Howard Coley, pictured on the microphone, leads the Elim movement in Spain.,,,
A background in music and TV turned out to be the perfect preparation for Howard Coley to plant a church and lead Elim in Spain.
“We need to make the gospel understandable to people who have no idea what it says about salvation,” says Howard Coley.
That’s why the presenter, broadcaster, pastor and musician has spent the past 25 years sharing and explaining his faith through an energetic mix of radio and TV shows and by leading Elim’s church network in Spain.
Howard moved to Spain as an unbeliever in 1990. Determined to give his wife Sue and their three children a better life and to avoid months of separation caused by his work as a musician, the family set up home in Benalmadena.
Having found faith soon afterwards, Howard followed as God led him into church leadership, outreach to the international community and church planting.
Then he felt the Lord had another mission for him.
With a background in broadcasting that included TV shows with stars like Frankie Howerd and walk-on parts in EastEnders, Casualty and more, Howard had unknowingly been prepared to work as a broadcaster in Spain.
“I have a radio programme every Sunday morning on an English-language station which goes out to the whole country and also throughout the world,” he says of the radio show he has been hosting for the past 12 years.
“It includes music and testimonies from everyday Christians sharing why and how they came to believe and what God is doing through them. We also discuss serious matters with believing scientists and academics looking at creation, prophecy and the times we are living in – all from a biblical perspective.”
For 25 years Howard has also been broadcasting TV programmes on local stations, Cable Vision – the first Christian channel in the UK – the Gospel Channel, Revelation TV and Sky satellite.
He started with a magazine-style programme of music, testimonies and Bible studies, and has developed over the years as technology improved.
“At the moment, we have a weekly programme where we share the Word from our Sunday morning meetings and some bilingual worship.”
Howard’s ability to broadcast these shows is something of a miracle, he says. At the start, he signed a contract to broadcast 12 shows on the Vision Channel, but by episodes 11 and 12 the money had run out.
“Sue and I prayed. It was tearing me up because I really thought God wanted me to continue.
“I rang the lady in charge and explained I owed her for the last two shows and I couldn’t afford the repeats. She said, ‘Have I sent you a bill? You owe me nothing!’ And she added that she didn’t charge for repeats.
“So in 25 years we’ve not paid a single Euro or Pound for transmission. I think that was God saying, ‘You did what I asked, now I’ll show you what I can do!’
THE GOSPEL
Howard’s prime focus with his shows is to make the gospel understandable to people who have no knowledge of the Bible, faith or God.
“They have no ideas what the Bible says about salvation and various other things. We tell them, ‘This is what it says. Now you have the information you can make a decision.’”
In addition to his outreach through broadcasting, Howard also leads the Elim movement in Spain – Federación Elim Pentecostal – and pastors and leads worship in the church he and his family planted in Benalmadena.
Today, the mix of bilingual and English and Spanish-speaking congregations includes four in Elim North, with congregations in the hundreds and nine other small plants, and the growing network of smaller churches in Elim South.
Howard is encouraged to see God move in the country, despite the challenges of working in a transient community.
“I’ve seen growth in Elim over the past two years, which is incredible considering what we’ve just gone through. We’re planting churches, organising the denomination into a solid structure, and we have churches in Granada and Tenerife which want to join us.
“I’ve seen growth and maturity in the churches too. I can see a passion coming as people grow in their personal relationship with Christ.
“I’m trying to encourage people to move forward in what God has called them to do.
“We’ve seen amazing healings too. We have one gentleman who was told two years ago that he had three months left to live because of cancer. He’s still with us and is completely cancer-free with no medical treatment.”
If you’d told Howard 30 years ago that he’d be overseeing a Christian denomination and reaching out via radio and TV, he would have laughed at you.
“It just proves what the Bible says about your eyes being opened and you seeing a whole new life,” he says.
“I’m absolutely passionate about being the best witness I can be, even with my faults, and to be an instrument for God to use for others to know him better.” And all the glory goes to him.”
From Direction Magazine issue 233
