Pastor Shawn Boonstra has accepted an invitation from the It Is Written executive committee to become It Is Written International Television’s (IIW) new associate speaker to share ministry responsibilities with Speaker/Director Mark Finley.

As associate speaker, Boonstra will appear regularly on the weekly television program and will participate in evangelistic meetings, camp meetings, pastors’ seminars, international appointments and Partnership fundraising meetings.

Finley was recently named director of global evangelism for the Adventist Church, and Boonstra will assume more responsibility within It Is Written as Finley’s global evangelism duties increase. Although his schedule may change over the coming years, Finley plans to remain an integral part of the It Is Written ministry.

Boonstra, a native of British Columbia, decided to commit his life to gospel ministry after attending an It Is Written evangelistic series in the city of Victoria 11 years ago. Soon after, Boonstra graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Victoria, and later attended Andrews University, where he gained theological training. Approximately six years ago, Boonstra received an invitation from It Is Written Canada to become associate speaker under the leadership of then-speaker Henry Feyerabend.

Over the last few years, It Is Written Canada has grown exponentially. In a country of 30 million people, the program enjoys a market penetration of 34 percent. It has been estimated that as many as 2 million people watch the program on a weekly basis, and on one network, it held the highest ratings for 25 weeks.

In 2001, Boonstra became the speaker for It Is Written Canada. In 2002, he and Feyerabend held a special “Net” satellite evangelistic series in downtown Halifax called Revelation Speaks Peace. More than 1,200 churches downlinked each of the programs.

It Is Written has been one of America’s most popular weekly religious television programs since its first broadcast with George Vandeman in 1956. It also holds the distinction of being the first religious television program to be produced in color. Led by speaker/director Mark Finley, this donor-supported, non-profit program can be seen in 130 countries and in 7,000 cities across America. It Is Written is available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Ukrainian, with subtitle programs in Arabic, Norwegian and Romanian. In the last 12 months, the ministry has received three Angel Awards, three Telly Awards, two Vision Awards, two Aurora Awards and one Videographer Award.