A Humble Preacher Heard by Millions

I can recognize Alistair Begg’s voice almost anywhere. His voice filled the car when I was a child. It bounced around the living room as I grew up, and has even graced my ears as an adult. He is a timeless teacher that has shaped not only my life but millions of other lives, too.

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I can recognize Alistair Begg’s voice almost anywhere. His voice filled the car when I was a child. It bounced around the living room as I grew up, and has even graced my ears as an adult. He is a timeless teacher that has shaped not only my life but millions of other lives, too. Alistair Begg is the senior pastor of Cleveland’s Parkside Church. He has been the pastor there since 1983. Begg grew up in Glasgow, Scotland. He has degrees from London School of Theology, Nottingham Trent University, and Westminster Theological Seminary, and he is heard by countless ears of all ages on a daily basis.

He and his wife, Susan Begg, have been married thirty years and have three children. Alistair Begg is the lead teaching pastor at Truth for Life, a parachurch ministry focused on teaching biblical truths. Truth for life began as a small town radio broadcast that has grown to be heard all across the world on over 1,600 radio wavelengths. Over the years, as technology has evolved, so has the ministry. They now offer podcasts as well as blogs in addition to their normal radio production.

In 2015, they celebrated 20 years of success, and Begg was interviewed discussing the incredible journey of the previous decades. In the talk, he focuses a great deal on the Word and how he preaches verse by verse while going through scripture. They talk about how much that is needed and how little it is being done. They also talk about how Truth for Life has spread overseas, and they touch on how the current media’s reach has allowed the ministry to gain ground in places it would have never touched just by radio. You can listen to this 20-year-anniversary podcast here.

The bread and butter of Truth for Life is the scriptures, and they are “passionate about seeing unbelievers converted, believers established, and local churches strengthened. Truth for Life faithfully looks to God to proclaim His truth through the program and to transform the lives of those who listen through His Spirit.” Begg believes wholeheartedly that the Word speaks for itself, so he spends a great deal of time pouring through the Bible and seeking to share it thoroughly and honestly. Truth for Life is listened to not only by the average believer but also by church leaders and pastors. It is a storehouse of solid, sound, biblical wisdom and is a pillar of strength that helps thousands of listeners grow in wisdom.

 

His podcasts are taken from his Sunday services, and he jokes about not knowing what is aired when. He often has to look up podcasts when people tell him how much they value what he said or how it changed their lives. He enjoys this disconnection because it keeps him humble, and he enjoys focusing on his local church without being worried over behind-the-scenes details in Truth for Life. His heart is very much a local pastor and wants to steward his flock well.

The ministry came about mostly through the efforts of a few of Begg’s friends. He, personally, had no vision of his voice gracing people’s airways, but a board was formed to oversee Truth for Life because they believed in Begg’s teaching style and heart. They knew the Lord wanted to use Begg’s fatherly Scottish voice to lead people into a deeper relationship with the Lord.

The core of Truth for Life is helping people grow through Biblical teaching, and members of the ministry seek to steward the finances of Truth for Life extremely soundly. Upwards of 95% of donations that come in go directly to funding ministry expenses. Beginning in 2009, they were overwhelmed with the desire to share the good news of the Gospel without hindrance or money as a barrier, so they decided that the entirety of the Truth for Life archived sermons should be made available for free. These downloads can be found on the Truth for Life website, and since the release, over 55 million messages have been downloaded! Click here for a list of the most recent sermons.

Because of the immense success of the sermons, in 2011, they made all the CDs, DVDs, and books by Alistair Begg and other featured authors available at cost with no markup amount. They now regularly distribute over 10,000 resources every month!

Truth for Life is a very successful ministry founded on simple biblical principles. Begg’s voice is heard by millions of eager listeners, and hopefully, if you’ve never heard him before, you’ll take a few minutes to check him out. His teachings are changing lives and families and are a constant source of encouragement and vision. Please visit truthforlife.org for more information or to hear Alistair Begg for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

 

 

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About the Author

Dawn King is a Carolina native with a Neverland heart. She's an Enneagram 4 that believes beauty can be found even in the darkest of places, light is always bright enough to outshine darkness, and love is stronger than any madness or evil. She values kindness and honesty more than most anything else. She will always believe that to change the world you must first change yourself.