Introduction

Pat started his first radio job in 1973 in order to help pay his way through college and Graduate School. Thirteen years later Praise Broadcasting Network, Inc. was born. Pat and Claudia have been happily married over 27 years. Their children are Mandy, Patrick, and Mindy.

Pat was Originator, Host and Program Director of a live by satellite Praise and Worship program, “Praise In The Night”, heard nationwide nine hours each night, seven nights each week from Dallas, Texas. He designed and created the unique programming that began June 1988.

After a seven year hiatus, Pat was back broadcasting on Praise Broadcasting Network: Same Format, Same Heart, Same Spirit!

Browsing through Praise Broadcasting Network’s Guestbook on the Internet will tell the story of how deeply hearts are being touched around the world with this unique programming.

If you were to ask Pat why his broadcasts are such an overwhelming success, he would unequivocally tell you it is because Jesus is put before any thought of popularity or success. “Be real with the people, and don’t attempt to be something you are not. If you minister Jesus to people’s hearts, then listeners will be drawn to hear what you have to say,” says Pat.

Even though Pat has a long list of successful radio and business credits, he does not take any of this lightly. It is not unusual to find Pat late into the night talking to hurting listeners, answering listener correspondence, previewing music to be heard on Praise Until Dawn.

Praise Broadcasting Network did not come easily or quickly. It was the result of many years of struggle and hardship, and always prayer.

What follows is the story of Pat Rutherford’s life in radio and the story behind the creation of Praise Broadcasting Network.

Beginnings

Crystal Persuasion

Pat traces his interest in radio back to July of 1956 in Springfield, Missouri. While visiting his Great Grandparents, he and his dad assembled a crystal radio kit and Pat stayed up late into the night, fascinated, tuning in radio stations from around the area.

Marriage and Missions

It was December, 1971. The Viet Nam War was raging, and the Jesus Movement was in full swing in Southern California.

Pat returned from missionary work in Japan in 1971 and married his wife Claudia in Temple City, California, just outside of Los Angeles. Soon, they found themselves flying over Viet Nam en route to Tanzania in East Africa where they helped a Mission until mid summer. They returned to Southern California and Loma Linda University where Pat was to finish his college work.

First Broadcast Job

At the end of Pat’s Junior year (March, 1973), a friend told Pat he was quitting his job at the campus radio station, KLLU, and asked if Pat would like to apply for the position. After talking it over with Claudia, Pat thought it might be fun and a good diversion from his college studies. Little did he know this would be the start of his life-long involvement in broadcasting!

He got the position and enjoyed the hours spent on the air spinning records. It was here that he developed his love for the music of the Jesus Movement and the Praise and Worship that arose from the deep fervor and intimacy of the songs written by artists such as Nancy Honeytree, Jamie Owens, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Annie Herring, Love Song, Paul Clark, Daniel Amos, Barry McGuire, Evie, and so many others.

First Radio Program

While at this position, Pat approached the General Manager of the station with an idea. Pat asked for a 30-minute weekly time slot where he could interview various artists and play their music. Pat’s first program was born! “Here And Now” was produced at the studios of KLLU, in Southern California. Soon, with Pat’s help, the station changed formats from Adult Contemporary, to full time Christian music.

Pat’s Mentor

While in college, Pat and Claudia became very good friends with Ron and Annie Myers. During the mid 1970’s, Christian DJ’s were unheard of. There was no such being. But Ron was the exception. He worked as the weekday afternoon DJ at KHOF, Los Angeles, THE Christian Station in the L.A. Basin, and he had a great following of listeners. Ron would invite Pat and Claudia down to the Los Angeles studios, and Pat intently watched a true Professional spin the records and weave the talk in between the cuts. Pat and Claudia were deeply touched by Ron and Annie’s deep relationship with Jesus, and how Ron portrayed it on the air using cuts of songs and the commentary between the songs. Ron was Pat’s mentor of what was to become “Praise Broadcasting Network” many years later.

A New Campus

Pat continued working at campus radio stations through College and Graduate School.

