God delights at turning our big problems into huge blessings—and He’s done it again! Just consider our recent dilemma, and how He turned it into marvelous opportunities.

Our Problem, God’s Opportunity
Unexpectedly, the AMC-4 satellite that carries 3ABN’s television and radio networks to the United States, Canada, and all of Central America, suffered an unexpected technical problem. And although a replacement satellite is scheduled to be moved into its place, it will not have the same coverage. It became obvious that we had no choice—we had to find a new satellite “home” quickly.
“Realizing the urgency, I began contacting all the other Seventh-day Adventist broadcasters on the AMC-4 satellite,” says Moses Primo, 3ABN’s director of broadcasting and engineering. “And finally the decision was made to move together as a group to the new Galaxy 19 (G-19) satellite just a few degrees away—with minimal inconvenience to our viewing and listening audiences. G-19 is the premiere direct-to-home, free-to-air satellite,” Moses adds, “and we’re very pleased to reach millions of viewers we couldn’t reach before.”

It’s All Good!

Just look at the blessings God gives us:

• Galaxy 19 reaches over 5 million new potential 3ABN viewers who are already watching that satellite.
• The TV “neighborhood” we’re moving to is already home to most of the Christian satellite channel providers. Those viewers are interested in spiritual things, and we believe many of them will discover 3ABN—a new station with a difference.
• We were “land-locked” on our old satellite, but G-19 will allow us the opportunity to add more channels now.
• By entering one frequency (or by re-scanning the channels), viewers will be able to add a large number of Seventh-day Adventist channels available on this satellite at the same time. Currently these include: 3ABN English and 3ABN Latino television networks, our new Proclaim! channel, featuring sermons and biblical instructions, 3ABN Radio Network, Radio 74, Loma Linda Broadcasting Network (including their new Arabic and Chinese TV channels), the Amazing Discoveries channel, and a new evangelism channel by Amazing Facts. (Note: other channels may be added in the future.)
• G-19 was launched just over a year ago, providing a strong signal and a much longer satellite lifespan.

Reaching More Souls for the Kingdom
“We’re very excited about this chance to do more for the Lord,” says 3ABN president, Jim Gilley. “Just the fact that we can reach millions of new viewers with the undiluted three angels’ messages of Revelation 14 is an amazing opportunity. We believe God will bless any effort to reach more souls for His Kingdom.”

“It is always exciting to take the Gospel to new areas “ says 3ABN founder, Danny Shelton. “Although it’s unfortunate that AMC-4 experienced the difficulties it did, I always remember that ‘all things work together for good’ when you’re serving the Lord.”

The Facts

• Will everyone be affected by this satellite change? Not at all!
• You will not be affected if you watch anywhere outside of North or Central America
• You will not be affected if you watch one of 3ABN’s downlink or affiliate stations
• You will not be affected if you watch 3ABN on the Dish Network system
• You will not be affected if you watch 3ABN on a dual-LNB Glorystar satellite dish
• You will not be affected if you watch 3ABN on the MOIPTV or MoPCWeb systems
• You will not be affected if you watch 3ABN online
• You probably won’t be affected if you watch 3ABN on cable. If you are, please call your cable company and tell them about the satellite change.

Minor Adjustments
If you watch 3ABN or 3ABN Latino networks, or listen to 3ABN Radio Network with a satellite dish, only a minor adjustment is required to keep receiving 3ABN’s networks and all the other Seventh-day Adventist television and radio channels available on G-19.

First, determine if you have a 3ABN or a Glorystar satellite system by checking which logo is painted on your satellite dish. If you’re not sure, check your receiver box. 3ABN’s system uses Manhattan or Topfield boxes, while Glorystar boxes will say FORTEC STAR or Geosat Pro on them.

Glorystar Satellite Systems
Glorystar satellite dishes may or may not need a dish adjustment. Glorystar provides technical assistance, including a satellite finder and easy-to-follow directions on their website: 3abn.GloryStar.tv. They also provide customer service for their systems only through their toll-free helpline: (866) 419-1385.

3ABN Satellite Systems
3ABN satellite dishes need only a minor adjustment. First, input our new frequency information (see sidebar), then reposition the dish very slightly from 101° West to 97° West. You will see the yellow bar go up when you are on the correct satellite.

If you only wish to receive 3ABN’s networks and the other Seventh-day Adventist ministries on G-19, you may delete the other channels that are saved. But if you’d like to receive all the other channels, just re-scan them once your dish is moved.

We provide technical assistance with easy-to-follow directions on our website: www.3abn.org, or by calling (800) 752-3226 and asking for our satellite department.

“We have extra satellite customer service representatives to handle the expected large number of calls,” says Greg Morikone, 3ABN Call Center manager, adding that despite the challenge, he’s very excited about the new viewers who will discover 3ABN for the first time.

If you feel that you can’t make this change yourself, we offer a list of professional dish installers from all over the United States and Canada who can do it for you for a charge. Please check online at FTAInstall.com.

Important Note
We will continue to broadcast on AMC-4 during this transition—but only until sometime around May 1, 2010! So don’t let this small “chore” sit on your to-do list very long. You can do it—and we can help!