Tim Wildmon: I had to record that song like three times in order to get it right, and that was the final product you just heard. Hello, everyone. I'm Tim Wildmon, and you're listening to Share-a-thon on American Family Radio. Fred Jackson is back with me for this hour.
Tim Wildmon: I have two new guests here because Jenna left, Chris left, and Ray got flooded out. Ray lives north of Tampa, Florida, and they're getting hammered with flooding and rain separate from the hurricane.
Fred Jackson: When you come to Ray, you just have to trust that he's telling the truth. He said his internet is out and he can't do the show anymore today, so I don't have any reason to doubt him.
Tim Wildmon: Brent Creeley called me in a mild panic and said that Ray's internet was out, or so he said.
Fred Jackson: We say “or so he said” because we can't document it. We have to go on his word.
Tim Wildmon: Steve Paisley from Georgia is with us. Good morning, brother.
Steve Paisley: Hey, everybody.
Tim Wildmon: They've been getting hammered in that area, too. They have had about six inches of rain in two or three days, and they're getting more. Again, it's totally unrelated to the hurricane. This is coming in off the Gulf, and Ray's internet went down about 25 minutes ago.
Tim Wildmon: Steve, what do you have over there?
Steve Paisley: Yesterday about this time, we were talking about the speech that Marco Rubio, our secretary of state, was giving in the shadow of the Acropolis. He was talking about the line that started in Greece with the Greek philosophers and drew a line of progress in theology and philosophy through our modern Western culture. He explained how we need to preserve that Western culture because it's under attack.
Steve Paisley: You asked if we could bring in some more of that, and I have. This is a little over a minute of Marco Rubio from yesterday.
Marco Rubio: The Greeks of antiquity seem to have an almost mystical hold on our memory. They knew that there was nothing selfish or wrong about loyalty to your nation, nor anything selfish or wrong about fighting to defend its interests.
Marco Rubio: Now it has become fashionable to believe that enlightened foreign policy means prioritizing the global community over one's own people. Today, too much of the West has forgotten this quality.
Marco Rubio: Over time, we in the West came to feel ashamed of the very things that made us exceptional. We felt embarrassed that our achievements set us apart from the rest of the world. Our prosperity somehow became a source of guilt.
Marco Rubio: Today we find ourselves at a crossroads, because the next decade and the decisions we make will write the story of the next century. The course we take will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world or resigns itself to a future of atrophy, servitude, and decline.
Marco Rubio: We are at an inflection point, not only in the history of my nation, but an inflection point in the whole of our civilization. The threats we face today are every bit as real as they were on the dramatic stage of antiquity.
Tim Wildmon: Marco Rubio, our secretary of state, is doing an outstanding job. That was a powerful speech.
Fred Jackson: Can you watch the whole thing on the internet or YouTube?
Tim Wildmon: I did a story about it, and I think there is a link on our website, AFN.net. C-SPAN has it, and State.gov will have a version of it, too.
Tim Wildmon: We've been kidding around here and having some fun, as we always do during Share-a-thon, but I want to get serious for a minute. I'm a student of history, not a teacher of it. I'm not smart enough for that. I like reading about history because it's fascinating to me, and I love the Scriptures. Sometimes you can see the overlap between reading history and reading Scripture.
Tim Wildmon: I was reading this morning in Habakkuk. God was telling the prophet, and the prophet was telling God's people, about the Chaldeans who were coming to invade. That is the story of human history, almost from the very beginning until recent times.
Tim Wildmon: If you are Ukraine or Israel on that fateful October 7, you still have to fight sometimes to preserve your country. But what I see happening in the West and in America is that we're not having to take up arms and go to the border to fight invaders. All we have to do right now is get registered to vote, speak up, and be salt and light. That's where the fight is right now for the United States.
Tim Wildmon: I want to encourage our listeners to get involved. Let's not wait until we have to pick up literal weapons and fight to preserve our families, our children, our grandchildren, and our way of life. All we have to do is get involved.
Tim Wildmon: American Family Association and American Family Radio exist to inform and equip you and give you ways to get active. AFA and AFR are unique in this way. Other ministries may do some of what we do, but the breadth of what we do to preserve Christian values and the Christian foundations of our nation is why we exist.
Tim Wildmon: When we joke around and have fun, I love talking about procrastinators on the third day of Share-a-thon. But we are facing real threats from socialism, Marxism, radical Islam, and the sexual revolution that just will not stop. Before we have to take up physical and literal weapons, let's get involved and fight the good fight.
Tim Wildmon: The election coming up is important. If Republicans lose the Senate, President Trump will not be able to appoint conservative federal judges to the bench. A Supreme Court justice would likely be blocked if he were opposed in the United States Senate.
