The story begins in 1993. The internet was barely a whisper. Digital television was a concept that most broadcasters dismissed as impractical. Brad Thorp, alongside a visionary team was already coordinating one of the first live satellite broadcasts in history — beaming a single message of hope to communities across North America and beyond. The response was staggering. Thousands of people, in major cities and small towns alike, gathered around screens to wrestle with the questions that keep humanity awake at night: What does the future hold? Is there a reason to hope?

That first broadcast was the spark. What followed was a lifetime of building.

In 2003, Brad co-founded the Hope Channel — a television network that would become one of the most far-reaching media operations in the world. He did not build it alone, and he has never pretended to. Over the years, hundreds of dedicated people added their talents to this project. But it was Brad who held the vision, who refused to give up when resources were scarce, who flew to the most remote corners of the planet to plant a channel, an antenna, a story of hope. Under his leadership as founding president for over two decades, Hope Channel grew from a single broadcast into a global family of more than 46 full-time channels — a network that today, years after his departure, continues to grow and now encompasses more than 88 media entities worldwide. That is the mark of a true builder: what he plants keeps growing.