By Faith - The Story of CRISTA Ministries

By Faith - The Story of CRISTA Ministries

Witness how one man’s simple yes impacted thousands and birthed a ministry still changing the world 75 years later. Today, we live in a world that is asking, “Can God?” Do we believe miracles and promises from God are for another age? Hebrews tells us plainly that God is the same today as he was yesterday. The story of Mike Martin and Vivian is the story of miracles, of prayers answers, of mountains moved. It is the story that could have only been realized By Faith and nothing else. It is the testament that God is at work today and that the miraculous can happen each and every day if we are willing to see it. Witness how one man’s simple yes impacted thousands and birthed a ministry still changing the world 75 years later.

Episodes

By Faith: The Story of Mike Martin (founder of CRISTA Ministries) - Starts July 2024

June 24, 2024 • 2 mins
Today, we live in a world that  is asking, “Can God?” Do we believe miracles and promises from God are for another age? Hebrews tells us plainly that God is the same today as he was yesterday. The story of Mike Martin and Vivian is the story of miracles, of prayers answers, of mountains moved. It is the story that could have only been realized By Faith and nothing else. It is the testament that God is at work today and that the mir...
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The Beginning of King’s Teens

July 17, 2024 • 23 mins
What began as their daughter’s friend needing a safe place to live for a few weeks turned into a ministry that has transformed thousands (and counting!) of lives for Christ. BY FAITH’s second episode will tell the story of CRISTA’s beginnings as King’s Teens, a ministry for wayward teenagers, that the Martins started after taking in their daughter Joyce’s friend, Joanne, and seeing how living in the stable home centered on the Gosp...
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The Calling of Mike Martin

July 17, 2024 • 32 mins
This first episode recounts where it all began: with Mike’s call into full-time ministry. A successful oil executive, Mike, along with his wife Vivian, were living what many would call an American Dream. They had successful careers, a full social calendar, and went to church enough to feel good about themselves. What more could a young couple want? That all changed one day when a wild night of drinking and dancing led to Mike’s nea...
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Miracles & Trials Abound

July 24, 2024 • 24 mins
This third episode of BY FAITH will recount the many miracles Mike and his family witnessed during those early years of trusting God and living by faith—from Mike’s physical healing and protection to the ways God stepped in to support the ministry both financially and through individuals in the community.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/3LngaAL

Find out more about CRISTA Ministries by visiting crista.org
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The Birth of King’s Garden

July 31, 2024 • 30 mins
By August of 1948, the Martins were needing a larger space for their growing King’s Teens ministry. Purchasing a farm was being considered, that is until a friend told them about Firland, the former tuberculosis sanatorium, on the outskirts of the city. After driving out and walking the property, Mike felt God tell him that this was the place He had set aside for King’s Teens. Bringing to mind verses 26-28 from Jeremiah chapter 32,...
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CRISTA’s Foundational Ministries

August 7, 2024 • 29 mins
As CRISTA continues to grow and expand, their family of ministries starts to take shape. Episode 5 will tell a series of stories illustrating how different parts of the ministry began, from a rest home for the elderly where seniors heard about Jesus—some for the very first time—to the oneus for King’s Schools in the spring of 1950. Wondering how CRISTA got to be what it is today? The Martins take us back to the early days here, sho...
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Shutting the Mouths of Lions

August 14, 2024 • 25 mins
By 1958, the Martin’s 10-year lease on King’s Garden was up for renewal and had to be approved by the tuberculosis board and city officials. In this penultimate episode of BY FAITH, the miraculous story of how God fulfilled His Jeremiah 32 promise to give Mike the city will be recounted—including details like the miraculous clerical error that gave Mike’s team the ability to purchase the property, how the Martins managed to acquire...
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Jesus Changes Everything

August 21, 2024 • 29 mins
Though Mike Martin’s story here on earth reached its conclusion in the last episode, the story of CRISTA is far from over—in fact, it's still being told today. This final episode of By Faith will outline how King’s Garden grew into CRISTA, transforming thousands of lives for Christ along the way. Current executives and staff of the ministry will tell this story, recounting how the Martin family inspired them to live lives of comple...
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