A Family Friend David Mainse 1936-2017

It is with great sadness we learned of the death of Crossroads & YES TV founder Rev. David Mainse today, after a five-year battle with MDS leukemia.
CHRI Radio general manager Bill Stevens has known Mr. Mainse for many years and recounts their long-time friendship...

"It was the late 70's the first time I met David Mainse. He was the chief “Holy Roller” as we called them, working in a small rented space on Merivale Road in Ottawa next to Atkinson Film Arts the animation studio Vic Atkinson and I had started a couple of years earlier. We were a raucous bunch, long hair, beards and blue jeans. They were the polar opposite, clean cut, wearing business suits...

After a Beer Friday we'd sit around laughing at the contrast, feet up, being creative and perhaps a little lewd. They didn't have much in the next office so they probably sat or stood around, praying, perhaps for us.

Thirty years later in 2000, my wife Denise, our children Will and Care and I decided to follow Christ. After trying a few denominations and congregations, we found a church we all liked and committed to stay there until the Lord moved us on. As member's we didn't understand how our new community functioned but experienced billeting with total strangers in Nashville. A few weeks after that awkward experience, an elder at our church Les White who was also the Executive Director of The Military Christian Fellowship called me and said it was our turn to billet someone! Although a lot of what we do as a family is public, we're very private, but tit for tat, we owed one and agreed. The stranger we welcomed into our home for a brief stay was David Mainse, by then the Godfather of Canadian Christian Television and our first world renowned televangelist. As we quickly discovered David loved everybody and our family fell in love with him. David and I sat up all night talking, mostly about the discovery that Saddam Hussein was trying to rebuild the Babylonian Empire.

We retired for the night at about 4 am. I had no idea that David would only find rest in scripture as he immediately slipped into his devotions where he sat with the Lord until breakfast.

David and Norma Jean invited us to stay with them at her grandfather's farm which become the inspiration for Rideaufarm where Denise and I currently live. On the other hand, after visiting our Pine Island cabin in the Rideau Lakes, David built a retirement home on an island not far from ours.

Later when CTS was looking for a way to extend the life of their successful Circle Square Ranch TV series, David and the CTS leadership gave our family the opportunity to pilot a reality series filmed at the Arden Camp ranch. Will and I filmed Will edited, Caroline assisted on and off camera and Denise worked as production manager, recharging batteries, preparing meals and keeping us all on schedule. David knew Denise was healing from a massive operation for stage 4 cancer and had chosen to work on the CTS series while commuting daily back to Ottawa for chemotherapy. When we met with him in Burlington, he would hug us all, hold her hand and with those sparkling eyes, smile and remind her of just how much Jesus loved her and our family.

David honoured me with the role of chair for a committee to lobby the CRTC for a repeater in Ottawa that would make CTS a “first tier” broadcaster. Accepting and with his help, we put together a group of dedicated believers including Robert du Broy, then GM of CHRI-FM and Mark Peterkins Executive director of One Way Ministries. David was a genius at connecting people and seeing opportunity. A couple of years later Robert resigned from CHRI, it's Board appointed me to succeed him and Mark Peterkins became my accountability coach guiding me through the transition.

The last time I saw David in person was at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville three years ago. We sat together for a few minutes which was such a blessing with so many people trying to get to him. But, I know he made everyone feel that they mattered to him, God gave David Mainse the gift of love and with it he was always there with you, focused on you, listening and responding with care and consideration.

Thank you David for that and so much more for my family and all of us."

- Bill Stevens

Click here to read the official announcement and for visitation and funeral details.

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