“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7 NKJV
What do you believe God has created you to do? What does God want you to accomplish for His glory?
Invited to speak at Southeast Iowa Youth for Christ in 1977, it was a discouraging time for us back at TTT because for several years we had been struggling to know how to start construction on a building to enhance communicating Christianity more effectively.
The April 1975 “Telling The TRUTH” newsletter had reported: “The long-awaited ground-breaking for the much-needed Christian Communication Center happened on Easter Eve. Following a prayer of dedication by Dr. R.R. Schwambach, Board Chairman David Ingle, Jr. and Executive Director George Dooms together turned the first shovel of dirt.” Other board members, staff, adults, and teenagers participated in the ground-breaking at TTT that Saturday night. But the project continued to experience delays and difficulties.
When I spoke at the YFC rally in Iowa, Kathy Walters sang her song “Dreams,” and it became increasingly meaningful:
“When you pray about dreams and sincerely believe through Him that all things are in His control, then you’ll find rest and peace and happiness within by singing the song in your soul.”
Driving back from Iowa, I began to put into practice the thrust of the song “Dreams” as I prayed. God’s Word came alive: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV
Continuing to drive toward home and praying about the dream to build the Christian Communication Center, the morning I arrived back at TTT, I called our board treasurer H.S. Barger. He asked me to meet him at his office, and we sketched the floor plan of the proposed building.
Eleven years earlier, God had provided a house and 2 1/3 acres, and TTT began Saturday, February 5, 1966 with two teenagers and a few adults with my wife Mary and me and our daughter Tami, who was almost one year old.
In 1974, God provided the surrounding property for a total of about 30 acres. Through patience and persistence on the part of architect Jack Kinkel and TTT’s Executive Board and Building Committee, contracts were signed March 22, 1978 to construct the expanded TTT Christian Communication Center. The building was dedicated Saturday, November 4, 1978.
Mary was promoted to her home in heaven October 12, 2014; and in February 2015, Tami Leigh Dooms was elected President of TTT Christian Youth Ministries, and my title changed to Founder and Ambassador at Large.
The prediction “We’ll be here every Saturday for the next 30 years” stated that first Saturday of February 1966 has now nearly doubled. God willing, Saturday, February 7, 2026, TTT will “Rendezvous,” celebrating God’s faithfulness throughout 60 years and counting.
December 6, you are invited to “Celebrate Jesus” at TTT with some of the world’s greatest teenagers, preteens, and adults for a family night, sharing Jesus through specially decorated birthday cakes using the “wordless book” concept.
Meanwhile, share your story – what God has done and is doing in you, for you, and through you.
Thankfully abound in faith in Christ Jesus.
God’s Word says: “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:3-4 NKJV
Are you abounding in faith with thanksgiving?