For many years, he hosted TV 2’s debate program “HOLMGANG.” In three broadcasts (in the years 2002, 2003, and 2005), he dared to address a topic that bishops, church leaders, and many other preachers wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.

Talking about miracles and healing was taboo for many at this time. People were afraid that others would think they were extremists, and they wanted to present themselves as a congregation with a sound and safe faith. They wanted to say “hush, hush” to miracles—at the expense of the power of the gospel. They were spiritual cowards! Healings were supposed to happen “in secret” and not be displayed publicly. That way, they could hide the bitter truth: very, very little was happening “in secret.”

In the midst of it all, TV 2’s sharpest host, Oddvar Stenstrøm, contacted me and gave me the opportunity to tell about many powerful miracles. He gave skeptics a voice, but also presented a series of powerful testimonies from people who had been healed through my ministry. Oddvar awakened faith among the Norwegian people and sent unbelief to hell! What the Norwegian people had learned in Sunday school, from Bible history in elementary school, and during confirmation, he gave full support to by inviting me three times onto “Holmgang.”

Jesus was also a healing preacher and not a dogmatic bore! He is actually best known as the healing preacher from Nazareth! Seven times it is written that He healed on the Sabbath, something that could have cost Him His life. About Him it is written: “And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.” He is our example.

As I sat in the makeup chair just before the show started, Oddvar asked, “How much time do you need to pray for the sick—is half a minute enough?” I said yes to half a minute. Over 600,000 people watched the program each time it aired. Since then, hundreds of people have contacted us and shared their “Holmgang miracle.” I heard the latest testimony just three weeks ago!

When “Holmgang” aired for the last time, sometime in 2005, a journalist at TV 2 asked, “Which program did you like best during the years you hosted ‘Holmgang’?” Stenstrøm answered, “The best program was when Pastor Svein-Magne Pedersen asked the sick to place a hand on the television while he prayed for them. Thousands touched the screen, and many were healed!”

Together with a journalist from Se og Hør, we traveled to Værnes to meet a married couple from somewhere in Trøndelag who had both placed a hand on the television—and both were healed! Great material for readers of Se og Hør—though perhaps not good news for unbelieving theologians? And people responded positively. Over 80 percent of the viewers responded positively and called TV 2, stating that they believed in this! The same result in each of the three TV broadcasts!

Today, I want to honor a great TV journalist. Naturally, he produced programs about many other current events in our society. Yet this must also be mentioned: he became an instrument in God’s hand, a spiritual trailblazer who perhaps deserves mention in church history?

The results after three broadcasts were that thousands in Norway came to faith in the God of miracles. As Jesus taught us to pray: “Deliver us from the evil one … Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In other words: rid the earth of sick people!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ODDVAR STENSTRØM!!