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    25th Anniversary Dinner Report

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    SermonAudio Classics
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    December 14, 2025
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    An evening of thanksgiving.

    When the idea first came to light of having a special celebration of our 25th year, there was some debate as to whether it would seem too self-aggrandizing or at least be taken as such. Then upon further reflection, we decided that to not have such an occasion would be to miss a providential opportunity to give thanks to God above all for what He alone has sustained, preserved, and multiplied over these twenty-five years.

    We were delighted to host this dinner in the beautiful Davis Room on the campus of Bob Jones University, where we are actually headquartered. The President of the University was kind to give the 200 guests a warm greeting.

    I have always considered a profound privilege of mine to make friends with so many wonderful ministries over the years. And I have often felt a sense of responsibility to share that blessing of friendship with others. It gives me great joy to see a room full of friends and partners, though very different in some ways, yet all united for the same great cause of Christ and His gospel.

    It is for that reason that I felt it necessary to make some opening remarks on the blessing of brethren dwelling together in unity.

    This evening was also special because we used this occasion to formally launch an exciting new service to broadcasters called Global Sermons—the ability to take any sermon preached in one language and have it available in any other language.

    Mike Furtney, our Chief Architect, took the stage to explain this new service, how it works, and what makes our implementation of it unique.

    The Story of SermonAudio FILM

    The highlight of the entire evening was the premiere of our mini-film titled simply, The Story of SermonAudio. It is the story of how God used a boy with a box of cassette tapes in the 80s to start a global library of sermons that has become the largest and most trusted repository of preaching on the web.

    From that, we trace the story of The Vault and the obstacles and victories connected to its creation. The story continues with the recognition from UK's Parliament celebrating our 25 years. It concludes with the unexpected realization that sermons and live webcasts had reached even the International Space Station. It is the story of how God can use the weak things of this world to confound the mighty. It is always God's way.

    Anniversary Awards

    We were delighted to honor some of our friends and partners as well. We did so by providing "Anniversary Awards" by category as we felt was appropriate. Each had an opportunity to say a few words about their experience with SermonAudio and it was a blessed (and humbling) hour of the evening.

    PIONEERS of SermonAudio

    These are the PIONEERS of SermonAudio. This represents a small fraction of broadcasters that have been with us for over two decades—some of them almost since we started. I am deeply indebted to those that I consider pioneers because they have stuck with us through thick and thin. We’ve not always gotten it perfect, but that is the nature of pioneer work. It’s often messy. But we all need pioneers to pave a way for others.

    PATRONS of SermonAudio

    These are the PATRONS of SermonAudio. In Solomon's Day, we read that he needed two things for the building of the temple. Provision and People. Trees and Talent. We have a section in our book about the trees and talent that were needed in Solomon's Day. SermonAudio could not be what it is today without those two things as well. And God has been so pleased over the years to send us some very special patrons who have come alongside and helped us over various milestones and hurdles financially. SermonAudio is a normal business. We try to run it in such a way where we can meet our ongoing operational expenses, and be self-sufficient. However, there are situations where the business itself is not strong enough to tackle unique projects. Such is the case with The Vault. When we announced our desire to create The Vault—independence from Big Tech and from the threat of cancellation—God moved on hearts to rally around us in this cause.

    PARTNERS of SermonAudio

    These are the PARTNERS of SermonAudio. One of the great blessings of this kind of work is that we have the immense privilege of partnering with other like-minded ministries. Even though we’ve been around for 25 years, which is no small milestone, there are other ministries that have been around a lot longer, and are a lot larger. In my mind, it’s an honor to be working alongside of these esteemed ministries. We consider them partners, but they are also all broadcasters in their own right with much of their free material appearing on the site. You have honored us this evening with your presence.

    BROADCASTERS of SermonAudio

    These are the BROADCASTERS of SermonAudio. Obviously there are thousands more, but we wanted to take a moment to recognize just a tiny fraction of the broadcasters we have become more acquainted with over the years. This category is risky because most in this room are broadcasters. But again, please grant me the liberty to render honor—even in a representative manner. I never get over the fact that churches are willing to use our service to broadcast their sermons. I will never take it for granted that churches are entrusting their preaching platform to us. We don’t see you as customers, but as fellow-laborers in the gospel.

    FRIENDS of SermonAudio

    These are some of the FRIENDS of SermonAudio. These are personal friends that have meant a great deal to me in my own personal life. I have enjoyed their ministry, I’ve had opportunity to work alongside them, pray alongside them, and share experiences together. What would we do without some good friends?

    TEAM SERMONAUDIO

    In the end, I was able to show appreciation to our own team by supplying a special award called simply, "Team SermonAudio." I am thankful for the talented group of people God has assembled for our team. We simply could not do what we are doing without good people.

    • Steven Lee
    • Mike Furtney
    • Stephen Schaub
    • Bill Noonkesser
    • Debbi Spears
    • Scott McMahan
    • Phil Ogden
    • Omni Jacala
    • Conner Christ
    • Ryan Bender
    • Joshua Steel - Intern
    • Caleb McGinnis - Intern

    Enjoy the video clips from the evening with remarks from all speakers.

    Get your commemorative mug!

    In celebration of our 25th anniversary, we present to you a commemorative mug that you can use to enjoy your morning coffee or tea. These are in extremely limited supply so get your's before they are gone! These are in the standard 11oz size and come in a variety of colors. USA shipping only.

    Get your's today from our online store!
    https://store.sermonaudio.com/products/25th-anniversary-mug

    Photo Gallery

    I would like to thank my wonderful daughter, Katie Rose Christ, for doing such a great job in capturing the evening with beautiful photographs—even only 3 weeks after giving birth to our first granddaughter, Azalea! Enjoy the evening in photos!

    Steven Lee
    488 Sermons

    Steven Lee is the founder of SermonAudio, a website started with a desire to give faithful churches a larger voice on the Internet. Today, SermonAudio is the largest and most trusted library with millions of free audio and video sermons from conservative churches and ministries worldwide. Steven...

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