A new late-night TV show is trying to reach people in their darkest, most desperate hours by presenting stories of people who have faced dire personal struggles, but have gone on to persevere and find God.
And the guy behind it all — evangelist Jay Lowder — is apparently the perfect person to lead such a charge, considering his own dramatic conversion to Christianity years ago that came after he nearly took his own life.
You won’t find “The Darkest Hour” airing on primetime, as the show — which is produced by Jay Lowder Harvest Ministries — occupies the so-called “graveyard” slot between the hours of 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. That said, there’s a solid chance the show’s intentional late-night placement on networks like TLC, A&E and Freeform means it’s reaching people who truly need it.
After premiering in November, the show has already driven thousands of interested parties to TheDarkestHour.tv website to share their personal experiences; and already, more than 100 people have become Christians as a result of the program’s “compelling stories” about people finding “their way out of the pit of defeat by discovering a purpose of living through Jesus.”
Watch the trailer for “The Darkest Hour” below:
Lowder recently told Faithwire the idea for the show was birthed as he stood watching scores of people making their way through the ever-bustling Grand Central train station while on a vacation with his family in New York City.
“I told my wife … ‘I just believe that there’s a lot of people in this part of the United States that have never heard the gospel … and there’s got to be some way we can reach them,'” Lowder said, as he watched the crowds. “That really was the birthplace of me thinking, ‘There’s got to be some way that we can get a message of hope to the people who don’t understand.'”
So, that’s when he decided to launch “The Darkest Hour,” a show geared toward a younger audience of individuals in their teens to 30s — another reason the program airs late at night on weekends.
“It’s really a backdoor approach … it’s not a preaching show, it’s not overtyly religious,” Lowder said. “It’s basically testimonies. There’s something about testimonies that captures people.”
See a snippet of one such testimony below:
Lowder said the show has already featured a soldier who lost a limb while fighting in the Middle East, a former stripper, and a guy who died three times, among other captivating profiles.
“These types of stories of people who have kind of got stuck in the quicksand — the ditches of life — and did not have a sense of meaning or direction and found that through Christ,” he explained. “The motivation really boils down to trying to reach out and help other people to give them a message of hope so they can find the same peace I looked for for so long.”
And Lowder’s own story, which is included in the show, is surely compelling.
During a dire moment back in 1987, Lowder found himself destitute, depressed and hooked on alcohol, pressing a .22 caliber gun against his temple one day in an attempt to end his pain. But, as he told TheBlaze back in 2014, something crazy happened when he started to pull the trigger: his roommate pulled into the driveway, causing Lowder to stop what he was doing — a moment many would chalk up to divine intervention.
“[When he walked in, my roommate] said, ‘Man, it’s the weirdest thing. All these years I’ve worked for my dad. My dad’s never done this,’” Lowder told TheBlaze. “’My dad told me you’ve been working so hard, you should take the rest of the day off.’”
And that random day off likely saved Lowder’s life.
He didn’t tell his friend what he was about to do until weeks later, but it was that moment that changed everything, as Lowder started to think more deeply about his life and faith, eventually reconnecting with his Christian upbringing. Today, he’s an evangelist who is hoping to help others who now face similar situations in their own lives.
Already, he’s hearing from people who have been personally impacted by “The Darkest Hour.”
“We had someone the other day contact us who had just gotten out of prison,” Lowder told Faithwire. “We’ve had people who … have just fought other things like depression, suicidal intention.”
He’s encouraging people to go to TheDarkestHour.tv for more information on showtimes and the program.
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