BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Three months after Len Mink gave his life to Jesus, he was stricken with a terminal disease. “The doctors called it acquired auto-immune hemolytic anemia,” Len says. “I was so angry. I asked God why He would save me and then kill me. “While I was still in the hospital, a couple of my fans brought me a book to read. It was "I Believe in Miracles" by Kathryn Kuhlman. After I was discharged from the hospital, I read it. I’d never heard that God healed, so when a scripture was listed, I looked it up in the Bible. “It was revelation to me. I read about Jesus healing the woman with the issue of blood, the lame and the lepers.” If only Jesus were the same today, Len thought. Then I could be healed just like those people were. Sighing, Len flipped through the Bible still searching for some kind of help...some reason to hope. Suddenly, he found himself reading Hebrews 13:8. He stared in joy and wonder at the words he saw there, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” Two words seemed to leap off the page. Same…today…same…today…same…today. As it dawned on him that if Jesus was the same, he could be healed today, Len’s joy erupted into song. He leapt to his feet, singing, dancing and praising the Lord. Then the power of God knocked him to the floor. “I was conscious, but couldn’t move for 30 minutes,” Len remembers. “Hot and cold raced through my body. I felt God cleanse every artery, vein and capillary. When the Lord let me move, I knew I’d been healed. The next morning, I went back to the doctor’s office and asked him to repeat all the tests.” Four days later, the doctor phoned with the results. “I’m perplexed,” he said. “We can’t find any trace of the disease in your body. We...don’t read about things like this in textbooks.” “Let me tell you where you can read about it...” Len said. “Soon after that,” Len recalls, “Cathy and I discovered some books by Kenneth Hagin. There was no doubt in our minds that the faith message was true. We read every book and listened to every tape we could find on the subject.” A few months later, Len and Cathy married. That summer they traveled to Tulsa, Okla., for Kenneth Hagin’s first campmeeting. News of Len’s conversion had reached Brother Hagin, and he asked Len to sing. Len didn’t have his guitar. He didn’t have any backup tapes with him. Worse, he didn’t know any gospel songs--except one. Len’s hands were damp when he stepped before the hushed crowd. Without any accompaniment, he lifted his voice a cappella and sang, not to the audience, but to Jesus. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.... The power of God swept through the building. Faith for the Future Two years later, Len and Cathy walked away from both "The Len Mink Show" and "The Nick Clooney Show" to begin full-time ministry. “I sang at all of Brother Hagin’s campmeetings after that,” Len explains. “Kenneth Copeland and I met for the first time when we were both interviewed by Demos Shakarian on his television show. In 1977, Kenneth called and asked me to lead worship at his major meetings. I had to pray about it because I’d always been a soloist. I’d never led worship and didn’t know if I could. When I prayed the Lord said, 'This is the door through which your blessing will come.' “Cathy and I lived in Cincinnati and flew to all of Kenneth and Gloria’s major meetings. When Kenneth decided to start his radio program, he asked me to fly to Fort Worth once a month to be the announcer and record the programs. We cut up Kenneth’s messages to make them fit the 14-minute-32-second time slot. We recorded Kenneth opening the programs and I closed them. “When the Lord told Kenneth to start a TV broadcast, he asked me to help. It started with Terri Pearsons, David Robertson and me. We painted our set and had one old camera. I worked on the broadcast for seven and a half years, three years overlapping with radio. “During this time, Cathy was hosting a radio program called "Faith for Today." In addition to working with radio and television, I also led worship at Kenneth and Gloria’s meetings worldwide. We did several worldwide tours and spent six weeks in Australia doing meetings.” A Promise Fulfilled In 1995, the Lord spoke to Len and said, 'Take everything and move to Tulsa to be with your camp during these last days.' At the time, their daughter, Carrie, was a student at Rhema Bible Training College and their son, Lenny, was a senior in high school. Len and Cathy packed up and moved within weeks of getting that word from God. 14 : BVOV

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