Crista Ministries

In 1948, our founder, Mike Martin, prayed for a youth home just outside the abandoned Firland Tuberculosis Sanatorium. He had no idea he was helping to plant a seed that would grow into the multi-faceted ministry we have today. He was simply looking for a place to house and feed the teens he’d met through his youth group. Although the King County Commissioners responsible for Firland's fate initially rejected Mike’s application to lease the place, Mike was persistent. Eventually, they granted him the 53-acre campus for a dollar a year, with one condition: Mike must also begin a much-needed retirement community at Firland. As the Martins began working to repair the sanatorium, families sharing Mike’s vision to serve—over 70 of them—showed up to help. A year later found the sanatorium, renamed King’s Garden, home to youth in dormitories and around 80 elderly residents. Soon, King’s Schools began meeting the youth’s educational needs with Christ-centered schooling—celebrating its first graduating class in 1951. During summers, King’s Garden remained vibrant with on-campus summer camps, and then Miracle Ranch, the first of our two camps, became host for the summer program’s expanding needs. Meanwhile, the growing community at King’s Garden shared its stories and faith through a 15-minute radio program on a local station. When the station eventually cancelled the program, Mike wasn’t deterred. Sensing God’s direction, he started his own: KGDN went on-air in 1954. The radio ministry branched naturally over time into our three current stations. King’s Garden (renamed CRISTA in 1979) maintained a focus on serving the poor; hosting annual missionary conferences and welcoming missionaries on furlough. On December 1, 1970, World Concern, previously “Medicine for Missions,” joined the ministry family as the first of our two international relief organizations.