St. Catharines Downtown Association

A St. Catharines-based Christian television channel now covers 50% of English-speaking homes in Canada after a recent expansion west.

Grace Television Network was launched earlier this month on Shaw Cable, which covers Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

"It is a big deal for us in the west," said Nathan Thurber, business administrator for World Impact Ministries, which runs Grace TV.

"It is the largest cable provider in the west, so it's a big addition. To this date, there had not been another 24/7 Christian television provider on Shaw Cable."

The television channel, headquartered downtown at Queen and St. Paul Sts., is available across the country by satellite. With the new addition of Shaw Cable, it can be seen on cable stations in every province but Nova Scotia and Quebec, hitting even greater audiences.

"It does definitely expand our reach dramatically," Thurber said. "Now we're in safely over 50% of the English-speaking homes in Canada."

Grace TV, formerly The Christian Channel, was rebranded after it was purchased in June 2009 by World Impact Ministries.

The non-profit World Impact was started by Peter Youngren in 1976 as a ministry that focused on international Christian evangelical work.

For 15 years, World Impact produced TV programs from its base at Niagara Celebration Church on Scott Street. Those programs appeared on channels like Vision TV and The Christian Channel.

When World impact started its national digital channel in June 2009 and moved to downtown St. Catharines, it covered 30% of Canadian households.

The studio has 25 full-time and 20 part-time employees.

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