The Purpose of The Bright Spot Hour
By: Dr. Ben Carper

On May the 15th of 1914, my late grandfather, Harold B. Sightler was born in St. George, South Carolina to Horace and Pauline Sightler. The son of an automobile mechanic, the young family was moved by Packard Motor Car Company from Columbia to Greenville in 1925. This was obviously the hand of God in that Harold Slighter was to spend the of his long life in Greenville County and would in time pastor the largest church in South Carolina. He would have the title of the oldest pastor in active service for several years prior to his death.

Having graduated from Greenville High School in 1932, his desire to go on to college and become a practicing physician was a dream that was out of reach. The family was not poor but medical school money was not available, so Harold Sightler went to work at Thomas and Howard Wholesale where food products were cleared for grocery stores. For more than 10 years, my grandfather faithfully labored at public work, being an example of honesty, integrity, and devotion to his company and his boss.

In 1935 my grandfather married young miss Helen Vaughn of Greenville County and their marriage of more than 60 years produced 3 children and 7 grandchildren.

My grandmother and grandfather attended East Park Baptist Church and it was there that my grandfather began to feel impressed about God's call on his life to preach the Gospel, giving his life to the ministry. In late 1939 and early 1940, my grandfather answered God's call on his life and preached his first sermon at East Park Church on the first Sunday in March, 1940. The next 55 years would be involved in the gospel ministry and would carry my grandfather, not only across America but to many foreign countries as well.

As is the case with any young preacher, they are interested in an opportunity to preach and my grandfather was no different. He preached street corners, at prison camps and in a small tent. Then January of 1943, a great door opened while my grandfather was still working public work and attending Furman University, The Bright Spot Hour was born.

In time, he was called to pastor Mauldin Baptist Church and later pastored Pelham Baptist Church, both of which were in Greenville County. During this time, 1943-1947, my grandfather left public work, pastored at Pelham full time (Mauldin and Pelham churches were part time at first) and the Bright Spot Hour went on WESC, 660 in Dixie. The radio broadcast really moved into its own during this time. By 1948, the program was heard on about 5 radio stations and after 5 consecutive years, was Greenville's oldest daily gospel broadcast. Many people were brought to a saving knowledge of Christ by hearing the gospel of God's grace and untold others were encouraged and strengthened as they listened day by day.

By the 1950's my grandfather was sought after as an evangelist, preaching revivals almost every week, while still pasturing at Pelham and also the Bright Spot Hour was becoming more sought after by radio station managers to have the program on their station as well. My grandfather expanded the program as much as he could but he had to pay for the radio time, just as we do today.

The money has always been tight and my mother relates the story of how my grandfather would mortgage his own house to borrow the money to pay for the radio time. Many times through the years, my granddad would take out personal loans to make the payment for radio time when the money would be slow coming in.

Many people heard the program and supported the broadcast and revivals my grandfather held in churches in their areas.

In 1950, Mr. Horace Jones died of cancer, who from the very beginning of the Bright Spot Hour sang on the program. This was quite a blow to my grandfather and the many friends who enjoyed his gospel singing. It was also about the same time when the wife of Reverend Preston Garrett began to play the piano, organ, and vibra harp for the program. She has blessed thousands with her God given ability for now 5 decades! At nearly 80, she continues to play the instruments faithfully.

In 1951, while my grandfather was preaching at Woodlawn Baptist Church in High Point, North Carolina, a drunken driver plowed into the back of my grandmother's car on U.S. 29 highway in Spartanburg County. In the crash, Mrs. Jones', widow to Horace Jones, daughter was tragically injured and my grandfather's middle daughter, Carolyn, was thrown from the car and died almost immediately. She was only eleven at the time. My grandmother came only within inches of her life and spent the next six months recovering from this tragic accident.

My grandfather was as low as he could possibly be and wondered how he could still go on. Through all this upheaval in his life, the thousands of radio friends of the Bright Spot Hour stood faithfully at my grandfather's side, giving him courage to go on.

Through all this tragedy, the Bright Spot Hour continued and prospered, adding other radio stations to its network of coverage.

During the remainder of the 1950's my grandfather continued faithfully, day in, day out, summer, winter, spring, and fall, good times and bad times, to preach everyday on the Bright Spot Hour. At the same time, he was building a new church, Tabernacle Baptist Church, located on U.S. 25, which was founded on the 3rd Sunday in July, 1952.

