Dave Fagan: Mighty Man of Valor
by Dr. James Spinnati

This editorial is one the easiest and hardest things I have ever done. It is easy knowing that Dave has fought the good fight of faith and hard because I have lost a friend, a confidant and a brother. Some will probably question my selection of the picture that graces the front cover, but that picture exemplifies who Dave really was. He wasn't a fancy elitist or a social climber. Instead he was a simple man, a no frills addition that only comes around once in a lifetime. Dave would rather plant soybeans and corn than try to be the grand pupa of the brotherhood. Yet he would rather disciple a person in Christ than plant beans and corn. Everywhere he went he touched people lives. In fact if you spelled character "Dave Fagan," you would hit it the "nail on the head." He was a man of his word. You could trust what he said and when he said something you knew he held that conviction 100%. In our 17 years together we had one disagreement and that was settled quickly. I imagine that I aggravated him at times, but he never let on if I did. We walked, talked, and dreamed together as to what God had in store for T.N.T. Ministries and Sonshine School of Evangelism. Dave dreamed big dreams and God never disappointed him. In fact God always seemed to surpass Dave's greatest expectations. At our graduation ceremonies in May Dave said, "As I look over this campus, it is as I dreamed it could be."

The brotherhood may never grasp what it means to lose a Dave Fagan. He was a giant among a sea of spiritual midgets. He wrote 14 books that will be touching people around the world for years to come. He won more people to the Lord than I can count. Besides these things, he taught those he won to Christ to think for themselves and search the Scriptures daily. As his life ended his legacy didn't. Those he taught will teach others and in turn they will teach others to teach others. Dave made a difference in whatever he did. People do not know the sacrifice that he and Teresa made. Every Tuesday she would say goodbye to him as he drove 200 miles to Portsmouth Ohio to teach the Sonshine boys the truth of the Gospel. That is a hard 4 or 5 hours of driving and he did it to teach from 1 to 4 students and he did it for 7 years!!! In all that time I never heard him complain. To top it off in those 7 years he never received a dollar. That is what separated Dave from others. To Dave it wasn't about money it was about being a servant.

The fact is that I could write twenty more pages and never do him justice. So Dave, here's looking at you! May I remain faithful and fulfill your final words to me, "Jim, keep the ministry headed in the Lord's direction this is our legacy to our God, you can do it."