The Start of Secrets from the Studio

In many ways it is hard for me to believe that we are fast approaching the 25th Anniversary of the Bridges show. It has been such an honor (and challenge) for me to be host the Bridges show broadcast on WHTN, Christian Television Network. We have filmed over 4000 episodes in 25 years.

If you would have told me 25 years ago that Bridges would eventually air in over 50 million homes across the United States I would have laughed. Okay I would have laughed hysterically. If you had been with me in the studio back then, or watched the Bridges show you probably would have laughed with me. We can’t even watch the early episodes of Bridges because we did the show LIVE, and the ministry did not have the funds to buy tapes.

The Studio had a Leak

It was most assuredly a small start. The first interview chairs were donated by an office supply store in Lebanon that is out of business now. The studio we started in was a rental facility that had a leak. Actually, it had several leaks. When it rained outside it rained in the studio. We cancelled many productions due to flooding.

When our studio wasn’t flooding our technical gear was failing. For our first several Bridges episodes we had two cameras. One camera worked most of the time. The other camera did not work properly. The other camera also known as “Camera 2” was assigned to me. We figured our guests should get the best camera. This meant during our first several years of Bridges I had the “blurry” camera. It wasn’t the best scenario, but it was the best we could do at the time. It was frustrating but I encouraged myself with “you have to start somewhere”.

From the Famous to the Girl Next Door

Over the last 25 years we faced many challenges, received many blessings, and learned many lessons. The stories our guests bring to the Bridges show are honest. Guests share how they found hope during, and despite, great adversity. Bridges guests ranged from the famous to the girl next door. We are far more interested in sharing personal stories that offer hope in Christ than we are about name recognition.

 As we go into the 25th Anniversary year of the Bridges show we are bringing you a new series called Secrets from the Studio. We will not only share the incredible happenings over the last 25 years, but we will also bring you a sneak peek behind the scenes. The stories, the laughs – all the things that never make it the show. Secrets from the studio is your VIP backstage pass to the laughs and lessons we have learned while doing the Bridges show.