At the May Board of Directors gathering, the Words of Hope Board approved a resolution recognizing Rev. David Bast as President Emeritus of the ministry. Rev. Bast became the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope in 1994, and served in that capacity until his retirement in 2017. During his time with Words of Hope, Rev. Bast oversaw expansion of the ministry into new language outreach programs, including in Turkey, Iran, India, and Niger.
An important shift during Rev. Bast’s tenure was to move as close to the international audiences as possible. Programs began to be produced from within the target locations by local Christians rather than translating North American programs for international audiences. Words of Hope continues to invest in training, equipping, and supporting local Christians in target locations today so that they can share the gospel in their own native languages.
