March 2012 - Newsletter

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Can I Still Get GBN From a Satellite?

Late in 2011, GBN was approached with an opportunity to reduce the cost of our satellite fees by $15,000 per month. A tragic result of this change is that it would require us to “turn off ” the signal on the small Ku-dishes that many people had purchased and replace that signal with a new signal compatible with the older “big dish” technology. We carefully weighed these tremendous cost savings against losing the ability for viewers to receive GBN on a small, Ku-dish. While we value our Ku-dish viewers highly, there were only about 2,000 of the KU dishes installed, so the Ku-dish was no longer a cost-effective way to distribute our programming to individual homes.

We heard from several of our Ku-dish viewers that they really wanted to have the ability to get GBN from a satellite dish in their home. With the generous and kind help of Ken Golson, an experienced volunteer Ku-dish installer for GBN, we sought to find the most inexpensive way to get the new GBN signal into an individual home by satellite. Ken was able to figure how to get it done with three items–a “big dish” antenna, a new receiver, and a new LNB. If you’d like the details, read on!

The Dish – The general rule with C-band reception is that the bigger the dish, the more signal that is received. We have found that a 10-foot dish works well, but a 6-foot dish isn’t capable of bringing in the signal. As a result, we are recommending a 10-foot dish as the recommended size for people watching in the continental US. While purchasing these dishes new can be quite expensive ($1,200+), there are many of these dishes available used from people who no longer use their old C-band equipment. As a result, some viewers have received C-band dishes for free! However, the installation of these dishes is quite a bit more involved than the former Ku-band dishes, so it would often be beneficial to hire an experienced installer for the project.

The Receiver – The new C-band signal that we are utilizing is a state-of-the-art DVB-S2 signal with an MPEG-4 compression. As a result of it being the newest standard, there are very few receivers that can handle the signal. Sadly, the old Ku-band receivers will not work with our new broadcast signal. We have found one, called the OpenBox S10, which works great for our signal and it’s available through Amazon.com for $93 plus shipping. One great feature of this little receiver is the ability to attach an external flash drive or even a hard drive to its USB port and record programs directly to the drive. This feature could be especially helpful for those who like to record programs and share them with others.

The LNB – Our satellite uplink provider strongly recommends the use of a “Phase Lock Loop” LNB to receive GBN – these are available starting around $250. The LNB is the item that sits in front of the dish and acts as the “receiver” for the satellite signal. We have used the Norsat 3220 LNB with great success. We have had some reports of inexpensive LNB’s (around $50) working for people with larger dishes, so that may work in some situations, as well.
In total, the cost of a C-band dish that can receive the GBN signal can be as low as $150 (with a free dish, self-installed, low-cost LNB) up to $2,500 (with a new dish, professionally-installed, PLL LNB). This should allow for some of our viewers who don’t have access to high-speed internet to receive GBN via satellite in their home.

— 1st Newsletter of the Year —

You may have noticed that this is the first GBN newsletter that you have received in your mailbox this year.  In an effort to be the best stewards we possibly can of the Lord’s money, we are now mailing our newsletter the last month of each quarter. On all other months, the newsletter will be sent out via email and will also be posted on our website, located at www.gbntv.org. We encourage you to sign up to receive our newsletter by email as well as other timely news from GBN. You can sign up online at: http://gbntv.org/form/Mailing+List2
 

— 5 Sundays in April —

Since many congregations base their budgets on four-week months, when a month has five Sundays they have a bit of a surplus.  How willl you use it? Would your congregation consider supporting the work of GBN with all (or a portion) of your fifth Sunday contribution? Help us send the gospel to hundreds of millions!

WILL YOU JOIN THE 7000?

Recently I attended a lectureship where I heard several comments from attendees about comments that they had heard from others about the lack of requests for money in the programming on GBN. Non-Christian viewers notice the difference to what they normally experience on religious television and quickly conclude that we’re very different from other religious groups. We’re thankful for this difference and God is glorified because of it.

However, the only way that we’re able to keep GBN running is by the gracious and generous donations from members of the Lord’s church. We’re still working towards our goal of a core group of 7,000 Christians who would commit to donating $25 each month to meet the basic operating needs of the network. Please prayerfully consider becoming one of the 7,000 Christians that keep GBN broadcasting to the world.

~ Mark Teske

“GLOBAL” BROADCASTING NETWORK?

