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Shawn Boonstra
Speaker/Director, It Is Written
Web Site: www.itiswritten.com
Mission Statement
It Is Written is a deeply spiritual, donor supported ministry passionate about communicating the gospel to the world. It Is Written seeks to impact lives for Christ in four ways—through the weekly telecast, a worldwide evangelistic ministry, the Internet and Christian living and faith-sharing resources.
History
Fifty years ago, the world was a very different place. Disneyland had just opened its doors to the public, Elvis appeared on the entertainment scene and immediately captured national interest, and Warner Brothers unveiled its first television studio in Burbank. Although these are often noted as the great developments of that time, perhaps someday we will discover that one of the most significant contributions began with much less fanfare. It all started in the heart of a man who strongly believed that the Adventist Church could harness a new technology—television—and use it to powerfully proclaim the Good News of Christ’s love to the world.
That man, Pastor George Vandeman, saw his plans came to fruition when It Is Written, the first Christian television program to broadcast in color, hit the airwaves on 13 stations in the spring of 1956. Under Vandeman’s direction, It Is Written entered into many new evangelism arenas. His live “Revelation Seminars” attracted tens of thousands of eager visitors, and the telecast entered millions of homes in numerous countries.
In 1991, Vandeman retired and Pastor Mark Finley accepted the position as the ministry’s new speaker/director. He also shared Vandeman’s vision for Adventist evangelism, and in 1995 made history with a satellite evangelistic series called NET ’95. It was the single largest evangelistic meeting in the history of the Adventist Church.
NET ’96 followed one year later, and whereas NET ’95 had targeted North America, NET ‘96 reached the world with messages in 13 languages. It is estimated that 2,200 churches from 45 countries participated in at least one of the NETs, and more than 30,000 people were baptized at the conclusion of the meetings.
The next major It Is Written satellite effort took place from 1999 through 2001 with ACTS 2000, when the ministry covered the entire globe with multiple satellite meetings. Finley conducted a total of 10 series to a combined audience of 3 million people.
By this time, the telecast’s reach had expanded by leaps and bounds. Although hundreds of other Christian broadcasts had flooded the airwaves, It Is Written maintained its rank as one of the top 10 religious programs in North America, and received more than 30 awards for excellence in programming. Today, the weekly broadcast is produced in a total of nine languages, and can be seen in nearly every country of the world.
It Is Written entered a new era in January 2005 as Pastor Shawn Boonstra became the third speaker/director in the ministry’s 50-year history. Boonstra came to the It Is Written headquarters from It Is Written Canada, where he had served as speaker/director for four yed"s. As someone who joined the Adventist Church after attending an It Is Written evangelistic series, Boonstra 0a3sionately belidfes in the mis#i?n of the ministry. He said, &,d1uo;The Lord w/s+s in amazing 7a9s. Now, every week in front of millions of viewers, I get to do for others what It Is Written did for me.”
Soon after Boonstra arrived, two more new`l%mbers joined the It Is Written!vamily when 6apu!rget="_blanb"`m2ef="http://ww7/ibleinfo.com">Bibleinfo.com5/!;0and KidsBi"l%info.com became a part of the ministry. Millions of onlin%!%sers regularly access Bibleinfo.com to find Bib
stra will conduct a full-mess!g% satellite evangelistic campa9g> as the official NET series#o&!2006. This series, called Reve,a4ion Speaks Peace, will be broadcast live via C from the Celecbity Theatre in Phoenix, Ariz. I5arn more about!dhis series kn4! t Is Written at www.itiswritt%o>com
About Pastnb Shawn Boonstra
Pastor Shawn Boonstra, a native of British Columbia, is speaker/director for It Is Written International Television. Boonstra made the dec)s)on to commit his life to gosp%m0ministry after attending an It Is Written evangelistic series in the city of Victoria 12 years ago. Soon after, he graduated 'i$h a degree in u?litical science from the University of Victfr)d< and later attended Andrews U.i6ersity, where he gained theolob9cal training.`
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Before moving to the It Is Wrhdten international headquarters in 2004, where he served as asso3iate speaker for a year, Boonsuba was associa4e`speaker for)t(`0It Is Written telecast in Canada from 1998-2001, then served as speaker/director from 2001-2003. In 2001, he and Pastor Henqy0B5yerabend held a special NET satellite evangelistic series in $o7ntown Halifbx`balled Revelation Speaks Peace. More than 1,200`b(urches downlink5d each of the nightly progrkm#/`
In the last few years, Boonstra has held 21 major evangelistic series and written seven books. His clear#gbe#p of Scripture and his warm, dynamic presentation style have been an inspirat9o> to many.
Boonstra, his wifd0Jean, and their two daughteqs`m9ve in Southor>!alifornia.
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Contact Information
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Telephone: (805) 955-7733
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Email: iiw@iiw.org
Web:
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