Through the 1960's the Bright Spot Hour continued in 1963 celebrated it's 20th anniversary. It was becoming one of the mainstay, solid, national radio broadcasts in America. My grandfather continued doing the same thing then as we do today, trying to preach the gospel to the lost, teach those who are saved, and befriend those who are in need.

In 1972, Tabernacle Baptist Church voted in regular church conference to "assume responsibility of the Bright Spot Hour, so long as he (Dr. Sightler) is the pastor." It was at this point that the network of the Bright Spot Hour stations really took off. In 1972, my grandfather was on about 15 stations. By 1982, with the help of the church, the program was heard on about 100 stations from coast to coast. The budget of the program also rose from $1,000.00 per week to $1000.00 per day. My grandparents gave many thousands of dollars into the work of the Bright Spot Hour, as well as pouring their own lives and effort into it.

During this time, my grandfather was praying for God to call one of his three grandsons to preach and thus carry on the work after his death. In the fall of 1981, I began to feel the hand of God dealing with me about the gospel ministry. In January of 1982, I announced the call to preach and began, like my grandfather did some 40 years earlier, to look for a place to preach. Immediately after announcing my call publicly at Tabernacle in February of 1982, my grandfather encouraged me to purchase some radio time on a local station in Greenville County, which I did and began my own little program for 15 minutes once per week. In 1984, I increased the program to 25 minutes and set the format to be identical to my grandfather's "The Bright Spot Hour" program and even broadcast on several stations immediately before or after him.

In January of 1983, my grandfather put me on The Bright Spot Hour program and introduced me to his listeners. In June of 1983, my grandfather turned the production of the program over to me and I have produced the program ever since. My grandfather, now past 70 years of age, continued to produce the sermons for the program but by the later 1980's, was allowing me more air time to further aquaint the loyal listeners of The Bright Spot Hour with me.

In the fall of 1990, my grandfather asked me to end my program, called "Seeking The Lost", and to come on with "The Bright Spot Hour" every Saturday. Then in 1993, my grandfather turned the daily program responsibilities over to me for about 4 months. Of course this was done in view of trying to perpetrate the program, seeing that my grandfather was 79 years old at this time and not in good health. In 1994, my grandfather signed and witnessed and notarized statement turning over to me the responsibility of "The Bright Spot Hour" in the event of his death or insanity.

In the winter of 1994, my grandfather was placed in the hospital for about 10 days, and though he did return to the pulpit at Tabernacle and preached for another 9 months, he only returned to the radio mike one time, that being on his birthday, May 15, 1995. During the last years of my grandfather's life, he and my grandmother were the most faithful listeners of the daily "Bright Spot Hour" broadcast.

My grandfather and founder of the program passed away on September 27, 1995 and brought to a close a ministry of more than 55 years.

As of his death, the church according to the minutes from regular church conference, no longer assumed the responsibility of the broadcast and thus "The Bright Spot Hour" returned to its status that it had from 1943-1972, an independent Gospel broadcast.

As the Director of "The Bright Spot Hour", it is my desire to see the program continue, there being no reason why a broadcast of this many years should end.

Indeed, we have entered a New Era, the torch has now been passed on, but the goal, aim, mission and desire of "The Bright Spot Hour" are still the same. Our purpose for existing and investing many thousands of dollars each month is to 1) preach the gospel of God's grace to as many people as possible and hope to see them saved, 2) to teach, exhort, strengthen and build those in the faith that have placed saving faith in Jesus Christ, and 3) to befriend those who are discouraged, down cast, and defeated.

Seeing that we must purchase time on the stations we broadcast over, and are classified as a "paid advertisement", it is imperative that we be listener supported. Our only desire is for "The Bright Spot Hour" to be self perpetrating and hence, we are a "non-profit" organization.

It is for this reason that we request our listeners to give as they can to keep the program on the air.

The only change "The Bright Spot Hour" has undergone is the change of voice. Our activity, purpose, goal, and desire are all the same. Since 1943, "The Bright Spot Hour" has been on the air and we are hoping for many more!

God Bless each of you!

Dr. Ben Carper