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Who is Pastor John Young of FellowshipWorld Buffalo NY?
To watch him in action, one would think that this energetic pastor, entrepreneur, and gifted minister of music had it all together... well life's lessons are the catalyst of G…od's blessings on the life of John Young. The son of a Baptist preacher and a hard working mother, John H. Young, Sr. began gleaning and learning the lessons of determination, perseverance, and an unwavering faith at an early age as he watched his parents struggles. He was raised by a determined single mother and he was his daddy's best kept secret for almost 10 years. He watched as his mother worked 3 jobs to keep him in private school and made sure he had the best she could afford. He was active in the church that his father pastored for 18 years and witnessed a church and community that once celebrated the innovative young pastor, literally kick him to the curb and watched him deteriorate into a man robbed of the fruit of his labor. Determined to never allow what was witnessed to happen to him, John Young ventured into life's lessons with an unquenchable determination. While applying for High School, John Young was denied placement in the Music program of the Performing Arts Academy. Determined to attend the school, he applied for the Telecommunications major instead. Upon acceptance into the school, he still pursued his interest in music, teaching himself to play 4 musical instruments, and by age 14 he became one of the youngest Minister's of Music of one of the largest Baptist churches of that era. While studying Radio and Television in high school, Young applied for various jobs at local radio and television stations. At every turn he was turned down. He served as an intern at several stations, and learned everything he could. During this time he also accepted the call to ministry, and volunteered to answer the phones for a local radio show, with hopes of one day being allowed to host the show as a fill in. Those dreams were dashed when the station cancelled the gospel programming. Young left Buffalo in 1984, and travelled with the late Rev. John Robertson of Pontiac, MI as his musician and personal assistant. It was during this time that the now 18 year old began to learn and glean the many lessons regarding ministry, evangelism, and entrepreneurialism that he shares with those he mentors. While on the road, he learned that his father had died, and returned to Buffalo in 1986, and served as acting pastor of the Unity Baptist Church (the church his father pastored at the time of his demise). "They thought I was him", recalls Pastor Young of his first pastorate. "In a very short period of time, I realized I could never be him, I had to be me." The 20 member church had grown to over 125 in attendance, when he was told by the Deacon Board that they no longer needed his services. "It was like a repeat of what happened to my father." says Young. Pastor Young lost the church by 1 vote during the official election of the congregation and he ventured out on his own. With a small following, Young founded the Monument of Faith Fellowship Center in 1987, which worshipped in a small rundown building directly across the street from his former church. The young congregation flourished and eventually moved into the former "Red Barn" restaurant on Kensington Avenue in Buffalo NY in 1989 when it was formally incorporated. During this period, Pastor Young, launched one of the first religious television show's "Oh Give Thanks" on Courier Cable in 1988. The 1-hour gospel music show was picked up by a local television station and aired for 3 years. At the age of 25, the young cashed strapped pastor, husband, and father of 3 was struggling to make ends meet. The pressures of maintaining the church, TV ministry, and household were draining the young preacher, not only financially, but was affecting his marriage, and his spiritual drive. The decision was made to discontinue the TV show for radio and on October 13, 1991, Totally Gospel was born. The 4-1/2 hour gospel music and ministry program was launched to replace the cancelled programming a few years earlier. "I didn't have the money." recalls Pastor Young, "I just knew how to work the equipment because of my experience in High School. A gentleman had walked into my office, and noticed a quote for the airtime on WHLD-AM 1270. He asked me if I really wanted it, and my first reaction was similar to the man at the Pool of Bethesda. He responded, answer my question, and I said YES!" recalls Pastor Young. The man didn't have the money either, but by the time the first payment really needed to be paid, the man had signed the first sponsor. That wasn't enough to ease the burden of Pastor Young, with his marriage on the rocks, mounting financial pressures and a congregation that comprised of teenagers, college students, and welfare recipients, Young who had been juggling a full-time job as a bill collector, serving as a musician for a local church, pastoring, and struggling with the new Radio Ministry decided to disband the church, and walked away from his wife of 3 years. "It was a time of refocus. At first, I thought I had failed." says Pastor Young. But in fact, it was a decision that propelled him on a mission, that has made an impact on several communities throughout the country and serves as a living testament that if you are faithful over a few things, God will make you ruler over many. Young left everything behind except the Radio Ministry. Wife, kids, home, church, everything. "All I had were my clothes, a TV, a old Lazy Boy Chair and the radio program. My refrigerator was the window in the pantry of the kitchen in the small apartment I rented next door to a crack house. Pastor Young. "I eventually got a couch that I slept on for nearly a year as most of my money went to take care of my children and ministry bills." Pastor Young set up a studio and office in his apartment, and painstakingly began to build on his Radio ministry. Within 6 months, the time he had purchased was sold out, and he continually bought more, systematically creating Western New York's only source of "nighttime" gospel programming. For the next 5 years, God allowed Pastor Young to experience every lesson imaginable for what was next to come. Throughout those 5 years, the lessons of sacrifice, perseverance, determination, and humility became clearer and clearer. "There wasn't a week that went by, that a new challenge presented itself. But I just REFUSED TO LOSE!" In 1996, Pastor Young was approached by the brokers of a different local radio station to expand his successful programming to a Morning Drive position. Young walked through that door of opportunity September 15, 1996 and the Morning Worship Club was born. The new contemporary gospel music program was an instant success and 8 months later, in an unprecedented move of faith, Young bought all