By 1975, the family had grown by one—Amanda, their new baby girl and the light of her Dad’s life. Pat moved the family to Berrien Springs, Michigan, and began Graduate School at Andrews University. And also began working at the campus station, WAUS. True to form, he couldn’t just be a DJ, following the direction of the General Manager. Pat started another 30 minute weekly program, “Music Of Faith.”

Commercial Radio

In addition, Pat had now ventured out beyond the campus station, and was also the evening DJ at WDOW (AM and FM) in Dowagiac, Michigan. This was his first introduction to commercial radio, and he loved it. The format was Adult Contemporary until 8pm, then Christian for three hours until sign off at 11pm. He was introduced to many new Christian artists as he spun records and listened to cuts in between what was on the air.

As Pat drove home on those lonely, dark, two-lane roads late at night—back to Berrien Springs—Pat would listen to stations coming from Chicago. One program that heavily influenced his life and on-air presence, was “Nightsounds” with Bill Pierce.

Back to California

After graduation from Graduate School in 1977, Pat, Claudia and Amanda traveled to Fortuna, California, where Pat served as an Assistant Pastor.

The most powerful radio station on the North Coast of California was in Fortuna—KNCR, a 10,000 watt AM station—and its format happened to be Christian! Pat would listen by the hour. New music was coming out by Maranatha, The Praise Series. Pat and Claudia had never heard such heart-changing music. They spent hours and hours by the radio, drinking in the melodies.

The music was wonderful, but Pat was not happy with how the DJs presented the music. So, he made a trip up to the station and offered his services on the weekends. It did not make the senior Pastor of Pat’s church very happy, but every weekend Pat would be spinning records at KNCR and acquainting himself with the new Christian music that was coming out.

It was here, in Fortuna, California, on February 4, 1978, that Pat’s BOY (Patrick II) was born.

Pastor Pat’s Last Chance

Pat was a “maverick,” and that didn’t sit well with the Senior Pastors and the governing board of Pastors. Pat was transferred to Santa Rosa, California, in the middle of 1978 to be an Associate Pastor of a church there. This was Pat’s “last chance” as a Pastor.

Never-the-less, Pat was soon traveling every week up to a station in the Napa Valley to produce a 30-minute weekly program on KANG, which covered the Napa Valley and part of the San Francisco Bay area. Pat just couldn’t get enough of this new Intimate Worship music! And he loved giving it to his listeners in “his” way—the way he felt called by God to do it.

Leaving the Ministry

The calling to be a Pastor is a sacred and solemn calling by God. But, try as he might, Pat never felt comfortable in that role. His happiest times were spent behind a microphone, spinning records, and touching the hearts and lives of his listeners. Yet he didn’t know how he could make a career of that, and still provide for his family.

It was a difficult decision, but in January, 1979, Pat and Claudia decided to leave the Pastoral Ministry. They moved to be near Pat’s parents in Southern California and wait to see what God had in store for them.

Moving On

Life-Changing Events

Pat and Claudia joined Pat’s father selling Real Estate in Southern California. They purchased a home in Loma Linda, and in Octoberm 1979, their third child, a precious little Strawberry blonde girl—Melinda—was born to them. And things went well for them for a couple years.

One day in 1980, they received a call from a friend who had attended Graduate School with Pat. John and Jeannie were down from Northern California, attending a conference in Anaheim—around the corner from Disneyland and about an hour’s drive from where Pat and Claudia lived.

During dinner, Pat would ask a question that would change him and his family for the rest of their lives. Pat asked what kind of conference they were attending.

John and Jeannie excitedly told them about the wonderful things they were learning from the Bible at a place called “The Vineyard” in a White Front store, by Disneyland. They urged Pat and Claudia to come and see for themselves that night.

Sitting in the midst of a crowd of some 3000 people, Pat and Claudia listened, enraptured by the words and melodies of music as they had never heard before in their lives. They watched as voices blended together, hands were raised and tears flowed down the faces of the people in the room. Pat’s longing to be back in radio, sharing the intimacy of this wonderful, heart-changing music, was reborn that night and tucked away into his heart.

