David Mainse

David Mainse is a Canadian televangelist and evangelical Christian leader.

Born in August 1936 in Campbell's Bay, Quebec, and raised in a rural area near Ottawa, Ontario, Mainse was highly influenced by his father, Roy Lake Mainse (1896–1972) who worked as a missionary in Egypt, as well as a Holiness Movement Church pastor in both Ontario and Quebec.

Mainse determined to go into ministry while still a teenager. He studied theology at Eastern Pentecostal Bible College (now Master's College and Seminary) in Peterborough, Ontario and was Ordained. He met and married Norma-Jean Rutledge in 1958. He pastored Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada churches in Brighton, Deep River, Sudbury and Hamilton.

He began his communications ministry in 1962 with a 15-minute program following the late night news on affiliate CHOV in Pembroke, Ontario, while he pastored in Deep River. He later began a television program called Crossroads. The program expanded quietly to stations across the country but with minimal penetration into the American heartland.

In 1975 David left the pastorate to focus full time on television and evangelism projects. This was the beginning of the ministry known as Crossroads Christian Communications. The early seventies brought Circle Square, a children's telecast that has been carried in over 50 countries and continues to be shown in some. David later made the fictional ranch a reality as the summer camp, Circle Square Ranch. At its paramount there were 11 Circle Square Ranches across Canada.

In 1976, Mainse began a project to begin telecasting daily. Part of this lead took the initiative to create a studio at 100 Huntley Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario. The lead program of this new station took the studio's address as its name. On June 15, 1977, the first of broadcast of the interview/talk show 100 Huntley Street (based on The 700 Club in the United States) was launched. This TV program has featured more than 14,000 guests including some famous evangelicals such as Billy Graham and Charlton Heston. Crossroads also produced a short-lived program for teenagers, Inside Track, in 1978.

In 1979 outside the Toronto mayor's office, David Mainse protested the gay publication, Body Politic, saying that "parents and all decent people are particularly disgusted by the perversity, which publishes and disseminates anti-child, anti-parent dehumanizing materials." During the rally, Mainse protested alongside Ken Campbell who equated gays with child molesters during an interview with the television media. In his statement to the press, Campbell said, "when a group advocates the molestation of children...one has to question the...social constructive nature of the whole cause they represent."^[1]

In 1998, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission granted Crossroads a licence to operate a Burlington, Ontario based, 24-hour a day over-the-air commercial TV station on cable, covering North America on satellite. CITS-TV has been broadcasting programming since September 1998.

Mainse, among others, served for several years at the request of mutual funds billionaire John Templeton as a judge in the awarding of the Templeton Prize. He has received numerous awards for excellence in television production from the National Religious Broadcasters in the United States, and has several honorary doctorates from the US, the most recent being from Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto in 2003.

Mainse stepped down as president of Crossroads and host of 100 Huntley Street in the summer of 2003. He passed the torch to his youngest son, Ron Mainse of Burlington, Ontario. At this time he remained on the CTS board.

Following his retirement he has continued to be featured on 100 Huntley Street through various segments, acting as a Spokesman for Crossroads on various issues of social concern as well as wrote a book "SALT".

In 2009, David returned to regularly host 100 Huntley Street while Ron was taking some time away from the ministry. In January 2010, he launched a television programs "Really Good Medicine" geared towards seniors as host/creative producer as well as a new show "A Living Witness to Amazing Grace" which features 3 of the 1400+ interviews from his time at 100 Huntley Street. He is in the preparation stages of 150 city "Thank You Canada" tour set to take place during his 50th year of television ministry.

References

1. ^ CBC Archives: Backlash against gays. (Archived television news broadcast). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-69-599-3232/life_society/gay_lesbian/clip8.  Originally aired January 7, 1979. Mainse appears at 1:15.

External links

• Biography from 100 Huntley Street

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Name	Mainse, David
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Date of birth	1936
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