Testimony Helped Bring John MacArthur’s Sermons to TWR

When national news media reported that pastor and broadcaster John MacArthur passed away on July 14, TWR’s Ralf Stores was poignantly reminded of how his own life had been touched by the esteemed Bible teacher.

That impact culminated a decade ago as Stores was negotiating with MacArthur’s Grace to You ministry to initiate a partnership that would bring 570 of the great preacher’s key broadcast sermons to TWR for translation, production and global distribution. Grace to You representatives had to make sure that they could entrust their precious content to TWR, a ministry they still didn’t know very well.

Jay Flowers, executive director of Grace to You, asked Stores, “Why would you want Grace to You programming on TWR?”

Stores had a ready reply. “I told them, ‘You know, I lost money because of you guys.’ Puzzled, they said, ‘Explain.’ I told them I was working on commission in a secular workplace back in the early 1990s, and if a customer came in right around 12:30 each day, I didn't want to miss John MacArthur’s preaching on the radio, so I would take my lunch hour at 12:30 and pass the customer on to another salesman.”

He went on to explain to the Grace to You team that he “cut his teeth” on MacArthur’s teaching and was “literally discipled by him” over the radio. Now Stores was seeking that same veracity, authenticity and sola scriptura focus to be available as discipleship opportunities for TWR’s listeners. As soon as the Grace to You team heard Stores’ testimony and passion for what they had to offer, they said, “OK, we’re done here. We’re ready to go.”

“It brought me one of my highest points of joy in serving here, that I had the opportunity to be instrumental in bringing Grace to You to TWR,” Stores said.

In October 2014, TWR began working to translate 570 of MacArthur’s sermons making up the Grace Reaches Out initiative, or GRO. In addition to other uses by Grace to You, the GRO sermons are now available in Portuguese, Arabic, French and Mandarin on TWR360, and Korean production is in the works. Also freely available on TWR360 are MacArthur’s daily 30-minute sermon segments broadcast on over 2,500 stations in radio outlets across the U.S. and in 27 countries. TWR distributes the Spanish version of the broadcasts in Latin America.

Despite the passing of MacArthur, who was chancellor of the Master’s University and Seminary along with his varied ministry roles, Stores is convinced that his legacy will continue having an impact through Grace to You. Stores looks forward to learning what language TWR will assist with for the next stage of the GRO initiative.

Tributes for MacArthur have poured in from around the world. An article by political commentator Ben Shapiro, a practicing Jew, was titled “A Tribute To John MacArthur, A Lion Who Was My Friend,” and one by bestselling journalist Megan Basham was titled “The Great Lion Enters Into His Rest.” Franklin Graham, who knows a thing or two about world-renowned Bible teachers, wrote, "He could get more out of a Bible verse than anyone I've ever known."

Stores contributed his own reflection based on his first meeting with MacArthur. The preacher and prolific author signed Stores’ Bible, citing a favorite verse, 1 Corinthians 13:12: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.”

“As Pastor John goes into heaven now, he is not seeing dimly anymore,” Stores said. “He has seen his master face to face. And I say: Well done, faithful servant.”

MacArthur is survived by his wife, Patricia, four children, 15 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. A memorial service that will be livestreamed is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 23, at Grace Community Church, where he was pastor for 56 years.