Interrupted Plans

In January 1981, Pat started back to the University to complete pre-med classes and apply to Medical School. Yet, by mid-1982, with MCAT completed and ready to start applying to Medical Schools, Pat and Claudia had run out of money and he had to return to work in order to provide for Claudia and their three children.

But out of this disappointment came an opportunity for Pat to get back to what he loved. He saw an ad in a local Christian newspaper about a job 30 minutes away in Pomona. KTSJ was looking for a board operator for the weekends. Pat applied for the position and got an interview with the Program Director. He remembers her question to this day. “It has been several years since you did any kind of radio. How do you know you can still do it?” He replied, “It’s like riding a bicycle. Once you know how to do it, you never forget.” Skeptically she said, “We shall see,” and offered Pat the job.

The Words of His Heart

On weekends, Pat would get up at 4am and be on the road by 5, in order to have everything in order for the station to be on the air exactly at 6am. Early one Saturday morning in the dark, as he was getting on the 10 Freeway in Loma Linda, heading for the radio station, Pat heard the words in his heart: “Praise Broadcasting Network.” He didn’t quite know why he had heard those words, so he kept them a secret of his heart, only sharing them with Claudia.

Times had become very hard for Pat and Claudia. During the week, Pat had gone back to helping his father at his Real Estate office, but when the bottom fell out of the real estate market, selling a house was almost impossible. They were on the verge of losing their home, so instead of letting the bank repossess it, they sold it at a tremendous discount and moved to the mountains of Southern California to a little city nestled away in the pines called Crestline.

“Praise Broadcasting Network” is born

With the proceeds from the sale of their home, Pat and Claudia gave birth to “Praise Broadcasting Network,” incorporating it in San Bernardino, CA. They were also able to purchase enough broadcasting equipment to produce radio programming. In one room of their rented home in Crestline, Pat set up a recording studio. “Praise Broadcasting Network” began syndicating a weekly hour-long program called “Music of Faith” to several stations in the U.S. While the Christian world was turning to the new sounds of “Contemporary Christian Music,” Pat’s program kept with the beautiful sounds of Intimate Worship and the words of encouragement as God had taught him, weaving them in between carefully chosen songs.

Producing the programs and syndicating them was not cheap. In order to help pay the expenses, Pat took a job as a Mountain Community weatherman for KCKC and KBON radio stations, whose main studios were located in the valley below in San Bernardino. The little weather studio from where Pat was to broadcast each morning was situated in a corner of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate office in Lake Arrowhead, a 20 minute ride through winding mountain roads.

The first broadcast was just after 6am Monday thru Friday. The DJ from the main studios in the valley would call Pat on a special broadcast line, chat with him a minute, then ask for the forecast for the mountain areas and for the Inland Empire of Southern California. Pat would often have to forge through heavy snow in order to have the little broadcast studio on the air for the early morning weather report. Being late was not an option!

From Weather to News

Pat was invited to become the afternoon news anchor at the studios of KCKC and KBON in San Bernardino. Pat, Claudia and the kids moved 6000 feet up in the San Bernardino mountains to Lake Arrowhead. Every afternoon, Pat would now make the trip 45 minutes down the mountain to the broadcast studios and anchor the afternoon news. KCKC and KBON were very respected radio stations in the Inland Empire and gave Pat the inroads to follow city, state and federal news stories, interview officials from the mayor’s office to the governors office, and even interview Kitty Dukakis, the wife of the Democratic candidate for President.

Each morning before going to work down the mountain, Pat would work in his little home studio preparing “Music of Faith” programs and sending them out to Christian stations. He knew in his heart that his future was in Christian radio, not in secular radio. He was exhausted, but he kept producing programming, because he felt this was God’s calling on his heart.

In order to provide more for his family, Pat accepted an additional position. An opening had come up as the weekday evening board operator at KCKC. Pat would work on his “Music of Faith” programs in the mornings, rush down the mountain in time for his news anchor position in the afternoon, then after a quick snack he would be at the broadcast board of KCKC to make sure the evening programming got on the air. Then, at midnight, Pat would make his way back up Highway 18—a dark, winding road that lead 6000 feet up the mountain to Lake Arrowhead. Many nights Pat had to pull off the road and put on snow chains in order to be able to make it through the deep snow up the mountain, and home.