Tim Wildmon: I know there are various considerations people have when they go to the polls. I'm not telling you which party to vote for, but you need to look at what the candidates stand for. If you don't follow politics but want to vote, ask somebody in your church or family who keeps up with politics and government. Ask which candidate best represents biblical values. You can also go to iVoterGuide.gov.
Fred Jackson: iVoterGuide.com covers races, in some instances, all the way down to school boards.
Tim Wildmon: It's very detailed. Millions of people read it every year. Christians are using it all over America.
Vince: My name is Vince, and I'm from Topeka, Kansas. I run a trash route here in Topeka. When I fire that truck up in the morning, the radio goes on until that truck gets shut off.
Vince: This is a great and awesome time to be alive. The Father loves each and every one of us, and He gave us His only begotten Son. I give to the radio station and let them take a monthly payment out of my checking account, and it is a blessing.
Vince: The blessing to me is hearing someone turn their life over to Jesus. That is what it is about. That is the biggest blessing I could get from God, to hear someone else turn their life over to Jesus. That's one less soul to the devil.
Vince: I love this radio station, and I'd like to see it keep going. We also have to hold on to our freedoms. Thank you to American Family Radio for everything you do. I like the whole package. Thank you, and God bless.
Tim Wildmon: How about that, Steve?
Steve Paisley: I think I'll take that guy on tour with us. He could do publicity for Today's Issues on the road. He said that from the moment the truck fires up to the moment he turns it off, AFR is on. That's pretty cool.
Tim Wildmon: Steve, you've been in Christian radio a long time.
Steve Paisley: I've been doing news for 25 years. My first job was at Biola University in 1982. I was in the student radio station and did a shift. I was a disc jockey for a little while.
Tim Wildmon: Biola is a Christian school in California, isn't it?
Steve Paisley: It is. It stands for Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It's a very well-known school, and one of the ones that, to this point, is staying faithful to good theology.
Tim Wildmon: Where did you go after that?
Steve Paisley: I graduated from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, and served with a Baptist seminary. I got a degree in church music, basically a master's degree in vocal music.
Tim Wildmon: Did that get you a good job?
Steve Paisley: No. It got me ten years of church ministry.
Tim Wildmon: You went to college to get a degree in something you ended up volunteering at?
Steve Paisley: I'm much happier volunteering in the music ministry than I am running a music ministry. God used ten years of my life to mature me.
Tim Wildmon: I just never heard of a master's degree in singing.
Fred Jackson: That's what I'm saying.
Tim Wildmon: I'm shocked that you didn't claim to have won that yourself.
Fred Jackson: I didn't get a master's. I had a B.S. in singing.
Tim Wildmon: I believe you did.
Fred Jackson: Moving right along.
Tim Wildmon: We're just about to cross three million dollars for Share-a-thon. Our goal is 4.3 million. You may ask why we need that much money. We bought a radio station in Des Moines about six or eight months ago for a million dollars. It costs a lot of money to run and operate a Christian radio network the size of American Family Radio.
Tim Wildmon: We have to pay for satellite time and engineers who keep our stations on the air. They do not all magically stay on the air. We have 164 radio stations.
Tim Wildmon: Some of the lights on top of the towers, so planes do not run into them, broke during a storm. It is enormously expensive to replace those lights and get someone to climb up there. All of those physical requirements, insurance, and the people who work here add up. It is mind-blowing how expensive it is to run a network this size.
Fred Jackson: It is expensive, but God has always been faithful to use His people and our listeners to respond and make gifts and donations that help us make it.
Tim Wildmon: We're not complaining. We're thanking God. This ministry has been on the air since 1991, and we've never been in debt.
Fred Jackson: Why is that?
Tim Wildmon: Because of our faithful listeners who write checks and send donations. We are very responsible with how we spend your money. We do not want to come to you and say that we went into debt and need you to bail us out. That is not a good way to go.
Austin Brooks: I'm Austin Brooks, the director of American Family Studios. I came to AFA about 16 years ago. I went to Asbury University and studied film production, multimedia production, and graphic design.
Austin Brooks: About a month after I graduated, a friend contacted me and said, “I was at a conference and bumped into an organization called the American Family Association. They're looking for video people. I hope it's okay that I gave them your name.” I said absolutely.
Austin Brooks: I was not aware of AFA at the time, but I got a phone call and talked with them over the phone. Then I drove down to Tupelo, Mississippi, from Kentucky for a job interview, and the rest is history. I married my wife three months later. She also graduated from Asbury, and we have lived here ever since.
Austin Brooks: Throughout college, while studying multimedia production and film production, I prayed that if there were a way for me to use my gifts to honor and glorify the Lord by creating things that would encourage and uplift Christians, I wanted to do that.
