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WELLS OF SALVATION MINISTRIES AND WELLS OF SALVATION STUDIO – A HISTORY

by Bob Morris

INTRODUCTION

Wells of Salvation Studio is not a ‘bedroom studio’  – it is an almost 1,000 square-foot facility dedicated to Christian Ministry. Should you choose to ask us to partner with you in your ministry, it might be helpful (and maybe a little bit interesting) for you to know a little bit about the history and experience that this ministry brings to the table. So let’s take a look at the history of Wells of Salvation Studio starting at the very beginning….

IN THE BEGINNING….

The roots of this ministry date back to the late 1940s when Ed Wells and his wife, affectionately known as “Sparkie”, ministered in various traveling gospel trios and quartets all over the eastern part of the country. In this old photo of the Buckeye Gospel Quartet (circa late 1940s), Sparkie is on the far right with the big “doghouse” bass. Ed is the guy on the far left (obviously…)

When Ed entered the pastoral ministry in 1950, he and Sparkie continued their music ministry as a team — with Ed strumming guitar and singing lead, and Sparkie contributing an alto vocal background and playing the accordion and acoustic bass. The pair collaborated on scores of original Christian songs — printed in “Wells Of Salvation Songs” book, and a variety of sheet music publications, with Ed penning the lyrics and music, and Sparkie laying out the arrangements.

ED AND THE WELLS OF SALVATION MINISTRIES, INC. YEARS…

Over the years, Ed often said he wanted to start his own church — a dream he never realized because God had other plans for him. In the mid-1970s, Ed hosted a successful radio ministry while pastoring a United Methodist church in Helena, Ohio. This experience in broadcasting ultimately inspired him to establish “Wells of Salvation, Inc.” in 1979 as an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) ministry incorporated in the State of Ohio.

Wells of Salvation Studio was established under parent organization Wells of Salvation Ministries, Inc. (est 1979) in the mid-1980s along with and as a direct result of Wells of Salvation expanding its ministry to live concerts as The Wells Of Salvation Gospel Band. The studio itself started out with just a single reel-to-reel mono Wollensak tape recorder and mixer board in an outbuilding at the residence of Wells of Salvation Ministries founder Reverend Dr. Edmund E. Wells in 1975-76. The first focus of the studio was primarily in producing radio programs for broadcast. From these humble beginnings, Wells of Salvation Studio has grown steadily, by God’s grace, over the years and now occupies a dedicated state-of-the-art 1,000 square-foot building.

THE FIRST BROADCASTS…..

In 1976, Dr. Ed Wells accepted a pastoral appointment to Shiloh United Methodist Church in Helena, Ohio. One of the responsibilities as pastor was the preparation of a 15-minute radio program for broadcast each Sunday on WJYM in Bowling Green, Ohio. To complete this task, Ed enlisted the assistance of son-in-law Bob Morris (me). Together during the next years we prepared 15-minute Sunday broadcasts on a 7″ reel-to-reel mono Wollensak recorder. After a year at Shiloh UMC, Ed accepted an appointment to another church but we kept preparing 15-minute broadcasts under the name of Wells of Salvation Ministries. In 1979, Wells of Salvation Ministries, Inc. was formally established as a 501(c )(3) tax exempt non-profit organization. From 1976 through the mid-1990s we prepared weekly 15-minute broadcasts that were aired on a number of different radio stations, including shortwave stations in third-world countries. In that time period we prepared well over 1200 radio broadcasts.

In the late 1970’s, Wells of Salvation Studio upgraded from two mono Wollensak recorders and a dual turntable to a TEAC A-3340S 4-track recorder. 10 years later, in the basement of my home, we upgraded to a TASCAM 38 8-track recorder and started doing recording for more than just radio broadcasts.

In 1992, our family relocated from West Liberty, Ohio to the Dayton, Ohio area. But there was no provision in our new location to re-establish a recording facility. Still the Wells Of Salvation radio programs continued, being produced in a makeshift ‘studio’ in our home office.

In 1997 Ed and wife Agnes (“Sparkie”) relocated to the address right next door to us. That home had an outbuilding and after a little bit of remodeling, Wells of Salvation Studio established a new presence 1999. With Ed’s retirement about that time, radio program production stopped and the focus of the studio became music production instead of radio broadcast production. With the establishment of this studio, studio technology was upgraded to digital computer-based recording starting with a single computer, two monitors, an 8-channel I/O system and Cubase 3.7 recording software and Wavelab 3.0 as mastering software.

THE MINISTRY EXPANDS...