A Heart-Wrenching Decision

The long hours with little time off were taking their toll on Pat. Finally, early in 1988, at the point of exhaustion and after much prayer, Pat and Claudia decided that “Music of Faith” must cease. People loved the program, but little came in in the way of donations to help keep it going. As Pat tells it, it was a heart-wrenching decision—one of the hardest decisions he has ever had to make. This was the very desire of his heart and he was having to shut it down. For how long, he didn’t know. Possibly, forever.

He notified each of the radio stations that programming would stop in a couple weeks.

New Opportunities

From the Ashes

But all was not lost. About a week later, Pat received a call from Brandon Donnell, the General Manager of KVTT, a 100,000 watt FM station in Dallas, TX. They were one of the stations airing Pat’s “Music of Faith” program. Brandon said that it was so popular that they had been replaying it at least two or three times a week! He said he hated to lose such an anointed program and asked if he had any additional programming he could send them until Pat could get back into production. Pat agreed to send him some copies of the program on 7-inch reels of tape.

A couple of weeks later, in March of 1988, Brandon called again, and asked Pat about his hopes and dreams for “Music of Faith” and Praise Broadcasting Network. He asked Pat if he would fly out to meet with the owners of KVTT, who were talking about starting an overnight program, live by satellite, seven nights a week. He said the format of “Music of Faith” was exactly what they wanted!

So on June 15, 1988, Pat and his entire family—Claudia, Mandy, Pat and Mindy—flew into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. “Praise In The Night,” the live-by-satellite broadcast originating seven nights a week from the studios of KVTT in Dallas, was born.

Success!

Pat’s program was a hit. It aired 7 hours each night and was one of the top-rated broadcasts on each of the stations that received it. In Dallas alone, it was ranked #2 in popularity, barely a percentage point behind Marlin Maddux’s afternoon drive-time show, “Point of View.” Not bad for an overnight program!

No one had heard such wonderful, intimate music on the air, especially the way Pat could weave it together. It was as if Pat painted pictures with the music he played and the words he said. One of the most common “complaints” Pat received was “I can’t get to sleep because I can’t wait to hear what Pat plays or says next!”

Disappointment

For a year and a half, Pat had a wonderful worship service each night with his listeners, playing the music closest to our Father’s Heart. Music that would change lives forever. In January of 1990, however, the owners wanted to turn “Praise In The Night” into more of a Christian “talk” program. But Pat wanted to keep the music flowing to the listeners’ hearts. He did not feel that “Christian talk” was the Mission given to him by God. So Pat left “Praise In The Night.”

Trying Times

Dallas Christian radio was a very tough market. No other station in Dallas wanted to do Pat’s type of program, neither locally nor by satellite. Pat took work where he could. Times became so hard, he even went to a local grocery store and applied as a grocery clerk, but they wouldn’t hire him because he was overqualified for any position they had.

But again, Pat used the time as an opportunity to revive his weekly hour-long program, “Music of Faith.” In order to pay the bills, Claudia took on child care in their home. With kids crying in the living room of their small, 1400-square-foot rented home, Pat shut the door to their bedroom/studio, and produced programming—stopping only when the noise from the children in the next room became too much.

Those were trying days for Pat and his family. But even during the darkest times, it brought Pat, Claudia and their children closer together as a family. These may have been very tough days financially but they were wonderful days as their family learned the true meaning of love and togetherness. “Never Give Up” took on new meaning to them.

Foundations for the Future

Satellite Mike

Within a couple weeks of leaving “Praise In The Night,” Pat received a call from one his listeners, Michael Politoski. He had called the radio station and they had given him Pat’s telephone number. This was a miracle in itself, as no one was supposed to give out the phone numbers of any of the air personalities. But, for some reason, someone gave it to him and Mike called.

Pat took his younger brother, Kirk, along at this lunch and they met Mike and his brother, Cary. Mike is a satellite engineer, and used to travel in the business he had with his brother.

Over lunch, Mike told Pat how he was on the road one night and noticed that he hadn’t heard Pat in awhile. He told Pat about how he would be on the road in other states and listen to Pat late at night—how he would cry with the songs and listen very intently to what was sung and said on the air.

