Lord leads and the opportunities expand, I'll continue to travel to California as needed to make both parts of the ministry work successfully.

If I was an unchurched person flipping channels some Saturday or Sunday morning, and I came across the worship service at which you're preaching, what do you think might attract me to your ministry as distinct from 10 other choices on my cable network?
The sermons at Arlington are not simply "the power of positive thinking." They are expository, Bible-based, cross-focused messages. And that's the key. I still believe in the power of Scripture to attract and change. You would see and hear an in-depth message, an expository message, as we work through various books of the Bible. To support you in learning more, we plan to have a very strong Web presence. If I'm preaching through the Gospel of Luke and you find something of value there, you will be able to log on to our Web site and get additional information, a study guide, new resources to enhance your study.

How does Faith for Today fit among the other media ministries the church operates in North America?
The bottom line is that Faith for Today wants to be an evangelistic force in our denomination. The type of evangelism that we want to promote is more relationship-based--not as a replacement for the more traditional 27 nights of meetings, but as a supplement to it, or a working model for a congregation that wants to try a new approach. We want to partner with other Adventist congregations to show them how relational, felt-need evangelism can cement the bond between interested persons and the local church. To put it another way, we want to bring viewers of all kinds full circle--getting their attention through programming that reaches the secular mind and experience, but also bringing them into contact with a faith community that can help to anchor their lives in a new way of life in Jesus.

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Bill Knott is an associate editor of the Adventist Review.