As you know, in 1996 Paul (Hermano Pablo) and Linda turned over the day-to-day operation of the ministry and the production and recording of new programs to Charles (Carlos Rey) and Linda Stewart. After forty-one continuous years of recording a daily program, Paul and Linda (at 75) were ready for a much-deserved break from the constant demands of recording the programs and running the office. They were able to concentrate on traveling throughout the Americas preaching, teaching, and serving as mentors for a new generation of leaders and broadcasters, while Paul continued serving the ministry as Chairman of the Board.

That was in 1996. Viewers of the program began to see Charles' face once a week and listeners became accustomed to his voice. In 2001, Charles' programs increased to twice each week, while Paul's programs continued to be repeated. As of 2006, Charles' programs have been broadcast three times each week, along with three of Paul's reruns. The number of daily broadcasts has doubled during this same time period.

In 2009, the Advisory Council of Hermano Pablo Ministries recommended that there be a formal ceremony commemorating the passing of the torch. This ceremony would be for the benefit of those who are not faithful viewers/listeners but are long-time followers of the work of Hermano Pablo. It was felt that those people needed to be updated on this milestone and be introduced to Charles. The ceremony is mostly in Spanish (some comments from Board members are translated from English to Spanish).

On May 4, 2009, A MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE turned forty-five. What began in El Salvador on May 4, 1964 has grown to a radio and television broadcast from 33 countries as well as a number of other countries by satellite. In addition, already this year our evangelistic website www.conciencia.net has had visitors from 116 countries, including places like Angola, Latvia, Kuwait, and Fiji!

But what’s the point? Why is this growth so exciting? Only because every visitor, every station, and every country represent people who are hearing the Gospel of Christ, some for the very first time! These may be people who would never go into a church, yet they are confronted with the Good News while listening to the radio, watching television, or surfing the net.

Hermano Pablo and Linda are thrilled with the growth of A MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE. They have watched their “baby” grow from the very beginning, always with faith believing in the mission to be God's voice to the conscience of every Hispanic in the world. Thank you for anything you can do this month to help fulfill Paul and Linda’s dream and carry on their legacy.

How delighted we are, at 88 years of age, to contemplate not only the continuance but the amazing yearly increase in ministry since handing over Hermano Pablo Ministries to Charles and Linda Stewart!

It’s hard to believe that fourteen years have passed since we walked into the office one afternoon and became conscious of the reality of having delegated the leadership of Hermano Pablo Ministries to Charles and Linda. Our wall plaques and pictures were outside our offices on hall walls, Charles was making the new MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE programs, and secretaries were carrying on the ministry without us. For brief seconds, the visual shock of changes in the office stung our eyes with unshed tears and left a nauseous feeling in the pit of our stomachs. At the same time, we rejoiced in the magnitude of God’s sovereignty, reflecting on how symbolically we cut the umbilical chord, birthing the continuance of the burden of our hearts, the evangelization of Spanish-speaking people, through a new voice.

We were 75 years of age when making the MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE programs and managing an office became too much for us physically, although the thought of discontinuing was too agonizing to consider. To end everything that inspired and motivated us for almost a half century, while multitudes of Hispanics continued down the broad road to destruction without knowledge of Christ, was to us unthinkable. We couldn’t conceive committing spiritual homicide of individuals waiting to hear the next day’s nugget of God’s truth, and realized it was time to step back and allow another to carry our mantle.

For years, we believed this mass media ministry God called us to would continue with a successor just as God prepared a Joshua to follow Moses – and God did not fail us. Amazingly, like He did with Bible characters, God prepared the hearts of Charles and Linda to utilize the same type of evangelism ministry. God didn’t speak to us in an audible voice, but the Holy Spirit prompted us to trust Him and led us to Charles, whose heart burned with the same evangelistic desire for the Hispanic world.

The current weekly schedule of MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE programs aired 5,600 times daily in 33 countries of the world is comprised of three of Charles’ newly recorded programs and three selected reruns of mine. The timeless messages of both broadcasters, dealing with the endless problems of humanity, such as infidelity, alcoholism, abortion, divorce, and suicide, point to Jesus, the only answer to the longing of every heart.

Of necessity our lives are slower, and we no longer have the health and strength to minister publicly. We feel honored that Paul remains Chairman of the Board of Hermano Pablo Ministries, and observe with pride that the ministry expands every year without our stepping foot in the Costa Mesa office. Charles and Linda humbly follow in our footsteps, working endless hours without receiving the honor that comes to us, the founders of the ministry.

Our constant prayer for Charles and Linda is that God grant both of them times of fulfillment as they carry on the call God put on their hearts. We thank God for Charles, my companion mass media voice to the conscience of millions of people in the Spanish world. Our short program heard on many stations, including secular ones where unchurched people hear God’s Word, is with Jesus’ promise: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32).