Mike offered his services to help Pat get back up on satellite and asked if Pat had any financial backing to accomplish this. Unfortunately, there were few financial supporters to accomplish such a huge task. They agreed to put it to prayer.

A Christmas Miracle

As the months of 1990 rolled by, any savings that Pat and Claudia had were used up. Pat could not find work, and the child care that Claudia did in their home did not bring in enough to cover all their bills. December came and rent was due, and bills had to be paid. They had no idea where the money would come from for the bills, much less anything left over for Christmas gifts for their three young children.

Then one day there was a knock at their door. Standing there was Doug, a listener Pat had met at KVTT, but had not seen or talked to in at least a year. Doug told Pat that God had told him to bring something to him and Claudia. He handed Pat a white envelope. Inside were five 100-dollar bills. It would be enough to pay the balance of the rent, the rest of the bills, and leave a little extra for a few Christmas gifts. A true miracle. There was rejoicing that Christmas for what God had done.

A Vision

Pat, Claudia and their children attended church at a Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Arlington, Texas. Steve and Derene Shultz (who currently distribute “The Elijah List”), and their children, long-time close friends of Pat and Claudia from California, had moved to Texas a few months before, and were attending that church as well. Each Sunday after church, Steve, Derene and their children Tawny, Danielle and Christopher would come to Pat and Claudia’s house and they would all have lunch, then sit around and talk about the sermon and discuss the Bible. They always ended up with prayer. They would kneel in the living room and each take time to pray for each other.

One day in 1991, as they were praying, Steve felt they should all gather around Pat and lay hands on him as they prayed for him. In the midst of Steve’s prayer, he stopped and said, “I’ve just had an incredible picture in my mind, and I’ve got to share it with you. Pat, I saw you dressed as an Indian warrior chief. You had come out of your Tee Pee dressed in war paint, and you let out a loud war cry, and it was heard everywhere by telephone wire.” Pat thanked Steve for his words, but he told Claudia later, “Oh great, God wants me to be a phone counselor,” something Pat definitely did NOT feel called to do. But, he put Steve’s words down in his heart and waited to see what God would do.

Today, one might interpret Steve’s vision to be about the internet, but 1991 was long before anyone in the general public knew anything at all about the Internet. Pat and Steve certainly didn’t know about it. And computers were still in their relative infancy. Broadcasting on the Internet would not come about until around 1997—many years later.

Intermission

A New Job and More Prayer

In 1991, Pat landed an interview with KNRB in Fort Worth. General Manger Keith Whipple offered him the position of Program Director of their little AM station, and told Pat he wanted the format to be Praise and Worship. Pat accepted, and not only took over the duties of Program Director but also became KNRB’s morning drive-time announcer. Pat’s music and words of hope and encouragement once again became favorites of listeners around the area. For a year, Pat brought intimate worship to KNRB’s listeners, until the day the owners decided to change the format to be more in line with their other stations—Christian preaching. Soon after letting Pat go, the station was sold to a secular commercial radio company.

Again, Pat was faced with trying to provide for his family. Some days were so tough, it was everything Pat could do to throw the covers back and get out of bed, but he forced himself to carry on. Prayer was a vital part of Pat and Claudia’s lives.

Emergency Work

In 1993, Pat saw an opening for 911 Call Takers for the City of Arlington. The testing for this position is extensive. There were typing tests, psychological tests, written tests, speaking tests and observation tests. If you were lucky enough to pass those, then there was several weeks of class work at the Police Training Facility. Pat passed with one of the highest grades in the class.

He was given the opportunity for advanced testing for Police Dispatcher and CIC (Crime Information Center). Only a few people in the class passed the tests but Pat was one of them. He quickly worked up to Police Dispatcher. A few months later, one of the Managers at 911 talked to Pat about Fire and Emergency Medical Dispatch. Because of his interest in Medicine in College, Pat thought this would be a good move. After over 15 weeks of training, Pat became an official City of Arlington Fire and Emergency Medical Dispatcher. If you have ever watched the program “Emergency 911,” Pat did what the dispatchers you hear giving instructions on the program did.

