December 5. Joseph Hovsepian. At 12, Joseph gave his life to the Lord Jesus. At 17, Joseph volunteered to serve in the Royal Greek Air Force as a wireless engineer and he served the king’s plane. At 20, he traveled 10 days at sea, 2 days by train, and arrived in Montreal—“tired, sick, and almost penniless.” Two days later, he met the people from Temple Baptist Church, and he was home. For 60 years, he has served that church, the last 36 years as its volunteer pastor.
Joseph “has baptized close to 200 people, many of them from non-Christian backgrounds and faiths. Two tracts he wrote have been reproduced millions of times and distributed locally and around the world, one of them in 12 languages. He has been on the radio every day for over 12 years with a 5-minute inspiration message at noon. His devotional book, God’s Workshop, was recently translated into Eastern Armenian and is being distributed freely in Armenia and surrounding areas.”
Let the spark that ignites your passion become a flame that burns with purpose.
From an early age, a main theme of Joseph’s life could be labeled: shenanigans.
The first time he tinkered with electronics, he was ten years old. He discovered that touching the ends of a nail to the poles on his father’s motorcycle battery created a bright glow. And he gleefully continued this experiment until the inevitable happened.
The next morning, when his father tried to start the motorcycle, the battery was dead, Father was unhappy, but Joseph’s love for electronics sprung to life.
Another time, he mystified his grandfather. Young Joseph invented a mechanism connected to the bedroom-ceiling light. When Grandfather lay his head on the pillow, the light turned on. And when the old man sat up, the light turned off. Not everyone involved was entirely amused.
But the spark inside Joseph never stopped glowing, and eventually it led to a successful career selling and repairing radios and other electronics.
Today, his 80-year-old hands, head, and heart are still in the fixing business. He has a shop, and it services antique radios. So one of the themes of his life has shifted from shenanigans to restoration.
Some of the radios and tape recorders he gets have been neglected for years in a basement or garage. Opening them up often reveals dirt, dead bugs, and even mouse droppings. The wiring and parts inside may be rusty, dried up, melted, or burned. The exterior may be scratched up and discolored.
But Joseph takes great pleasure in the process of restoring each piece brought to him. He says, “While I work on these units, I think of God and His workshop, where He takes battered and neglected lives and deals with every little part of them. He fixes what’s broken, cleans and polishes what’s tarnished or soiled, and refines the entire person. He removes bad habits and vices that have affected the lost soul. Sometimes the process is quick, but other times it’s more painful.”
“So whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
Understanding the difference that a masterful touch can make to a radio or a person, Joseph approaches people with care and compassion, knowing they can be restored with God’s help. His business is part of his mission field, and he grabs every opportunity to talk with his customers about faith, their eternal souls, and the God who loves them.
Next to his business cards on the service counter sit gospel tracts and New Testaments.
“I have seen many radios that were discarded become useful and enjoyable again,” he said. “I have also seen many broken and rejected souls come back to life after the Master Technician touched them and restored them.”
Do you have a talent that could meet someone’s need? Let the spark that ignites your passion become a flame that burns with purpose.
Based on an interview with Joseph Hovsepian, 2019.
Joseph Hovsepian Ministries. “Joseph (Hovsep) Hovsepian.” Accessed August 14, 2020. josephhovsepianministries.com/joseph-hovsep-hovsepian/.
Story read by Blake Mattocks