At the age of five, after an evangelistic meeting at the church, I (Fred) repented and acknowledged Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. During my childhood, I was challenged to give my life for missionary service. After graduation in 1966, I enrolled in the missions program at Clarks Summit University, graduating in 1971.
My wife, Rachel, was saved during her freshmen year at Clarks Summit University. We met there, married, and joined Baptist Mid-Missions in 1971, leaving for our first term of service in Italy two years later. After two years of language school, we launched our church-planting ministry, greatly enhanced by a daily television ministry (still airing an average of twice daily). In 1982 we founded Radio Luce, which broadcasted from 1982 to 2019. Presently, we continue to minister alongside a couple of our children and their families in the local church in Perugia.
(The Whitmans have been emeritus BMM missionaries since 2022, and they continue to serve the Lord in retirement.)