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.