My Birth

Jacob Royster Blandford

Powhatan, Virginia

I was born May 20^th 1980 Anno Domini. I was born to James Richburg Blandford and Mary Dianne Winn Blandford who had me dedicated to the Lord at May Memorial Baptist Church when I was young. Rev. Rudy Potter was Pastor at May Memorial Baptist Church at that time. A few years later I professed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and received believer’s baptism by immersion at MMBC by Pastor Rudy Potter. Both of my grandmothers (Alieen Richburg Blandford and Rachel Royster Winn) were Christian women and members of local churches. I was born in Powhatan, Virginia, south of the James River (which is named after King James I of England, who was the commissioner of the 1611 King James Bible Translation), in the Protestant Bible Belt of the southern or confederate states in the United States of America. Pope John Paul II was Pope in 1980. 1980 was a sabbatical year on the Jewish calendar. Jimmy Carter was president in 1980 and he was a Baptist. Ronald Reagan began his presidency in January of 1981. Reagan declared 1983 to be the year of the Bible. The New King James Version was released by Thomas Nelson in 1982. In California, Jack Chick put out 5 good gospel tracts in the early 1980’s: “Back From The Dead”, “Reverend Wonderful”, “The Letter”, “Dark Dungeons”, and “Big Spender”. Also in California, Paul and Jan Crouch released their new Trinity Broadcasting Network logo in 1982 and started to become a worldwide Christian television network in the early 1980’s. Pat Robertson was broadcasting Christian television in Portsmouth, Virginia. Jerry Falwell Sr. was president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He founded the Moral Majority in 1979; and he also televised the Old Time Gospel Hour broadcast from Thomas Road Baptist Church. It was a great time of revival in Christian evangelicalism and I thank Christ Jesus I was able to be a part of it. Amen.

P.S. Also at this time (the early 1980’s) America almost had a complete national revival through the evangelistic crusades of Rev. Billy Graham. There was also a huge growth at this time of the evangelical and musical ministry of Jimmy Swaggart. Morris Cerullo was also doing great Christian exploits and establishing himself as a worldwide minister and prophet. Moreover, Kenneth Copeland Ministries was growing exponentially to also become a worldwide force for the Gospel headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Pastor John Hagee was also moving towards becoming one of the greatest televangelists in church history. All of the points I’ve made in this article have helped this nation maintain its position as the leading Christian nation in the world to this very day in the 3^rd millennium. Here we are today still reaching and teaching in Christ’s name. A large portion of the evangelism has been targeted towards the Holy Land and the reestablished nation of Israel. And again, on May 20^th, 1980, this was the Christian nation and prophetic season I was born in... Where we are “waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7)!!!