Guatemala (MNN)–If you travel from country to country around the world and you will find radio in every town, high-rise, slum and farm.
HCJB World Radio Engineer Steve Sutherland says that’s the thinking behind their radio station planting program.
MNN’s Ruth Bliss spoke with Sutherland for today’s piece as part of a showcase of 75 years in evangelistic ministry for HCJB World Radio.
Radio, of course, can be one of the most effective ways to share the Gospel with a people group because it travels where people can’t.
HCJB World Radio takes the approach “Who better to speak to the people the dozens of language groups and countries than Christians within their culture?” The answer is no one is better qualified–especially those who have been burdened with evangelism and discipleship.
The radio station planting program came about because many of these Christians have the passion to use radio, but have no training and no way to get the appropriate equipment to begin their endeavor.
That’s where men like Steve Sutherland come in. He’s an engineer with HCJB World Radio. Such programs are especially helpful to share the Gospel in countries that won’t allow Christian radio stations to exist…like Mexico.
He says the team planted a strategic station on the border in La Mesilla, Guatemala…but they soon outgrew the original vision. “They wanted better reach into Mexico. They have the problem with their transmitter being in a hole, an FM station, so they couldn’t reach very far.”
Explaining that F(requency) M(odulation) depends on height, what this station was broadcasting wasn’t making the best use of their equipment or space. “What we ended up doing is we relocated their transmitter from a real bad location up onto a mountain.” And now, he says, they’re hoping to upgrade the studio to allow the station to transmit around the clock.
However, many of the people in the remote regions do not have personal radios that they can use to listen to this programming as it comes on the air.
HCJB works with their international radio partners to identify how many radios they can use. They then partner with Christians to fund those radios to be given out in the international community.
If you want to help, click here.