the hours on the station and launched the first and only full-time gospel radio station "Heaven 1120 - WHTT-AM". From 1996-1999, Pastor Young and a "Dream Team" of displaced radio professionals, excited employees, and volunteers took an empty station and built what was affectionately called "The place miracles". "The original staff was a machine that worked harmoniously together. Some even invested there own money, or would forego a paycheck if we were in a crunch. They respected the vision and that's what made Heaven 1120 so special. Everyone knew it was a grassroots, low budget operation, but they didn't care. They were glad to be apart of history." During that period, Pastor Young got married again, bought a house, and was called to Pastor the United Church of Faith Interdenominational in 1997. In 1998, he expanded the ministry to cable television which simulcasted the station. It seemed that everything he had left was returned and he was living a very exciting and prosperous life. But everything came to a screeching halt in 1999, as the broker forged a deal with the new owners of the station, offers to staff from another local gospel radio station prompted some to leave the station, while others assisted the broker to in essence steal the business by cutting the audio feed from the Totally Gospel studios, playing gospel music from another location, and contacting all of the clients to continue doing business with the broker direct. Unbelievable!!! All those years of work, all the money invested, everything just gone by a flip of a switch, and a few phone calls. Pastor Young was devastated but determined. He continued the Morning Worship Club on the cable station, until the operator (the city of Buffalo) cut the feed and began playing local secular music. And to make matters worse, the congregation that celebrated him as a hero for turning around the 5 member church into a 200+ congregation began infighting. Growing bitter with the local scene, which reminded him once again of his fathers demise, Pastor Young resigned from the church and re-launched the ministry he had closed 10 years prior. The new church plant "Fellowship Christian Center" is still a Monument of Faith!!! The 13 member congregation quickly flourished, and within 3 weeks had moved from the basement of the Holiday Inn. "I received a call from the board of directors of the church I had resigned from, and they decided to disband. They had selected our ministry as the beneficiary of all of the churches assets including the 1600 seat building." says Young. "The church had basically dwindled back to the 5 original members." Young moved the congregation back to the facility, launched a national radio ministry on Dominion Sky-Angel / DISH Network and began to forge his way in a different direction. The national ministry was short lived, but to Young it was a lesson well learned. He moved the radio programming to WXRL-AM 1300 in Lancaster, NY, but wasn't satisfied. The Lord had other plans for him. "The Lord took me to the Book of Job 42;10... and God turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends." Young recounts. "It was the most hardest thing for me to do. I was angry and bitter with the pastors of the city, politicians, and the staff that helped the broker steal the business. I cried like a baby, curled up on my bed, asking God to forgive them and me. The next day I was instructed by the Lord to call the broker. I thought to myself, its been 5 years. I've sued them. The last person they would even speak to would be me." Thank God, Pastor Young was obedient. After a couple of snide remarks, the conversation quickly turned into opportunity. Within weeks, the brokers flew to meet with Pastor Young and March 2004, 3 months later he was back at the helm of "Heaven 1120." With a new congregation, and return to radio you would think that the story would be over. A happy ending... not so, it gets better. In August of 2004, Pastor Young moved the congregation to its present location and built radio studio's in the facility. Opportunities continually were presented to Pastor Young. A fledgling credit union needed emergency headquarters, a defunct cluster of radio stations in Pine Bluff, Arkansas were offered, a construction loan to complete renovations was offered, angel investors manifested, a struggling church merged with Fellowship, and another needed space to launch a new ministry. Pastor Young formed a new company Excel Radio Networks LLC., and opened the state of Minnesota's first 24 hour Gospel Radio station and that's not all. In February 2006, a different company intruded the contracts of the broker that intruded Pastor Young and they were out of the door. The new company wasn't interested in Gospel, and handed the entire business over to Pastor Young's new company Excel Radio Networks. The new company that already had blessed Pastor Young with his business back got into financial trouble, and offered a new frequency to move to. On December 18, 2006, Pastor Young launched Western New York's first and only 24 hour gospel station. Guess where.... WHLD-AM 1270 (where the journey began). The company that offered the new frequency to Pastor Young went belly up, and immediately Pastor Young forged a deal to not only lease the stations, but buy them. In March of 2007, Pastor Young launched WSIR-AM 1490 and reprogrammed it Totally Gospel as well. As the host of the Morning Worship Club, Pastor Young has been privileged to have interviewed many special guests including: Bishop T.D. Jakes, Pastor Rod Parsley, Rev. Clay Evans, Rev. Al Green, Men of Standard, Douglas Miller, Bishop Corletta Harris-Vaughn, Elder Jerome Ferrell, Greg Reid (The Millionaire Mentor), and a host of other exciting guests. As Pastor of Fellowship Christian Center, he has played host to such prestigious guests as Pastor Rod Parsley, Pastor Frank Summerfield, Pastor Hezikiah Walker, Pastor John P. Kee, Slim Hunt & The Supreme Angels, Paul Porter & The Christianairs, Ed Gray, Crissy Collins (cast member of Tyler Perry's " Madea Goes To Jail") and a host of local, regional, and national speakers. As a much sought after public speaker and worship leader, Pastor Young has ministered to thousands across the country and has appeared on stage with national artists including: Kirk Franklin, Dottie Peoples, Pastor Rance Allen, Fred Hammond, Donald Lawrence & The Tri City Singers, Yolanda Adams, Pastor Donnie McKlurkin. Today John Young celebrates 28 years of ministry, 16 years of Broadcasting, and is the husband to his wife of 12 years, Paula and is the proud father of 6 sons: Rayshawn, John, Jr., Larry, Terrell, DeJon, Torri and 1 daughter, Brandi. The determination and unwavering faith in an "All Powerful God" makes Young's story a real testimony. We are sure that the story is not over. As Pastor Young now focuses on his other gifts and talents, there will be more to add to this... Stay Tuned!!! (MORE)
