Posted: 10/01/04
Paris church knows broadcasting high
school football is ministry in Texas
By George Henson
Staff Writer
PARIS–Cable television viewers in Paris know the call-letters “FBC-TV” stand for First Baptist Church. But each fall, they represent the Football Channel.
The church has had a local cable channel since 1985, and it started broadcasting local high school football games about 10 years ago.
"We do it as a public service to the community," said Travis Jackson, director of media and public relations for the church. But Jackson readily admits it also raises the church's level of visibility in the community.
| Volunteer videographer Reed Bass shoots a high school football game for broadcast on First Baptist Church of Paris' cable television station. |
“It serves to get a lot of people to the channel that might not ever know it was there otherwise,” he pointed out.
The church also has aired a health talk show and a local business talk show as a part of its programming.
An all-volunteer crew tapes the football games. Paris has two high schools, Paris High School and North Lamar High School, and the church films the home game with the greatest appeal, making sure to keep the number of games for each team even.
“We're fortunate enough to have a real nice mobile production unit that is all logoed up with the church's logo, and our crew has their T-shirts” so there is no escaping the fact that First Baptist Church is broadcasting the local high school gridders on television, Jackson said.
“It lets the people here know that we're not just a bunch of stuffed-shirts at that church downtown,” he said.
The church doesn't even accept sponsorships for the football games “except for maybe a free meal for the crew at a local restaurant,” Jackson said.
Jackson started out as a volunteer member of the crew eight years ago.
Then in January 2001, he felt God leading him to make media ministry his full-time vocation. And in May of that year, the position opened up at his church.
“God gave me an opportunity to serve here, and I'm very grateful for that,” he said.
Jackson has attended several conferences dealing with church-run television ministries. Almost always, First Baptist Church in Paris is the smallest congregation represented, he observed.
“This kind of ministry is a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun, too,” he said.
“There's just so much potential with this type of ministry for churches.”
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