With lights on in their North Shore studio, Wayne Estrada and Jeanne Sheffield Estrada record their weekly message.
The couple move between cameras with studio-grade lighting above as they deliver a message of encouragement or an analysis of the Bible. Each week, the two record their TV show "Notes on Life" in Chattanooga. The show, which began with a small grant in February, is growing around the world during the ongoing pandemic, Wayne said.
So far the show and the couple's website have reached 115 countries, including places like Pakistan, China and Libya, Wayne said.
Jeanne said they were not expecting to get the response that they have.
"It's been great to do this. It's been fun to see it evolve," Jeanne said.
The couple recently moved to Chattanooga after living in Washington D.C. Both are professionally trained musicians and began an online ministry writing notes of encouragement around 2015. The website continually updates with new messages and insights, Wayne said.
Last year, they saw the Georgia-based TV ministry Preach The Word Worldwide Network was giving out grants to support TV ministries and decided to apply, later winning six months of free airtime. Their first broadcast aired Feb. 24. So far, the couple have produced 26 episodes of their show.
"Since we went on television we've been getting thousands of visitors," Wayne said.
They model their show after the late Fred Rogers' popular show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," he said.
"I think that Christian TV has become very slick and programmatic," he said. "We did not want to look or act like that."
Notes on Life airs every Monday at 11:30 a.m. on Preach The Word Worldwide Network, which can be streamed through devices like Roku and Apple TV. The show can also be streamed online.
The mission of Notes on Life as Wayne described, and as is promoted on the group's website, is "encouragement to the believer, evangelism to the lost."
Wayne said the focus on the show is on teaching the word of God, not about furthering the couple's brand. A show that runs for about 30 minutes can take up to 10 hours to edit, Wayne said.
"We don't want to bring celebrity-ness to ourselves," he said.
Contact Wyatt Massey at wmassey@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @news4mass.