GNTV Celebrates 50 Years

GNTV invites you to help us celebrate 50 years of ministry on October 25, 2024. GNTV started as a Television Ministry in 1974 and grew to support events as an Audio Visual Production Ministry. GNTV is a ministry of the South Georgia Annual Conference and has supported annual conferences and other events since the 1980s. GNTV has supported the South Georgia Annual Conference since 1985.

Very few people who have seen GNTV at an event have ever seen its location in Macon, GA. GNTV is going to open its doors and have a celebration at 6 p.m., Friday, October 25. GNTV will celebrate its history with stories of the ministry and will offer a behind-the-scenes look at its ministry.

Do you want to see where all the gear that shows up at conferences comes from? Do you want to learn more about the history of this unique ministry? Would you consider joining the celebration at GNTV? If you can’t join in in person, there is a virtual connection option. RSVP here.

Also, as GNTV’s ministry crosses the 50-year mark, they could use some support. GNTV has survived because people in the past gave their support at a time of need. Now, GNTV needs your help to repair its roofs. The over 30,000 square feet of roof that covers the ministry is due for long-term maintenance and has some leaks to prove it. Would you help cover the cost of one square foot for $40, two square feet for $70, three square feet for $100, or more? Donate here.

A brief history of Good News TV / GNTV:

Good News TV started in September of 1974 with a daily 30-minute program for a potential audience of 29,000 on cable in Macon. At first, all of the programs were produced locally by one staff person and a team of volunteers. The purpose of Good New TV’s venture was “to reach the churched and unchurched of our city who have access to cable TV.” The idea was that local people, ministers and laity who came to share their testimonies of how Jesus changed their lives would make an effective evangelism tool. Individuals were encouraged to share scripture, poems, prayer requests, victories and Bible teachings with viewers who were given the opportunity to call in questions.

In the years that followed, the programming offered on Good News TV expanded. The anchor program that was often live was broadcast every weekday and took on the name “Good News” based on Proverbs 25:25 “As cold waters to the thirsty soul, so is Good News.” In addition, a variety of live programming allowing for community interaction via phone was a staple of several programs produced in the Macon area over the next 30 years on Good News TV.

Local programs included Pacesetters, Openline, Talk, Art: with a Capital A, My Turn Now, Agape Rock, Country Music Mornings, The Georgia United Methodist, SportsPulse, High School Football Game of the Week, and Macon Braves Baseball. Each program sought to reach people in different ways by sharing the care and compassion of Christ with those watching. In 1992 Good News TV officially became WGNM, a full power television station in Macon. This allowed the ministry to expand beyond the single cable company reaching more communities around Middle Georgia.

Starting in 1980, Good News TV began a ministry of supporting events. Most of the events in the ‘80s were part of the work of the South Georgia Annual Conference. These included Winter Camp Meeting, Georgia Pastors School, Annual Conference, District Teaching Events, and local church special events. During this time the decision was made to switch the name to GNTV for the event ministry work.

GNTV was also asked to be part of the video team at the General Conferences in 1980, 1984, and 1988 in conjunction with communicators from across the denomination and United Methodist Communications. This led to GNTV expanding to support more annual conference sessions; first to North Georgia and Florida Conferences. GNTV’s event work continued to grow as the ministry expanded to handle not just video but lights and sound in order to achieve the best results possible for our partners.

In 2004 GNTV’s event ministry had grown to be a significant part of the work of the ministry. GNTV was supporting about 35 events annually at this time. Unfortunately, due to new FCC requirements, significant upgrades were going to be required in Middle Georgia for WGNM if the local television ministry was to continue. WGNM was unable to secure the needed financing or donations to meet the FCC requirements, but God provided for the Christian Television Network out of Tampa, Florida, to take over the ministry of WGNM. This allowed GNTV as a ministry to solely focus on its event support and video production.

GNTV has been involved in supporting events with a growing team of professional production staff and a better set of equipment since narrowing our focus. Today, GNTV supports around 75 events annually working with 26 annual conferences, United Methodist

United Women in Faith, The Salvation Army Regions, several Presbyterian groups, and many more.

In 2014, our organization began producing teaching and training virtual sessions for individuals who were unable to physically attend in-person meetings so that these meetings could extend their reach and share important information. Then with the COVID pandemic there were expanded opportunities for GNTV to support a plethora of virtual meetings with technology and a new voting system developed because of the needs created by the pandemic.

GNTV is a self supporting 501c(3) that is an extension ministry of the South Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. GNTV supports annual conferences and other church and nonprofit events with their audio, video, lighting, and voting needs.