By Marney Blom
I clearly remember the day I first walked onto the brightly lit 100 Huntley Street set. It was early March 1993 and I was about to meet a man I had watched on TV since the 1970s. Newly hired as the development producer of Crossroads Christian Communications (CCCI), I was on a tour of the facility to meet the staff.
Rev. David Mainse – a tall, robust, focused man – momentarily redirected his gaze from the activities of the studio to acknowledge the new producer standing in front of him. From the expression on his face I could sense his thoughts, “Huh? Why are we hiring another producer?” Recent budget constraints had dictated the downsizing of the CCCI production team. The timing of my arrival had raised more than a few eyebrows.
However in the following days, months and years I came to enjoy the full support and friendship of this charismatic, and genuine Christian leader. Increasingly he trusted me not only to produce the show’s development segments (commercials) but he released me to create testimonial and human interest features. Then I began appearing on camera criss-crossing Canada, and venturing out to far-flung locations to report on topics such as the 1995 Bosnian War and the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda.
At times I joined Lorna Dueck, David or his family on set to “back talk” the stories I had produced. The experience and lessons learned from my season at CCCI helped prepare me for the work I am doing today.
I shed tears when I heard of David’s passing on Monday. To date, I have experienced few spiritual giants that fit his stature. A gifted communicator and spiritual father in the nation, Rev. Mainse’s infectious passion to fulfil God’s mandate of sharing the Good News of the Kingdom has indelibly impacted the nation of Canada, as it has me.
Thank you David. Until we met again.
Marney Blom
News Director, Acts News Network
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