Adventist Leaders Honor Hope Channel Pioneers Kandus and Brad Thorp

Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church praised Kandus and Brad Thorp, pioneers of Hope Channel International. The recognition segment took place during the British Columbia Conference camp meeting in Hope, British Columbia, Canada, July 25. The Thorps, who served at Hope Channel International for years, recently announced their retirement.

A Special Place for Media

The brief unannounced ceremony took place after Brad Thorp introduced General Conference (GC) president Erton Köhler as the main speaker of the worship service. Thorp told hundreds of church members and leaders attending the camp meeting that Köhler was not only the GC president but “a personal friend,” whom he visited several times while Köhler was serving in various capacities in the South American Division.

Brad and Kandus Thorp, who recently retired. They spent more than two decades launching and developing Hope Channel International, a Seventh-day Adventist TV network that comprises 90 channels. [Photo: British Columbia Conference]

Thorp celebrated the number of initiatives that fostered youth ministry across the region through Köhler’s tenure. “And media holds a special place for him,” Thorp told Adventist members. “He is very much committed to media but also to mission, and media that fulfills the mission.”

Pioneers in Adventist TV Ministry

“Thank you for your commitment,” Köhler told the Thorps. Then, as he addressed the audience, he stressed, “This couple is very committed. Their spirit of sacrifice to serve the Lord, to serve His cause, in the mission of the church is amazing.”

Köhler celebrated the work of the Thorps, whom he described as “pioneers in the area of media in the Adventist Church.” For more than two decades Thorp was president of Hope Channel International, as his wife, Kandus, served in various positions, including vice president for international development.

“Our work in media is very [connected] to them,” Köhler acknowledged.

He said he still remembers when Thorp visited South America “with just a few stories” about Adventist TV media around the world. “And he would say, ‘Something’s gonna happen; let’s move forward,’ ” Köhler shared.

From the right, Erton Köhler, president of the General Conference, with Brad Thorp during a recent visit to the British Columbia Conference headquarters in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. [Photo: GC Presidential]

“You saw what we were not able to see,” Köhler told the Thorps. “You gave your health, your energy, and your life for something that you believe [in]. And if now we have 90 Hope Channels around the world, because God called you to [launch] that work.”

Influence on OneVoice27

According to Köhler, the Thorps’ influence can still be seen as the world church prepares for OneVoice27, an initiative to share the message of Jesus through media in September 2027, around what is considered the bimillennial anniversary of Jesus’ baptism and subsequent beginning of His earthly ministry.

“The fact that we are talking about OneVoice27, about using all media for mission, is because you gave us that vision,” Köhler told the Thorps. “You helped us to see media as a great potential for mission.” Addressing his audience, Köhler added, “In the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, [every time] we talk about mission, we’ll have a place for this couple.”

Prayer and the Power of God

Köhler then introduced Mark and Teenie Finley, who said they have known the Thorps for more than 50 years.

Brad Thorp (right) recounts the beginnings of Hope Channel in a visit to Hope Channel Canada in 2024. [Photo: Hope Channel Canada]

“One of the things that I really appreciated about working together was your positiveness when we faced challenges, when we faced difficulties,” Mark Finley told them. “Brad and Kandus did not believe in the words ‘It cannot be done,’ ” Finley told the audience. “They believed in prayer, they believed in the power of God, and they believed God would open opportunities.”

Finley recounted the hard beginnings of massive internet campaigns and the dream of having a TV studio at the General Conference headquarters. “We didn’t have a studio, but through prayer, we received a $1 million gift that was used to start building a studio,” he shared.

According to Finley, those developments encouraged the beginning of the dream to have “an international ministry, a global ministry” that eventually allowed Adventist leaders to open TV studios in India, Africa, and elsewhere, including North America.

God Opened Doors

Finley also recounted how, when they wanted to offer nonprofit TV in North America, they were told they were 265th in line and that it would take years. God, however, opened the doors, Finley said, as the Thorps, he, and others were able to meet with the president of DirecTV. “By the end of the meeting we reached an agreement that has blessed the church for decades,” Finley said.

Addressing the Thorps, Finley added that as he looks at the history of Hope Channel and sees the challenges the first teams faced, the difficulties they faced, he felt thankful for “your courage, your faith, your commitment, and your dedication.”

Brad and Kandus Thorp during a visit to Spicer Memorial University in India in 2019. [Photo: Brad Thorp Facebook]

Hope Channel was born in the cradle of evangelism, Finley emphasized. “It is an evangelistic ministry to reach millions, and God used a dedicated Canadian couple to pioneer and to birth this international evangelistic ministry that is now on 90 stations or channels around the world.”

To the Ends of the Earth

Vyacheslav Demyan, president of Hope Channel International, also commended the commitment and vision of the Thorps. “I am representing the international network of Hope Channel, and this is all because of Brad and Kandus,” Demyan said.

Many years ago the Thorps visited Demyan and his family in Ukraine, where they helped develop the Adventist TV station in that country. “We were truly inspired by your ministry, your love, and your care,” Demyan told them. “What you’ve done you have done because you believe in the prophecy that the gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth. And in Hope Channel, we still have that DNA: going to the ends of the earth,” he said. “God did miracles in the past, and God is still doing miracles today. And today we are here celebrating your ministry, giving God the glory for the miracles that we are experiencing [now].”

The plaque presented to Kandus and Brad Thorp for their years of service to Hope Channel International and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. [Photo: screenshot by Adventist Review]

Because of the Thorps’ bold vision, Demyan said, Hope Channel International is working to reach 1 billion people by 2030 with the message of the gospel. Because of them, Hope-branded churches were also established, as well as Hope spaces in churches, Hope Centers, especially in more secular countries, “where people are coming . . . to get to know God.”

According to Demyan, “we have churches that have been established only because of Hope Channel . . . and churches [from other faiths] that became Adventist only because of Hope Channel.” And he added, “We went from television to ‘Hope on Every Screen’ . . . because of your vision and your passion.”

A Lifetime of Faithful Service

After Demyan spoke, Köhler handed the Thorps a special plaque of gratitude “for a lifetime of faithful service to [God’s] kingdom.”

The Thorps (center) during a recent visit by former General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson and his wife, Nancy. [Photo: Ted Wilson Facebook]

In reacting to the recognition, Brad Thorp emphasized that whatever they accomplished “is a God thing.” He also thanked the GC presidents and treasurers who through the years have supported the development of Adventist TV. “What we have accomplished is not to us but to the glory and honor of God,” he said.

Ready and Available

Köhler concluded, emphasizing the need for everyone to say yes to the Lord just as the Thorps did. “We need more people saying, ‘Yes, use me, Lord. I am available.’ When we are available, the Lord can do great things through us.”

In a closing prayer, Köhler thanked God for the opportunity to express gratitude to Him first. “If we have today the opportunity to have a strong structure as Hope Channel is, the great opportunity to reach the world . . . , sharing the message and reaching people’s hearts, it is because one day You called Kandus and Brad and they said, ‘Yes,’ ” Köhler prayed.

The recognition of the church, Köhler said, acknowledges that God was and is behind this TV ministry. “We now commit this couple to You,” Köhler prayed. “Reward their commitment; keep them faithful to You and committed to the mission. . . . We place Kandus and Brad and their family into Your hands.”