Your Latest News from a Christian perspective 

Whether it's a story about prayer in public schools, workplace restrictions on Christians, or battles for biblical truth within our denominations, the American Family News Network (AFN) is here to tell you what the newsmakers are saying.

AFN is a Christian news service - with more than 1,200 broadcast, print, and online affiliates in 45 states and 11 foreign countries - that exists to present the day's stories from a biblical perspective. We not only feature the latest breaking stories from across the United States and around the world, but also news of the challenges facing Christians in today's society.

At OneNewsNow.com, you will get your news from reporters you can trust to give the latest news without the liberal bias that characterizes so much of the "mainstream" media.

For a refreshing and informative change in where you get your news, log on to OneNewsNow.com.

Fred Jackson - News Director 

From time to time, you may have seen labels that say "Product of Canada." It happens to suit me also. I was born and raised on a farm on the east coast... and did the things that most Canadian boys do while growing up.... including, of course, playing hockey and falling through the ice while playing hockey. After graduating from high school, I followed a lot of different paths. Four years at university gave me a degree in Biology and Chemistry. Then a stint in the Canadian Armed Forces taught me how to fly airplanes. After that, came my journalism career. In between all of this, the Lord led me to Baptist Bible college in Springfield, Missouri for a year of study. He also had other plans. I met my wife, Susy there. We’ve been married since 1980 and have two lovely daughters.

After nearly 20-years in broadcasting in Canada, God once again stirred my heart about taking what I had learned in secular news operations and applying it to Christian broadcasting. A meeting with Dr. Don Wildmon at American Family Radio in October 1996 led me to my present position... News Director at AFN. God has been so good to me in so many ways over the years. I praise him for giving me the privilege to serve him.

Among my favorite Bible verses are Proverbs 3:5 and 6.

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Jim Brown - National Affairs Correspondent

Jim Brown is the national affairs correspondent for AFN. Jim has served as education reporter and news anchor for AFN in Tupelo, Mississippi, and as associate editor of AgapePress Christian News Service.

He also spent time doing local news reporting for a conservative news talk station in Rockford, Illinois, where he grew up. God called him to OneNewsNow.com not long after he graduated from Pensacola Christian College with a degree in broadcast journalism.

He and his wife Candise are active in their local church and share a passion for youth ministry and missions. In his spare time, he enjoys running marathons, watching his Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team, reading, and most importantly, spending quality time with Candise and their two boys.

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Jody Brown - OneNewsNow.com Editor-in-Chief

It was a long and circuitous -- but God-directed -- route that Jody traveled to get to AFN. After 20 years as a technical writer and editor for research groups in New Mexico and California, he encountered an open door that led him back to his first professional love: writing and reporting the news. Jody now finds himself in what (for him, at least) is the perfect situation for a self-described "news junkie" who loves to write, and who has been saved by God's grace: Generating news from a Christian worldview.

After six-and-a-half years as editor of AgapePress -- an online Christian news service that drew upwards of 1.5 million readers a month -- Jody's horizon expanded to OneNewsNow.com, which offers even greater opportunities to keep his fellow Christians informed on events and issues affecting the body of Christ. Who would have ever thought God could use a scrawny, Frisbee-throwing, 1970s-era hippie in such an endeavor? As Jody says, "It had to be God, because I sure didn't know where I was going back then."

Jody and his wife both hail from the small southern New Mexico town of Alamogordo. They and their two younger children now live in northeast Mississippi, where they attend Tupelo Free Will Baptist Church and serve in both music and teaching capacities. Their two older children, now out of the nest, are in service to the Lord -- one as a worship leader in Manhattan, Kansas; the other as a youth pastor in Tipton, Indiana. Jody carries two degrees from New Mexico State University: a B.A. in journalism and an M.A. in technical communication.

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Pete Chagnon - Reporter/Anchor

Originally from Vermont, Pete has worked in radio for more than six years. He spent three years at WPCS in Pensacola, Florida and a little more than three years at WOLC in Princess Anne, Maryland.

"I've done everything from being an afternoon dj, working as a radio production coordinator, wedding DJ, audio\video technician, to running sound at church," he says. "I even put in some time as a Master Control operator at the local ABC station."

While at WOLC he tried his hand at writing for the local Christian Newspaper, The Manna.

"Something just clicked and I found out that I really had this wicked love for writing," Pete says. In May of 2007 he won a national award for a piece he wrote on the Iraq war. He then decided to pursue a full-time career in journalism and through the Lord's guidance he joined the team at OneNewsNow.com in July of 2007.

"Even though I'm from Northern Vermont, I really feel at home in Mississippi, yep," he states. Pete's hobbies include hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and general outdoor sports. "When it comes to football, I root for the Pats all the way," he says.

Pete is married to wife Becky of seven years and they have two young daughters -- Noelle and Makayla. Both he and his wife are graduates (2001) of Pensacola Christian College.

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Chad Groening - Reporter/Anchor

Chad came to AFN after spending more than 20 years in the secular media and becoming frustrated with the liberal bias that even permeates smaller market stations. Chad says "Working for AFN has given me the opportunity to tell the unfettered truth, without having to worry about some liberal producer or news executive filtering the story. Most importantly, working at AFN gives me the opportunity to serve Jesus Christ."

Chad came from a military background (his father was in an Air Force fighter pilot who served his country in two wars) and holds a commission in the Army Reserve. His military background is a major reason why Chad is responsible for keeping up with national defense issues for AFN. His other area of concentration is politics, digging for the Christian family perspective from news makers in Washington.

In his free time Chad loves to follow his favorite baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds, "and help my lovely wife, Christa, with her garden." Chad and Christa are members of Harrisburg Baptist Church in Tupelo, Mississippi.

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Allie Martin - Reporter/Anchor

Allie covers the legal beat, the persecuted church and missions for OneNewsNow.com. Allie joined AFN in January of 1997 after working 13 years for secular newspapers and in television. He became a Christian five months after coming on board at AFN.

During a Sunday evening service, on June 29, 1997, Allie realized he needed a relationship with Christ, instead of "religion." It has been an adventure ever since.

Allie has covered stories "on location" for AFN in a number of places. He has covered school shootings in Arkansas and Kentucky, "Reclaiming America for Christ" conferences in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., several annual meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention, tsunami relief efforts by "Gospel for Asia" in India, a trip to Guatemala to commemorate the 500,000th child sponsored through "Compassion International," as well as a visit to Canada to report from the set of the first "Left Behind" movie, and a trip to Ecuador, in the Amazon Basin and through the jungle with "The Bible League."

Allie and his wife Robin live in Tupelo, Miss., with their youngest daughter, Alyssa. Daughters Alexa and Ashley are college students. The Martin family worships and serves at West Jackson Street Baptist Church in Tupelo. They are active in the bus ministry, youth ministry and evangelism training. Allie was a member of his pastor's Sunday School class, until he was assigned to teach third grade, (which he says is on his level). Be sure to write or email Allie with story ideas, prayer requests, or just to talk.

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Rusty Pugh - Anchor/Reporter

Rusty, the morning radio news anchor for AFN, has been a part of the news team for more than 10 years. He has more than 25 years' experience in virtually every aspect of radio, including programming, news, and sales. Rusty's radio career began in the early 1980s, working part-time at an Oxford, Mississippi, radio station while attending the University of Mississippi. 

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