Also in 1999, Melody Morris (daughter of founders Ed and Sparkie Wells and my wife) began doing an on-air morning news program at a major Christian FM radio station near Dayton, Ohio. Soon, I found myself volunteering to assist in recording and production of local live remotes. In that same year, well-known local DJ and Dayton Area Broadcasters Hall of Fame member and Melody’s on-air drive-time partner, Bill Nance, saw the opportunity to fulfill his dream of a Christian variety show with live audiences, a live house band, and live commercials reminiscent of Cincinnati WLW-TV’s popular “Ruth Lyons Show”. Bill named this program “Kaleidoscope”. At this writing, Kaleidoscope programs continue to be performed at various live venues in the Greater Miami Valley area. These programs are multi-track recorded for broadcast. A half-dozen or so programs are produced each year. As of this writing, over 160 programs have been recorded, produced and broadcast. Wells of Salvation Studios continues to provide recording, production, mixing and mastering services for this program.

In 2005, Ed passed away followed by Sparkie in 2006. Their single-most concern was that the Wells of Salvation Ministry – especially the studio ministry – be continued in some way. With their home and property unoccupied, attempts were made to market and sell the house and property. No serious or significant offers were ever tendered on this property. Later we would come to see the ‘footprints in the sand’ and understand why God did not permit the selling of the property.

THE NEW WELLS OF SALVATION STUDIO…

In order to keep the studio ministry going as Ed and Sparkie wished and recognizing that having a studio on a separate property was not a very stable was to continue the Ministry, Melody and I decided to build a dedicated facility for the studio on our own property. In January 2008 I started designing the studio facility. I also did the electrical and mechanical design for the studio setup. In July 2008 we broke ground for the studio and on November 2, 2008, the studio was finished and dedicated to ministry. This is now the permanent location for Wells of Salvation Studio. It is 1,000 square feet of dedicated space for the continuation of the ministries of Wells of Salvation Ministries, Inc.

In 2011, Melody and I again partnered with Dayton Area Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame member and well known DJ and drive-time FM radio host Bill Nance in a new venture. Following the leading of the Lord, we started Faith And Friends Radio as Faithandfriendsradio.com – one of the first full-service internet-based Christian radio stations in the country, if not the world. This new radio ministry was actually started in the Wells of Salvation Studio facility and both ministries coexisted with one another until September 2012 . As Faith and Friends Radio station grew, it soon needed more space so in September 2012 the broadcast part of the studio was moved to the former home of Wells of Salvation Ministries founders Ed and Sparkie Wells. How fitting it was to operate a radio station and world-wide radio ministry out of the home of Ed Wells who had started the Wells of Salvation Ministry as a radio ministry in the 1970s!! By Gods’ blessing, Faith and Friends Radio is now being heard in every single country in the world. It is a distinct honor and privilege to be the very first internet-based radio station to be invited to be a part of the very popular on-line music streaming service, iHeart Radio.

Now some 10+ years after its initial dedication in 2008, the Wells of Salvation Studio continues to be a very busy place – actively involved in ministries of many kinds. In addition to recording projects for a number of clients, the studio ministry has also re-embraced its roots in radio broadcast production by producing several daily/weekly broadcasts including

1. Hands of Time – a historical look at the Christian music genre from its inception in the 1970s through the mid-1990s. The program consists of interviews with the movers and shakers who established the genre of contemporary Christian music and the music that made history.
2. Horizons – a weekly forum for artists who are not affiliated with a record label to have their music heard.
3. Cross Connection – a unique program that looks at the spiritual messages or implications in secular music. In this program, hosts Mick Wells and Rick Smith play the song, talk a little about the artist(s) and discuss how the lyrics tie into the timeless truths found in the Bible, the Word of God – thereby making a “cross connection”.
4. Reconciling Grace – a twice-weekly 30-minute panel discussion program covering various topics of interest to the Christian community.
5. Kaleidoscope – a live variety show. This show is recorded live at various locations in the Dayton area and guests include local people of interest as well as well-known artists such as Phillips Craig and Dean, Larnell Harris, Dallas Holm, Selah, Watermark, Clay Cross, Point of Grace, and many many others. Over one hundred and sixty of these broadcasts have been recorded live and post-produced in the Wells of Salvation Studio for broadcast. In 2005, Kaleidoscope was the recipient of the Silver Microphone award for live variety show excellence.

To document all of the individual things that Wells of Salvation Studio has been, or is currently involved in, would take up much more space on this site and would consume more of your time to read it. Our experience includes CD project recordings, audio book production, live concert recordings (locally and in places as far away as Spokane, Washington and Tororo, Uganda), variety show production and recording, and recording of programs specifically for radio broadcast. Suffice it to say that Wells of Salvation Studio has a very broad and very deep experience base giving us the capability to assist you with your project – no matter how large or small.