"Reach Out" - How Did It Get Started ?

In 1973, Rev. Rick Bonfim came to be the Associate Pastor of First United Methodist Church.  Rev. Bonfim was majoring in media with great interest in television ministry.  Our current Television Ministry started with him that year.  The next year, Rev. Bonfim was completing his masters degree at the University of Georgia in Media Production.  To complete a school requirement, he had to start a television program.  "Reach Out" was the program he started.

What did we use for a studio for that early beginning ?  The first Reach Out programs were televised live from the parlor.  Every week, the camera, tripod and all were carried from the balcony and set up in the hall at the door of the parlor.  After the program was over, the camera had to be taken back to the balcony.  Microphones and microphone cables were hidden in the credenza and under the couch in the parlor.  Every aspect of the studio had to be assembled and disassembled for the program every week.  Assembly and disassembly caused many breaks in equipment and cabling.  Many nights the program would go on the air with production personnel crawling around on the floor in front of John Thacker and Frank Dean to fix some malfunction.  There were many frustrations associated with that operation.  However, it persisted in that location with some improvements until late 1980 or early 1981 when we got the first studio we could call all our own.  This studio was in the red brick building in the same room that is now the pastor's office.  For the first time in several years of operation we could set up the camera and microphones and leave them in place.  By now a new camera had been purchased for the balcony so that it did not need to be carried to and from the balcony.  From the start of the Reach Out program until the middle of 1980, John Thacker and Frank Dean were the co-hosts.  In our inner circle we sometimes referred to the program as the Johnny and Frankie show.

Job requirements took Frank Dean away  in the middle of 1980 and John Thacker continued as the host with help from others such as Marvin Thompson and Wesley Myrick.  In 1983, the Reach Out program moved to newly renovated facilities in what was referred to as the Fred Carter house beside the sanctuary parking lot.  John Thacker left our church at this time and moved to another church.  The duties of Reach Out host were shared by Marvin Thompson and Wesley Myrick for a time.   

The Reach Out program has come a long way in the years it has been broadcasting.  Our faithful volunteers are vital to the success of this ministry.  With God's help we hope to continue to improve the programming and continue for many years.