Meet Monica

Bridges Offers Hope for the Journey

Monica Schmelter is probably best known as the well-loved host of the Christian Television Network’s weekly program, “Bridges,” which is currently celebrating 26 years on the air. Broadcast weekly in over 50 million homes across the U.S., this inspiring talk show highlights Christians’ struggles and triumphs in living everyday life.

Monica’s disarming personality and heart for people bring the powerful testimonies of her guests to the forefront, illustrating how God’s never-ending love and faithfulness continue to transform lives worldwide.

“Hearing the trials of so many people has transformed me into being a much more compassionate and loving person. I thank God that he allowed me to grow in that way, and I’m still growing, of course. When I listen to all those stories, I am overwhelmed with the incredible amount of love that God has for us — that God has for the lost. He works in us and through us in every season of our lives, even when we don’t recognize it.”

Bridges to Nashville

Monica graduated from college with a degree in broadcasting when she went to work for CTN Detroit. It was during her time there that God gave her a vivid dream about hosting a Christian television show. It was shortly after that Phil Scott, who was Monica’s boss at the time, asked her if she was interested in hosting the show at their Nashville affiliate station.

Taking a step of faith, Monica and her husband Joe moved to Nashville. He began pastoring a church and her dream started taking flight as the fledgling show called “Bridges” made its TV debut. Even though she would be doing the show without a proper budget or modern studio equipment, Monica said yes because she knew she was right where God wanted her to be.

Paving the Way

Despite her not being raised in a Christian home, God began laying the foundation for Monica’s ministry in her early teens. Monica’s immigrant grandfather was born a Muslim in Pakistan and her parents were not religious, but God reached her in an unexpected way.

“I have a younger brother who has Downs Syndrome. As a child, he was hospitalized a lot due to respiratory issues. A neighbor of ours asked if we would come to her church for a healing service. So, since we all wanted his healing, even my Muslim grandfather, his second wife, and the four children they had together — all of us — went to church.”

“I heard the gospel differently that day. I had heard it before and didn’t want to be bothered with it. I was already skipping school and smoking pot, just going in the wrong direction, so I wasn’t interested in the things of faith.”

That night, Monica heard the gospel and gave her heart to Christ at the age of 13. Even though her family didn’t continue going to church, her parents drove her to services.

“I received all of my spiritual foundation from a local church, and I prayed for my family for about 25 years. All of them came to faith in Christ, including my Muslim grandfather before he passed.”

The Fragrance of Prayer

Monica had a deep desire for her family to come to Christ. Through a fateful message on prayer, God introduced her to the foundational power of praying for the lost. At only 13 years old, and with childlike faith, she started a habit of intercession that continues today.

“In a church service, the pastor preached out of Psalm 2:8, and he said, ‘Ask of me, and I will give you the heathen for your inheritance and the utmost ends of the earth for your possession.’”

“He taught us how we could pray for nations and for people to come to Christ. As silly as this sounds now, for my 13-year-old brain and heart, I didn’t know that I could pray for my family. So when I heard that, I started writing down the names of all the people I knew that needed to be saved and began praying Psalm 2:8 over them every day.”

“I found a Charlie perfume box to keep those prayers in, and I still have it. It’s all tattered, but you don’t know the value of this Charlie perfume box! I have hundreds of pieces of paper with the names of my family, of people I’ve met and friends in that box. That prayer box kind of took on the world.”

“It was me just praying for people to come to Christ. I look back at that 13- and 14-year-olds’ ramblings and writings and think, ‘You know, Monica, just keep that heart for the Lord.’ I revisit that box at least once a month, just to hold those papers in my hands — simple prayers of faith asking God to heal my brother or asking him to let so-and-so like me back at school.”

The Show Must Go On

Dealing with tragic stories on her show could be hard enough, but especially when those struggles have hit close to home. it took a whole new level of faith for Monica to overcome her grief after she lost her best friend of 18 years to suicide.

“She had been instrumental in putting this studio up. She meant the world to me, and I fell into a depression when she died. But because of God, when I enter into the studio to do what He’s called me to do, my burdens do not weigh me down during that time. Now when I walk away from it, it can come right back. But for a time, it’s like a holy moment and a sacred place for me where God is doing work, and somehow, someway, He sustains me.”

Bridges of Faithfulness

Monica has had a remarkable journey through her “Bridges” ministry, and is looking forward to what God has in store for the future.

“After 26 years of ‘Bridges’ and CTN, I continue to see how faithful God is. I see Him go back to things from years ago, to things that had been left undone years ago, and I see how He always comes back and brings those things together. So I just say for us to keep our eyes and hearts open to what God is doing and to what He will do because no matter what it looks like right now, He does finish what He starts.”