Austin Brooks: I did not know whether there was an organization where that would be possible, but God, in His providence, provided AFA. I have loved my 16 years here.
Austin Brooks: With every project we have produced, we receive emails and phone calls, and we talk to people personally at events. They tell us that the resources have been beneficial, given them confidence to speak truth to family members who may not agree with the Christian worldview, and given them the knowledge and information needed to represent Christ, stand for truth, and love others as well as possible.
Brad: I'm calling from Fidelia, Georgia. I wanted to express my gratitude for American Family Radio. I've been a listener since probably the mid-2000s. For the past ten years, I've been a rural mail carrier with the postal service, and I listen to the radio a lot.
Brad: I've gained so much encouragement, hope, and strength through listening to AFR. You are such a blessing. I appreciate each and every person I hear on the radio, and I pray that God will bless you all.
Charlotte: I'm Charlotte from Connor, Texas. AFR has been part of our family for at least 31 years. I retired from public school teaching in 1994 so I could help my husband in his new business. I became a stay-at-home secretary, office manager, business adviser, and a convenient grandmother for babysitting.
Charlotte: That is when I discovered Pastor Don Wildmon's voice on my small AM-FM radio in my kitchen. Pastor Don's vision greatly influenced my Christian growth and strengthened me when I needed it most.
Charlotte: In 2026, I love AFR even more because it is available 24 hours a day. At two in the morning, I can get on my laptop, find whoever I want to hear, and listen to a familiar voice. Some of my favorites are David Jeremiah, James Johnson, Alex McFarland, Bert Harper, and Sandy Rios. There are too many to mention because I do not have enough time.
Charlotte: Thank you, AFR, for being there when I need to hear your voice.
Tim Wildmon: Fred was mentioning that we have less than $2,000 to go before we pass three million dollars.
Fred Jackson: Yes, let's make that happen.
Tim Wildmon: Callers are pledging, and we're looking at a screen in the studio that tells us the amount pledged for Share-a-thon. We were at $2,999,000, and we are about to go over three million. It is a milestone, even though our goal is to go over four million by the time Share-a-thon is over.
Fred Jackson: Watch those numbers roll. It is huge.
Tim Wildmon: We are less than $300 away. Somebody could call in or go to AFR.net and give right now.
Fred Jackson: We're about to go over three million dollars.
Tim Wildmon: Here are some of the people who have given in the last hour: John from Temple, Texas; Nancy from Austin, Arkansas; Robin from Fruitport, Michigan; Rebecca from Mechanicsville, Virginia; Christie from Sparta, Illinois; and Elizabeth from Pataskala, Ohio.
Fred Jackson: Thank you for pushing us over three million dollars for Share-a-thon. Do not give up. We are not done yet. We have a challenge going on, so help us meet it.
Tim Wildmon: We are going to close out Share-a-thon tonight at six Central. This is the third and final day of the fall Share-a-thon on American Family Radio.
Tim Wildmon: Our goal is to reach people who do not know the Lord and people who do know the Lord but are uninformed about what is happening in our country. They may not know that our liberties, freedoms, and way of life are in jeopardy. We need to call Christians to action.
Steve Paisley: Yesterday was October 7, the third anniversary of the horrific Hamas terror attacks in Israel, where more than 1,100 people were massacred. New York City is home to many Jewish people, and they organized remembrances near City Hall.
Steve Paisley: Families and victims were there, but anti-Semitic protesters also showed up. They were calling Israel genocidal and protesting the remembrance.
Tim Wildmon: What were they protesting?
Steve Paisley: They were calling for an intifada. An intifada is an armed attack against Jews. They were calling for more attacks during an observance commemorating a horrific event.
Tim Wildmon: The mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, was at the event. He is a Hamas sympathizer.
Steve Paisley: He was there, although he did not look very happy.
Tim Wildmon: He did not miss the opportunity to accuse Israel of genocide on the anniversary of the massacre. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Jewish Democratic member of Congress from Florida, criticized him, asking whether he could give Jewish people even one day without accusing Israel of genocide.
Tim Wildmon: This is a civil war inside the Democratic Party. Most Jewish people vote Democrat and have for a long time. Large Jewish populations are located in New York City and South Florida. Other Democrats, like Mamdani and the person running for Senate in Michigan, are hostile toward the Jews.
Fred Jackson: If this is not a time to be wishy-washy, it is not a time to be silent. This is the time to be active and vote. If you are a Christian, you should defend the Jews simply because they are under attack.
Fred Jackson: Biblically speaking, they are God's chosen people. God is not finished with them. You have to be able to see that this is a demonically inspired attack against the Jewish people, and it could turn lethal even in this country. You have got to get involved.
