Innovative ministry hires Lt. Col. (ret) Gregg Leisman to head up satellite distribution systems

Contact: Bill Lohr, Faith Comes By Hearing, 505-881-3321, bill.lohr@fcbhmail.org

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Jan. 22, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) announces the hiring of Lt. Col. (ret) Gregg Leisman (Photo) to manage aerospace programs that will expand their use of satellite technology to broadcast Audio Bible content worldwide.

Leisman graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with academic distinction in astronautical engineering. He was also awarded Master's degrees in Space Systems Management and astronautical engineering.

Among his career achievements, Leisman was the chief of operations for GPS satellite processing at Cape Canaveral, Florida, where he oversaw the launch of five GPS satellites and received the Air Force Association's Best Space Operations award. He has led 37 program teams with over 290 managers, engineers, and technicians who have developed and tested satellites, aircraft, and space launch vehicles. He has also been a space systems engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory, which included managing a $250 million portfolio in microsatellite research.
 
Most recently, Leisman was squadron commander and then director of the $1.7 billion Space and Missile Test Complex at Arnold AFB and subsequently in charge of the Integrated Activation Team for a new command and control system for the Air Force's $17.6 billion Space Based Infrared System. He also deployed to the Middle East twice, has over 550 HALO jumps, and was a graduate and instructor at Test Pilot School with a career total of 360 hours of flight test time in 41 different aircraft.

"We realize Lt. Colonel Leisman had a great many opportunities to choose from after such a decorated career serving our country," says Troy Carl, vice president at FCBH. "That's why we're so humbled and overjoyed by his decision to bring his talent to this ministry and use his experience and expertise to further the fulfillment of the Great Commission."

As one of his first activities, Leisman is tasked with developing effective and affordable satellite architecture. With current microsatellite capabilities, a global distribution system is within reach of the ministry. He is also establishing a volunteer advisory council comprised of career space professionals who will determine the best way to leverage satellite and other technologies to provide digital Bible access and create Scripture engagement in some of the  most persecuted and least reached regions of the world.

"In the simplest of terms, we want to create satellite and Internet-type access where public Internet is not available for a variety of reasons," said Leisman.

Carl adds, "With just our first phase rollout we can reach close to a billion people, and do it for just pennies per person."

Of course, others are already working toward or have created similar technologies that could be utilized or improved upon. This will be another focus for Leisman and the council.
 
Leisman states, "This will be the first time in church history that we can deliver the Bible to virtually anywhere on the planet in near real time."

The ministry is encouraged by the initial round of seed funding that has bolstered the program and firmly moved it from conceptual to operational demonstration and preliminary architecture. 

Established in 1972, Faith Comes By Hearing currently provides Scripture recordings in 866 languages spoken or signed by over 5.7 billion people globally. Through the  Digital Bible Platform, FCBH offers free access to this digital collection of Scripture via podcasts, Internet radio, satellite TV and the  Bible.is family of apps.