Ecuador
(HCJB/MNN) — As HCJB Global defines new strategies for future Gospel outreach,
they've decided to speed the transition.
The
end date for international shortwave broadcasts from Radio Station HCJB in
Ecuador will be between September and November 2009. Staff members working near the station's
international transmitter site in Pifo have already dismantled all but 14
antennas and towers.
Present
shortwave broadcasts in Portuguese, Spanish, German and indigenous languages,
including Quichua, had earlier been announced to end no later than April 1,
2010.
The
ministry is also looking into transferring HCJB-2, the ministry's 37-year-old
FM station in Guayaquil into the hands of local partners.
These
moves are being made to implement the mission's new strategy which was launched
in the 1990s. HCJB is focusing on "radio
planting"–helping local ministries realize their dream of beginning a
Christian radio ministry. More than 300
local stations have been helped in these endeavors worldwide, including about
60 in Latin America. HCJB Global also
continues to expand its training ministries across the region.
"The
way people consume media has changed," said HCJB Global President Wayne
Pederson. "So we have the opportunity to change to delivery systems such as
satellite, FM Internet and podcasting. The closing of shortwave in Latin
America is strategic because of the planting of local FM radio stations across
the region and around the world. These stations are staffed and programmed by
local believers who can speak to the culture in their own communities."
Pederson recently told the staff that a high priority for the mission is its
initiative for Latin America called Corrientes that launches in October. The
coalition of more than 10 Christian organizations involves training Latin
Americans for bi-vocational mission work around the world.