Tim Wildmon: Israel is being accused by far-left radicals of genocide. That is an extremely serious accusation. They want countries and people to join their efforts to oppose Israel, so they say Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Tim Wildmon: Gaza is where Hamas operates. Hamas is the terrorist organization that hates the Jews and Israelis and wants to see the Jewish state destroyed. “From the river to the sea” essentially means getting rid of the Jews and the nation of Israel.
Tim Wildmon: Is there a war between Israel and Hamas in which Israel uses overwhelming military power to defend its country? Absolutely. Have they bombed Gaza extensively? Yes. But the reason is that on October 7, between 1,100 and 1,200 people were massacred. The war between Hamas and Israel had also been going on long before that event.
Tim Wildmon: Genocide means wanting to kill people because of their race, identity, or ethnic background, with the goal of completely wiping them out, like Hamas wants to do with the Jews.
Fred Jackson: Israel is using overwhelming force to take out Hamas in Gaza, and women, children, and others are dying. That is true. Why? Because Hamas fighters do not put on uniforms and engage in a conventional fight. They use guerrilla warfare and hide weapons in tunnels under schools, mosques, hospitals, and homes.
Tim Wildmon: They do that because they know that if Israel bombs those places, innocent people will die. Then they take video of it, send the clips around the world, and say, “Look what Israel is doing. Look how terrible that is. They are committing genocide.” That is how this plays out. It is inaccurate and unfair to accuse Israel of genocide.
Tim Wildmon: There are Arabs and Muslims who live in Israel outside of Gaza who make up about 20 percent of the country's population. They live in places such as Hebron, Jericho, Nazareth, and Bethlehem. Israel is not bombing them or killing all of those people.
Tim Wildmon: If Israel were interested in genocide and killing people because of their ethnicity, it would be going after those people in its own backyard who are basically defenseless. But Israel is not doing that. Israel is fighting Hamas.
Tim Wildmon: When in history does a country get attacked, 1,100 of its people have their throats slit, babies are killed, and 200 hostages are taken, and then the people who initiated the attack have the world demanding that the country they attacked back off, agree to a ceasefire, and stop the genocide? I do not know when that has happened in world history.
Fred Jackson: It is a spiritual war, and it is also a physical war between Israel and Hamas. We need to remind people that until 2005, Israel controlled the Gaza area. In an effort to bring about peace, Israel turned that area over to the Palestinians and drove its own people out.
Fred Jackson: Hamas took control of the area and immediately made it its purpose to wipe out Israel, despite what Israel had done to try to bring about peace. Money that had been given to feed people and build infrastructure was used to build tunnels and purchase weapons. For 20 years, Hamas fired rockets into Israel periodically.
Fred Jackson: This is a spiritually driven war against Israel and the Jewish people.
Tim Wildmon: Biblically speaking, what evidence supports the Bible's accuracy? The fact that the Jewish people still exist today is evidence. The children of Israel, the Hebrews, the Israelites, and the Jews are still here after thousands of years, even though they were scattered around the earth and did not have a homeland.
Tim Wildmon: Many people, including Hitler, tried to annihilate them. They have been persecuted around the world, and here they are, still existing and prospering in a land that does not have many natural resources. Israel is a tiny speck on the earth with enemies all around it.
Fred Jackson: The Bible says that the people of the earth will be blessed through the Jews. That is what we are seeing. It is a testimony to the truth of the Bible.
Tim Wildmon: Alex McFarland wrote a column called “Life Is Good. Thank a Jew.”
Fred Jackson: We believe the Bible and the Scriptures, and we proclaim the Scriptures each day here on American Family Radio.
Tim Wildmon: American Family Radio and American Family Association love the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. That makes us stand out from most of the other major networks in this country. We are a Bible-driven, Bible-based ministry. The Bible is the source of absolute truth, and it is not going to change.
Fred Jackson: The radio ministry began in 1991.
Tim Wildmon: Thirty-five years. We are not going to change because God does not change. For such a time as this, American Family Radio is here to help you stand strong.
Fred Jackson: That is the theme of our fall Share-a-thon: “Stand Firm.” It comes from 1 Corinthians 16:13-14.
Tim Wildmon: The apostle Paul wrote this as an encouragement and exhortation not only to Christians 2,000 years ago, but to us today. He said, “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, do everything in love.”
Tim Wildmon: I had to record that song like three times in order to get it right, and that was the final product you just heard. Hello, everyone. I'm Tim Wildmon, and you're listening to Share-a-thon on American Family Radio. Fred Jackson is back with me for this hour.
Tim Wildmon: I have two new guests here because Jenna left, Chris left, and Ray got flooded out. Ray lives north of Tampa, Florida, and they're getting hammered with flooding and rain separate from the hurricane.
