Guatemala (MNN/HCJB) — Can a small FM Christian radio
station in Guatemala plant churches in Mexico?
Absolutely! Witness the fruits of Radio Impacto, a
1,000-watt FM station that sits in the scrubby border town of La Mesilla,
Guatemala.
"Our goal is to reach Chiapas state [in southern Mexico]
with the gospel," says Christian Villatoro, pastor of the fast-growing Twelve
Pearls Evangelical Church and general manager of the radio station. "It's
difficult to do ministry in Mexico and almost impossible to put a Christian
radio station there. So we decided to focus our broadcasts to that audience."
To do that, Radio Impacto incorporates Mexican music and
invites pastors from Chiapas state to appear on the air regularly. In Mexico it
is illegal for a radio station to be owned by a Christian organization.
Villatoro knows that the broadcasts are bearing fruit. As
people have committed their hearts to Christ and now there is an evangelical
church and a growing number of Christians.
Villatoro says that someone from Radio Impacto visits that
town every eight to 10 days to provide training and discipleship and help the
new church grow.
HCJB Global Voice is providing technical and programming
elements for the station. In addition, HCJB Global Voice's radio development
ministry recently provided a training workshop for Radio Impacto's staff.
Despite all the successes, with the recent move of their
antenna to a higher mountain, Radio Impacto hopes to purchase a new transmitter
to beam programming even further into Mexico.