Multiplied millions of non-evangelized Hispanics, unaware that God’s peace is available to them, need to hear of God’s love. Jesus is unmistakable in indicating that the responsibility of leading people to God’s salvation is ours. We followers have the charge and the privilege of lifting Jesus up and proclaiming His matchless power to repair broken lives.

As the Lord provides for us, we continue to financially support Hermano Pablo Ministries and we pray you will do the same, giving Jesus the opportunities He requires.

Receive love and appreciation from your fellow “lifter uppers,”

Hermano Pablo and Linda

The October 24, 2005 edition of the Orange County Register (largest newspaper circulation in the county) ran a front page story about the ministry. The article was titled, “Carlos Rey: Man with ‘A Message’.” The reporter compared the ministry to others by saying, “In a world of flashy televangelists, “UN MENSAJE A LA CONCIENCIA” (“A MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE”) stands out.”

Paying tribute to Hermano Pablo, Charles wrote the following special editions of A MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE^® that were broadcast October 13 & 19, 2005.

On Friday, July 1, 1955, he recorded his first radio program on radio station YSU in San Salvador, El Salvador. That program, “The Church of the Airwaves,” fifteen minutes in length, was broadcast Monday through Saturday for the next nine years. Then, in its place he created his popular four-minute program known worldwide as A MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE. It is none other than Paul Finkenbinder, known internationally as Hermano Pablo (“Brother Paul”). In 2005, the year he celebrates his golden anniversary on radio, this program (that thousands have listened to since they were children) is not only broadcast on radio but also on television and in print media, currently more than 3,800 times each day in 30 countries. So in the course of half a century of continuous media presence, it is no wonder that the voice of Hermano Pablo has become perhaps the most listened-to voice in all the Spanish-speaking world.

To what can we credit the success of this enduring presence in mass media? In great part, it is due to the integrity that characterizes Hermano Pablo and the love that emanates from him. For those of us who have had the pleasure of knowing him personally, there is no doubt that he is upright and modest, the same in a private conversation as in a public meeting, the same at home and in the office as on the radio and television. In other words, Hermano Pablo practices what he preaches. And when he preaches loving God and others, it’s as if the love oozes out of his pores. The love that radiates from him, to the elite of society just as to those who are less influential, is a shining example for all to see.

Thus Dr. Pedro Rivero Mercado, director of the newspaper El Deber of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, wrote, “From the very first time I met Hermano Pablo, I was left with the impression that I had known him all my life.” In the same vein, Sandra María Mora Chinchilla, from San José, Costa Rica, wrote to Hermano Pablo, “The Lord knows how he will compensate you for your dedication and great love. I met you when you were visiting Costa Rica. I worked at the hotel where you came to stay, and I had the honor of checking you in to your room. What most amazed me was how sweet you were and the peace you seemed to have.”

In short, it can be said of Hermano Pablo, without fear of contradiction, that throughout his life he has set the consummate example of following the commandments that Jesus chose as the most important: to love God with all your heart, and to love your neighbor as yourself. For that reason, we take advantage of this fiftieth anniversary on radio to express our appreciation to Hermano Pablo, just as Sandra María did in ending her letter, “Thank you for your help and for your total commitment.”

Those who are not very familiar with A MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE frequently have questions about how the program is used to reach the entire Spanish-speaking world. Instead of answering three of the most common questions ourselves, we are going to let our listeners do it by quoting from letters and emails they have sent to us. Don’t just take our word for it: listen to those who have experienced it firsthand.

1. How can you add so many new media outlets each year when you have no one to go out and promote the program to new stations?

(From Ovidio in Bolivia) Since I was a child, I have had the great satisfaction of listening to A MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE. The messages and content are extremely worthwhile, and that is why I would like to broadcast them through my small FM station in the area of Redención Pampa (Town: Mojocoya; State: Zudañez; Region: Chuquisaca; Country: Bolivia). In this location there are several remote people groups who do have access to radios. That is why I would like to broadcast the program. (I want you to know that the station is a public service station for all the community.)

2. How does the program get seen, listened to, or read by so many people?

(From Rafael in the Dominican Republic) I have to tell you that every day I go to your website www.conciencia.net, and I download the programs so I can share them with my coworkers. I believe that the Lord is beginning to change the atmosphere of this work site. I am the manager of a pharmacy that belongs to a chain of about twenty-five pharmacies throughout the country. I am the only Christian, but I am sure, by faith, that God is going to use me to win many souls.

3. How do you know that lives are changed as a result of listening to A MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE?

(From Boris in Bolivia) Thank you very much for answering my letter…. You are right about what you say about sin…. I know I am a sinner, and I want to bow before Him and be saved. Then I can love all those around me… I am very interested in receiving “God’s Plan for Your Life,” by Hermano Pablo and Carlos Rey. I would like to receive instructions on how to begin my study.

What do all these answers add up to? It’s obvious that God is responsible for the widespread success of A MESSAGE TO THE CONSCIENCE. However, God has not chosen to do it alone. He has chosen YOU to be a part through your prayers and faithful offerings. We thank God and you.