Fred Jackson: When you come to Ray, you just have to trust that he's telling the truth. He said his internet is out and he can't do the show anymore today, so I don't have any reason to doubt him.
Tim Wildmon: Brent Creeley called me in a mild panic and said that Ray's internet was out, or so he said.
Fred Jackson: We say “or so he said” because we can't document it. We have to go on his word.
Tim Wildmon: Steve Paisley from Georgia is with us. Good morning, brother.
Steve Paisley: Hey, everybody.
Tim Wildmon: They've been getting hammered in that area, too. They have had about six inches of rain in two or three days, and they're getting more. Again, it's totally unrelated to the hurricane. This is coming in off the Gulf, and Ray's internet went down about 25 minutes ago.
Tim Wildmon: Steve, what do you have over there?
Steve Paisley: Yesterday about this time, we were talking about the speech that Marco Rubio, our secretary of state, was giving in the shadow of the Acropolis. He was talking about the line that started in Greece with the Greek philosophers and drew a line of progress in theology and philosophy through our modern Western culture. He explained how we need to preserve that Western culture because it's under attack.
Steve Paisley: You asked if we could bring in some more of that, and I have. This is a little over a minute of Marco Rubio from yesterday.
Marco Rubio: The Greeks of antiquity seem to have an almost mystical hold on our memory. They knew that there was nothing selfish or wrong about loyalty to your nation, nor anything selfish or wrong about fighting to defend its interests.
Marco Rubio: Now it has become fashionable to believe that enlightened foreign policy means prioritizing the global community over one's own people. Today, too much of the West has forgotten this quality.
Marco Rubio: Over time, we in the West came to feel ashamed of the very things that made us exceptional. We felt embarrassed that our achievements set us apart from the rest of the world. Our prosperity somehow became a source of guilt.
Marco Rubio: Today we find ourselves at a crossroads, because the next decade and the decisions we make will write the story of the next century. The course we take will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world or resigns itself to a future of atrophy, servitude, and decline.
Marco Rubio: We are at an inflection point, not only in the history of my nation, but an inflection point in the whole of our civilization. The threats we face today are every bit as real as they were on the dramatic stage of antiquity.
Tim Wildmon: Marco Rubio, our secretary of state, is doing an outstanding job. That was a powerful speech.
Fred Jackson: Can you watch the whole thing on the internet or YouTube?
Tim Wildmon: I did a story about it, and I think there is a link on our website, AFN.net. C-SPAN has it, and State.gov will have a version of it, too.
Tim Wildmon: We've been kidding around here and having some fun, as we always do during Share-a-thon, but I want to get serious for a minute. I'm a student of history, not a teacher of it. I'm not smart enough for that. I like reading about history because it's fascinating to me, and I love the Scriptures. Sometimes you can see the overlap between reading history and reading Scripture.
Tim Wildmon: I was reading this morning in Habakkuk. God was telling the prophet, and the prophet was telling God's people, about the Chaldeans who were coming to invade. That is the story of human history, almost from the very beginning until recent times.
Tim Wildmon: If you are Ukraine or Israel on that fateful October 7, you still have to fight sometimes to preserve your country. But what I see happening in the West and in America is that we're not having to take up arms and go to the border to fight invaders. All we have to do right now is get registered to vote, speak up, and be salt and light. That's where the fight is right now for the United States.
Tim Wildmon: I want to encourage our listeners to get involved. Let's not wait until we have to pick up literal weapons and fight to preserve our families, our children, our grandchildren, and our way of life. All we have to do is get involved.
Tim Wildmon: American Family Association and American Family Radio exist to inform and equip you and give you ways to get active. AFA and AFR are unique in this way. Other ministries may do some of what we do, but the breadth of what we do to preserve Christian values and the Christian foundations of our nation is why we exist.
Tim Wildmon: When we joke around and have fun, I love talking about procrastinators on the third day of Share-a-thon. But we are facing real threats from socialism, Marxism, radical Islam, and the sexual revolution that just will not stop. Before we have to take up physical and literal weapons, let's get involved and fight the good fight.
Tim Wildmon: The election coming up is important. If Republicans lose the Senate, President Trump will not be able to appoint conservative federal judges to the bench. A Supreme Court justice would likely be blocked if he were opposed in the United States Senate.
Tim Wildmon: I know there are various considerations people have when they go to the polls. I'm not telling you which party to vote for, but you need to look at what the candidates stand for. If you don't follow politics but want to vote, ask somebody in your church or family who keeps up with politics and government. Ask which candidate best represents biblical values. You can also go to iVoterGuide.gov.
Fred Jackson: iVoterGuide.com covers races, in some instances, all the way down to school boards.
Tim Wildmon: It's very detailed. Millions of people read it every year. Christians are using it all over America.
Vince: My name is Vince, and I'm from Topeka, Kansas. I run a trash route here in Topeka. When I fire that truck up in the morning, the radio goes on until that truck gets shut off.
Vince: This is a great and awesome time to be alive. The Father loves each and every one of us, and He gave us His only begotten Son. I give to the radio station and let them take a monthly payment out of my checking account, and it is a blessing.
Vince: The blessing to me is hearing someone turn their life over to Jesus. That is what it is about. That is the biggest blessing I could get from God, to hear someone else turn their life over to Jesus. That's one less soul to the devil.
Vince: I love this radio station, and I'd like to see it keep going. We also have to hold on to our freedoms. Thank you to American Family Radio for everything you do. I like the whole package. Thank you, and God bless.
Tim Wildmon: How about that, Steve?
Steve Paisley: I think I'll take that guy on tour with us. He could do publicity for Today's Issues on the road. He said that from the moment the truck fires up to the moment he turns it off, AFR is on. That's pretty cool.
Tim Wildmon: Steve, you've been in Christian radio a long time.
Steve Paisley: I've been doing news for 25 years. My first job was at Biola University in 1982. I was in the student radio station and did a shift. I was a disc jockey for a little while.
Tim Wildmon: Biola is a Christian school in California, isn't it?
Steve Paisley: It is. It stands for Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It's a very well-known school, and one of the ones that, to this point, is staying faithful to good theology.
Tim Wildmon: Where did you go after that?
Steve Paisley: I graduated from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, and served with a Baptist seminary. I got a degree in church music, basically a master's degree in vocal music.
Tim Wildmon: Did that get you a good job?
Steve Paisley: No. It got me ten years of church ministry.
Tim Wildmon: You went to college to get a degree in something you ended up volunteering at?
Steve Paisley: I'm much happier volunteering in the music ministry than I am running a music ministry. God used ten years of my life to mature me.
Tim Wildmon: I just never heard of a master's degree in singing.
Fred Jackson: That's what I'm saying.
Tim Wildmon: I'm shocked that you didn't claim to have won that yourself.
Fred Jackson: I didn't get a master's. I had a B.S. in singing.
Tim Wildmon: I believe you did.
Fred Jackson: Moving right along.
Tim Wildmon: We're just about to cross three million dollars for Share-a-thon. Our goal is 4.3 million. You may ask why we need that much money. We bought a radio station in Des Moines about six or eight months ago for a million dollars. It costs a lot of money to run and operate a Christian radio network the size of American Family Radio.
Tim Wildmon: We have to pay for satellite time and engineers who keep our stations on the air. They do not all magically stay on the air. We have 164 radio stations.
Tim Wildmon: Some of the lights on top of the towers, so planes do not run into them, broke during a storm. It is enormously expensive to replace those lights and get someone to climb up there. All of those physical requirements, insurance, and the people who work here add up. It is mind-blowing how expensive it is to run a network this size.
Fred Jackson: It is expensive, but God has always been faithful to use His people and our listeners to respond and make gifts and donations that help us make it.
Tim Wildmon: We're not complaining. We're thanking God. This ministry has been on the air since 1991, and we've never been in debt.
Fred Jackson: Why is that?
Tim Wildmon: Because of our faithful listeners who write checks and send donations. We are very responsible with how we spend your money. We do not want to come to you and say that we went into debt and need you to bail us out. That is not a good way to go.
Austin Brooks: I'm Austin Brooks, the director of American Family Studios. I came to AFA about 16 years ago. I went to Asbury University and studied film production, multimedia production, and graphic design.
Austin Brooks: About a month after I graduated, a friend contacted me and said, “I was at a conference and bumped into an organization called the American Family Association. They're looking for video people. I hope it's okay that I gave them your name.” I said absolutely.
Austin Brooks: I was not aware of AFA at the time, but I got a phone call and talked with them over the phone. Then I drove down to Tupelo, Mississippi, from Kentucky for a job interview, and the rest is history. I married my wife three months later. She also graduated from Asbury, and we have lived here ever since.
Austin Brooks: Throughout college, while studying multimedia production and film production, I prayed that if there were a way for me to use my gifts to honor and glorify the Lord by creating things that would encourage and uplift Christians, I wanted to do that.
Austin Brooks: I did not know whether there was an organization where that would be possible, but God, in His providence, provided AFA. I have loved my 16 years here.
Austin Brooks: With every project we have produced, we receive emails and phone calls, and we talk to people personally at events. They tell us that the resources have been beneficial, given them confidence to speak truth to family members who may not agree with the Christian worldview, and given them the knowledge and information needed to represent Christ, stand for truth, and love others as well as possible.
Brad: I'm calling from Fidelia, Georgia. I wanted to express my gratitude for American Family Radio. I've been a listener since probably the mid-2000s. For the past ten years, I've been a rural mail carrier with the postal service, and I listen to the radio a lot.
Brad: I've gained so much encouragement, hope, and strength through listening to AFR. You are such a blessing. I appreciate each and every person I hear on the radio, and I pray that God will bless you all.
Charlotte: I'm Charlotte from Connor, Texas. AFR has been part of our family for at least 31 years. I retired from public school teaching in 1994 so I could help my husband in his new business. I became a stay-at-home secretary, office manager, business adviser, and a convenient grandmother for babysitting.
Charlotte: That is when I discovered Pastor Don Wildmon's voice on my small AM-FM radio in my kitchen. Pastor Don's vision greatly influenced my Christian growth and strengthened me when I needed it most.
Charlotte: In 2026, I love AFR even more because it is available 24 hours a day. At two in the morning, I can get on my laptop, find whoever I want to hear, and listen to a familiar voice. Some of my favorites are David Jeremiah, James Johnson, Alex McFarland, Bert Harper, and Sandy Rios. There are too many to mention because I do not have enough time.
Charlotte: Thank you, AFR, for being there when I need to hear your voice.
Tim Wildmon: Fred was mentioning that we have less than $2,000 to go before we pass three million dollars.
Fred Jackson: Yes, let's make that happen.
Tim Wildmon: Callers are pledging, and we're looking at a screen in the studio that tells us the amount pledged for Share-a-thon. We were at $2,999,000, and we are about to go over three million. It is a milestone, even though our goal is to go over four million by the time Share-a-thon is over.
Fred Jackson: Watch those numbers roll. It is huge.
Tim Wildmon: We are less than $300 away. Somebody could call in or go to AFR.net and give right now.
Fred Jackson: We're about to go over three million dollars.
Tim Wildmon: Here are some of the people who have given in the last hour: John from Temple, Texas; Nancy from Austin, Arkansas; Robin from Fruitport, Michigan; Rebecca from Mechanicsville, Virginia; Christie from Sparta, Illinois; and Elizabeth from Pataskala, Ohio.
Fred Jackson: Thank you for pushing us over three million dollars for Share-a-thon. Do not give up. We are not done yet. We have a challenge going on, so help us meet it.
Tim Wildmon: We are going to close out Share-a-thon tonight at six Central. This is the third and final day of the fall Share-a-thon on American Family Radio.
Tim Wildmon: Our goal is to reach people who do not know the Lord and people who do know the Lord but are uninformed about what is happening in our country. They may not know that our liberties, freedoms, and way of life are in jeopardy. We need to call Christians to action.
Steve Paisley: Yesterday was October 7, the third anniversary of the horrific Hamas terror attacks in Israel, where more than 1,100 people were massacred. New York City is home to many Jewish people, and they organized remembrances near City Hall.
Steve Paisley: Families and victims were there, but anti-Semitic protesters also showed up. They were calling Israel genocidal and protesting the remembrance.
Tim Wildmon: What were they protesting?
Steve Paisley: They were calling for an intifada. An intifada is an armed attack against Jews. They were calling for more attacks during an observance commemorating a horrific event.
Tim Wildmon: The mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, was at the event. He is a Hamas sympathizer.
Steve Paisley: He was there, although he did not look very happy.
Tim Wildmon: He did not miss the opportunity to accuse Israel of genocide on the anniversary of the massacre. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Jewish Democratic member of Congress from Florida, criticized him, asking whether he could give Jewish people even one day without accusing Israel of genocide.
Tim Wildmon: This is a civil war inside the Democratic Party. Most Jewish people vote Democrat and have for a long time. Large Jewish populations are located in New York City and South Florida. Other Democrats, like Mamdani and the person running for Senate in Michigan, are hostile toward the Jews.
Fred Jackson: If this is not a time to be wishy-washy, it is not a time to be silent. This is the time to be active and vote. If you are a Christian, you should defend the Jews simply because they are under attack.
Fred Jackson: Biblically speaking, they are God's chosen people. God is not finished with them. You have to be able to see that this is a demonically inspired attack against the Jewish people, and it could turn lethal even in this country. You have got to get involved.
Tim Wildmon: Israel is being accused by far-left radicals of genocide. That is an extremely serious accusation. They want countries and people to join their efforts to oppose Israel, so they say Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Tim Wildmon: Gaza is where Hamas operates. Hamas is the terrorist organization that hates the Jews and Israelis and wants to see the Jewish state destroyed. “From the river to the sea” essentially means getting rid of the Jews and the nation of Israel.
Tim Wildmon: Is there a war between Israel and Hamas in which Israel uses overwhelming military power to defend its country? Absolutely. Have they bombed Gaza extensively? Yes. But the reason is that on October 7, between 1,100 and 1,200 people were massacred. The war between Hamas and Israel had also been going on long before that event.
Tim Wildmon: Genocide means wanting to kill people because of their race, identity, or ethnic background, with the goal of completely wiping them out, like Hamas wants to do with the Jews.
Fred Jackson: Israel is using overwhelming force to take out Hamas in Gaza, and women, children, and others are dying. That is true. Why? Because Hamas fighters do not put on uniforms and engage in a conventional fight. They use guerrilla warfare and hide weapons in tunnels under schools, mosques, hospitals, and homes.
Tim Wildmon: They do that because they know that if Israel bombs those places, innocent people will die. Then they take video of it, send the clips around the world, and say, “Look what Israel is doing. Look how terrible that is. They are committing genocide.” That is how this plays out. It is inaccurate and unfair to accuse Israel of genocide.
Tim Wildmon: There are Arabs and Muslims who live in Israel outside of Gaza who make up about 20 percent of the country's population. They live in places such as Hebron, Jericho, Nazareth, and Bethlehem. Israel is not bombing them or killing all of those people.
Tim Wildmon: If Israel were interested in genocide and killing people because of their ethnicity, it would be going after those people in its own backyard who are basically defenseless. But Israel is not doing that. Israel is fighting Hamas.
Tim Wildmon: When in history does a country get attacked, 1,100 of its people have their throats slit, babies are killed, and 200 hostages are taken, and then the people who initiated the attack have the world demanding that the country they attacked back off, agree to a ceasefire, and stop the genocide? I do not know when that has happened in world history.
Fred Jackson: It is a spiritual war, and it is also a physical war between Israel and Hamas. We need to remind people that until 2005, Israel controlled the Gaza area. In an effort to bring about peace, Israel turned that area over to the Palestinians and drove its own people out.
Fred Jackson: Hamas took control of the area and immediately made it its purpose to wipe out Israel, despite what Israel had done to try to bring about peace. Money that had been given to feed people and build infrastructure was used to build tunnels and purchase weapons. For 20 years, Hamas fired rockets into Israel periodically.
Fred Jackson: This is a spiritually driven war against Israel and the Jewish people.
Tim Wildmon: Biblically speaking, what evidence supports the Bible's accuracy? The fact that the Jewish people still exist today is evidence. The children of Israel, the Hebrews, the Israelites, and the Jews are still here after thousands of years, even though they were scattered around the earth and did not have a homeland.
Tim Wildmon: Many people, including Hitler, tried to annihilate them. They have been persecuted around the world, and here they are, still existing and prospering in a land that does not have many natural resources. Israel is a tiny speck on the earth with enemies all around it.
Fred Jackson: The Bible says that the people of the earth will be blessed through the Jews. That is what we are seeing. It is a testimony to the truth of the Bible.
Tim Wildmon: Alex McFarland wrote a column called “Life Is Good. Thank a Jew.”
Fred Jackson: We believe the Bible and the Scriptures, and we proclaim the Scriptures each day here on American Family Radio.
Tim Wildmon: American Family Radio and American Family Association love the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. That makes us stand out from most of the other major networks in this country. We are a Bible-driven, Bible-based ministry. The Bible is the source of absolute truth, and it is not going to change.
Fred Jackson: The radio ministry began in 1991.
Tim Wildmon: Thirty-five years. We are not going to change because God does not change. For such a time as this, American Family Radio is here to help you stand strong.
Fred Jackson: That is the theme of our fall Share-a-thon: “Stand Firm.” It comes from 1 Corinthians 16:13-14.
Tim Wildmon: The apostle Paul wrote this as an encouragement and exhortation not only to Christians 2,000 years ago, but to us today. He said, “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, do everything in love.”
Tim Wildmon, Fred Jackson, Steve Paisley and other American Family Radio voices discuss remarks attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Western civilization, national loyalty and the challenges facing the West. The program also encourages Christians to register, vote, speak up and remain active in defending biblical values. The hosts examine protests surrounding a New York City remembrance of the October 7 Hamas attacks and criticize accusations that Israel is committing genocide. They discuss Hamas terrorism, civilian casualties, guerrilla warfare and the conflict’s spiritual dimension while arguing that Christians should stand with the Jewish people. The program also features listener testimonies about AFR’s ministry, American Family Studios director Austin Brooks discussing his work, and the significance of AFR’s Shareathon. The hosts mark the campaign’s surpassing of $3 million and reflect on the ministry’s history, financial stewardship and call to stand firm in the faith.
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