You probably noticed the problem with the above title. G.B.N. does not stand for Global Broadcasting Network. It stands for the Gospel Broadcasting Network. The fact of the matter is however that GBN can be seen around the world! In 2011 GBN released our then brand new GBN iPhone app. Something interesting immediately started happening. People around the world with iPhones and iPads started downloading our app. The top country to download the app was, of course, the United States. The next ten in order of the number of downloads were as follows: China, France, Italy, Saudi Arabi, Brazil, United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands and Russia. As of the last update we now have over 50 countries wherein the GBN app has been downloaded, and this does not include the numbers from Android phones or the internet. Brethren, thanks to your help GBN airs Preaching the Gospel each Lord’s Day in 38 million homes on Dish Network and DirecTV. We teach the gospel 24/7 on 20 diff erent cable stations. We maintain a website with tens of thousands of hits every month. We have a live 24/7 Roku channel so that anyone with high-speed internet can have GBN at home. We can be picked up over the airwaves in most of North America via a C-band satellite dish, and hundreds of millions of people have access to GBN anytime of the day anywhere in the world on their smart phones and iPads. As you know GBN does not solicit money on the air. We are supported by free will off erings of congregations and brethren like you! Let’s keep working together as we continue to go into all the world and seek to preach the gospel to every creature.

Don Blackwell, Executive Director, Gospel Broadcasting Network

Brothers Waldo Tucker, Harold Wood and James Scott, by the Charles Leonard Family Mr. Elbert Tony Rawls, by Hollis and Nancy Tackitt Mr. William A.”Bill” Mayfield, a.k.a. “Boodie”, by his wife, Jean Mayfi eld; sister, Esther Lois Henley; daughter and husband, Brenda & John Manz; Regina Clay; the Talladega Dept. of Human Resources; Wendell & Patti Patterson; Tom & Kaye Greer Ernest & Edith Bickford, Johnnie Statom, Harold DeBord, Marvin Webb and Donald DeBord, by Tom & Kaye Greer Delphia Sisco Mayfield, by Glen Mayfield Mark Elrod, by Eunice Rayburn Norman Hughes, by John & Marilyn Seifert Earstine Smith, by George & Margaret Walker Henry Gass, by the East Ridge Church of Christ Wednesday night Bible class Ed Brown, by John Ed & Jo Frazier Northcutt brothers D.V., Hallis, & Lyle, given on behalf of their surviving sister, Era Pennell, by her son Jeffrey S.H. (Hallis) Northcutt, by Bonner Church of Christ; L.A. & Barbara Teal; Tom & Brenda Miller & family and Paula Woody Mr. Harold DeBord, by Carolyn & Robert Smith Lewis Crowder, by his wife, Theresa Crowder Edna Hamlin, by Palacios Church of Christ	Edda Pearcy and Odessa Sorrells, by their sister, Wilma Hennington Waldo Tucker, by Mr. & Mrs. Con Lambert Charlotte Todd, by Jerry, Suzanne, Hunter, & Colton Reaves and Cheyanne Housley Mrs. Elizabeth Hart, by Brent & Sherryl Roberts Mr. Hallis Northcutt, by Carol Gilliam James Mears, by Randall & Shirley Standefer Hosie Lawson, by Glenn & Cindy Colley Barney J. Campbell & Mary Louise Campbell, by their son, Charles A. Campbell Mattie Olivia Norris, Corrine Heyes Lawrence, Dwayne Renfrow, James Jones, Benny Jones, Ruth Herlong, Brother Floyd Howard Gray, Sr., Verna Gray, Howard Gray, and Francis Gray, by Charles A. Campbell George Hutton, Jr. and Dale & Mabel Dunn, by Edgar & Barbara Beard Ed & Willie Shepard, by Ronnie & Joyce Newberry Ricky Milburn, by Richard, Ann, and Lois Walker Ida Barker, by Ms. Alice McCulley Patsy Taylor Edwards, by Milton & Shirley Powell Hallis Northcutt, by New Union Church of Christ Charlotte Todd, by the South Commerce Street Church of Christ Dale Sizer, by Jordan & Nelda Linscomb	Willodene Hutton, Tommy Berryman, Nick & Shana Cahoon, Pam Story, Tommy & Debbie Todd, by Edgar & Barbara Beard James Watkins, by Charles A. JonesClaude Christian (with “Get Well Wishes”), by Eunice Rayburn Dessie Gilbert, by the South Commerce Street Church of Christ

Staff & Contact Info:

Phone toll-free: 866-525-4677
E-mail: info@gbntv.org
Web site: www.gbntv.org

Please send correspondence to:
Gospel Broadcasting Network, Inc.
3969 Cloud Springs Road
Ringgold, GA 30736

The GBN building is located west of I-75
Exit 353, in the Gateway Mall.

GBN is a 501(c)(3)
Non-profit organization.

Overseeing Eldership:

 GBN is overseen by the elders of the
Southaven Church of Christ
Larry Everson • Con Lambert
Vern Schrimsher
1483 Brookhaven Drive
Southaven, MS 38671-3748

WE NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE ASSIST BY CONTRIBUTING TO FUND THE NEW GBN FACILITY IN GERMANTOWN, TN—TRAINING MEN WHILE TAKING THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD!