Planting the Seed

In 1948, a seemingly ordinary businessman took off his shoes, stood up, and walked barefoot around the vacant 53-acre Firland Tuberculosis Sanatorium site in Seattle. His name was Mike Martin. Sensing that the ground he walked upon was holy, he claimed Joshua 1:3, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you.” He believed God for a miracle.

The Firland campus would become a center for his "King's Teens" youth ministry, which grew to more than 100 weekly Bible clubs throughout Puget Sound. Through Mike's prayers and persistence, the King County Commissioners agreed to lease the site to him for one dollar a year, and King's Garden was born.

Sapling

Mike and his wife Vivian moved here in 1949, and soon more than 70 families joined them to clean and repair buildings and to minister to teens.

Although Mike Martin’s initial goal was to provide a safe place for children from broken homes, he gladly accepted the King County Commissioners’ requirement to establish a rest home on the campus. Thus began the Senior Living ministry. Meanwhile, the youth outreach was growing rapidly and a school was launched. In 1951, Mike proudly congratulated King’s Schools’ first graduating class.

Mike hosted a 15-minute radio program that featured stories of God’s work at King’s Garden. When the station cancelled the program, he prayed and acquired an AM radio station license. In 1954, KGDN went on the air. Since then, the radio ministry has grown to include three radio stations.

BRANCHING OUT

In the 1950s, funds were collected for a youth summer program retreat center. One donor said, "I want to give this to the Lord for that miracle ranch!" The name stuck. In the 1970s, Island Lake Camp joined Miracle Ranch.

In 1955, physician Wilbert Saunders and pharmacist Jim McCoy started "Medicine for Missions" to deliver surplus medical supplies to missionaries. It joined the King's Garden family tree in 1970, and was renamed World Concern.

King’s Garden changed its name to CRISTA Ministries in 1979. Through the years, new ministries have been added and others have concluded, all shaping the thriving, unified organization into what it is today. As we move into the future, we’re inspired by the history and the potential of the CRISTA family tree.