Dr. Alden Gannett, Rons' father, was a
professor at Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas for many years.
Georgette, his wife, and Alden were firmly entrenched and committed
to an academic life and never thought they would leave teaching at
Dallas Seminary to come to Birmingham. But in 1960 the opportunity
was presented to become President of Southeastern Bible College came,
and Mom and Dad sensed that the Lord was in it.
Southeastern Bible College was at an
all time low and feared they would have to close the doors without a
new President. That fall Dr. Alden Gannett became the President
of the college and began 25 years of training young men and women to
serve their Lord around the world. Here was a girl from
Pennsylvania and a boy from New York state serving in the deep south.
The college had a radio program called
“Words of Grace” which expected the new president to take over as
one of his responsibilities. That started Dad's radio ministry
that continued until his passing.
Those at Southeastern Bible College
who were responsible for the production of the radio program would
tape his teachings in the classroom and his sermons in church and
chapel services. There were even times when he would go into a
storage room and preach to the student who was running the sound
equipment. He fell in love with radio and the outreach
opportunity it gave him to reach people outside the walls of the
school and church.
Dr.
Gannett took a three-year break from Southeastern Bible College in
1969 to go to the mission field with Unevangelized Fields Missions (
Now CrossWorld Missions) as their Minister-at-large. He
traveled the world and gained a new appreciation for church
planting. When he returned to Southeastern, he became a
champion of starting new congregation.
In
1981, Alden Gannett felt it was time to step down from his
administrative responsibilities, but the college asked him to
continue speaking on the Words of Grace radio program. He gladly
accepted their offer as he loved radio and the opportunity it offered
him to minister the Word of God to so many.
Business
men in Birmingham encouraged Dad to form Gannett Ministries and
sponsored the work as he expanded the radio outreach and traveled in
Bible Conference ministry.
Through
their travels, Mom and Dad met countless people who loved his
teaching on radio. Even now when I go do a conference, I will
meet people who were impacted by Dad's ministry. Nothing
thrilled him more than to speak in a church or on a mission field of
one of his students. He loved the concept of divine
multiplication.
He
loved getting letters from listeners and hearing how the Lord always
honors His word. The radio station in Connecticut reaches a
prison where many inmates of sent letters. Dad always wanted to
expand this ministry but did not know how. We believe Peachtree
Media and Norman and Jonathan Plunkett will provide the tools and
people to help us do it now and give Words of Grace new life and new
exposure.
Dad
was always a soul winner who shared the gospel whenever he could.
He would be pleased that the Words of Grace radio ministry is still
producing fruit while he is in heaven. Dad’s teaching will be now
world-wide on the Internet and Words of Grace with be able to share
my teaching on a daily basis in cities and towns as the Lord allows.
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