The work was very interesting. Pat remembers his first multi-alarm fire for which he was the dispatcher on duty. He sent fire and ambulance vehicles to the fire, and repositioned other fire vehicles around the city to give coverage to areas that were understaffed due to the fire. He took and gave instructions from the Fire Chief at the site.

One of the most exciting and rewarding times, though, was when he received a frantic call from a mother who had just pulled the lifeless body of her son from their swimming pool. Pat calmed her and gave her instructions on how to get her son breathing until the Emergency Personnel arrived. The boy survived.

Private Investigations

In 1995 Pat’s parents, who were advancing in age, moved to Texas to be close to Pat and Claudia, and their children. Pat’s dad had become a Private Investigator in Southern California, and had his own office there. The dream was for Pat and his dad to open a Private Investigations office in Texas, with Pat getting the license.

In between medical and fire calls at 911, Pat studied diligently for the tough Texas Private Investigator’s test. Finally, Pat, Claudia and the kids, as well as Pat’s mom and dad, took a 3 day vacation to Austin in April. The test was to take 3 hours. Pat completed it in an hour and a half—the first one to leave. He passed with flying colors. After local and state police and FBI checks, Pat became a licensed Private Investigator in the State of Texas, and left his position with 911. He and his dad opened their office on Main Street in Mansfield, TX.

The work was interesting. There was even a child kidnap case which took them to Germany for 9 days. Pat, his dad, and Patrick (Pat’s 17 year old son) traveled to Frankfurt. In between their Investigative work, they took the opportunity to travel all over Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg. They would get up early in the morning before the sun came up and would travel until midnight, getting as much traveling in as they could. It was a time they would NEVER forget.

New Beginnings

A Voice From The Past

One day in September, 1996, Pat was at his desk when his secretary said he had a call from a Mike Politoski. Mike was a satellite engineer, and the best in the business. Pat had not heard from him but once or twice in almost 7 years! He picked up the phone and Mike said, “Pat, I know I have not kept in contact, but I want you to know I have NEVER stopped trying to get you back on satellite. For seven years, I have been working at it. Some things have come up, and I need to talk with you. Will you meet with me?”

Pat liked Mike. He doesn’t know of anyone who doesn’t. Mike is just that type of person. He would give you the shirt off his back, if you needed it. Pat readily invited him over to his home that night, but Mike wouldn’t tell him what he wanted to talk about. He had been through some hard times and Pat thought that maybe he just needed some encouraging.

A Moment of Truth

They met in the little recording studio in Pat’s home, Mike standing by the wall while Pat sat at Claudia’s desk. As he stood there, Mike began to fill in the blanks of what had transpired over the previous seven years. How he had come so close so many times to negotiating a position for PBN on various satellites. He had even offered his services to a large Christian broadcasting network in exchange for some overnight satellite airtime. Each time he came close to securing a deal, the door was closed shut again. After listening to Mike, it was obvious that he was still very dedicated to the mission of PBN.

What he said next caught Pat totally off guard. Mike had been given the opportunity to do some satellite engineering work for an up-and-coming internet broadcasting group in Dallas. In time, they would be the largest carrier of streaming audio on the World Wide Web. Mike had negotiated his services to them in exchange for putting PBN on the internet!

In addition, one of the satellite dishes he had installed belonged to a satellite programming service that wanted their television feed on the internet. Mike had met with these people, and negotiated a trade of his engineering services for a twenty-four hour satellite radio channel through their uplink. Amazingly, they took him up on the offer! Mike had taken the time to set this up without ever bothering Pat or Claudia with the details. When he met with them, it was already a done deal! Then came the question…

And So It Began…

“It’s all set up for you Pat. Are you still committed? Are we going to do this? I need to know.” Without hesitation, Pat answered his question—the answer was, and still is, yes. There was much left to do in preparation, and it would still be months away from happening, but they began an all-out effort to bring PBN back to satellite, and back to radio stations across America. It began, in earnest, that very evening.

Praise Broadcasting Network would become a reality.

Copyright © 1997-2004 Praise Broadcasting Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.