What I Learned Being a Co-Host on a Christian Radio Station
I was recently invited to sit in as a co-host for an hour and a half on London's Faith FM. You can find them at 99.9 on your FM dial. They were beginning their Share-a-Thon and their target for this year was to raise $30,000 for the station.
I got to sit in with Marion, one of the stations regular personalities, and prepared myself for a fun experience. I've been on radio a few times before to do in-studio ads but this was a little different. Christian radio evokes various responses depending on who you ask.
For some it is a weekly lifeline, for others it barely registers on their awareness meter. Further, depending on how churches view it, they can either fuel the stations viability or undermine it altogether, and when you are a fully listener supported enterprise, it matters how the larger community sees you. I came away with some healthy reminders after my brief stint at the station and just wanted to share those thoughts with you.
A Passionate Voice
There was an excitement about why the station existed. It wasn't a business venture, it was a ministry venture. It was about bringing the light of the Gospel to the city and to do so without compromise. I've been in churches that did not have the kind of purposeful intent for existence that Faith FM exhibited that day and it was refreshing to see. One of the stations tag lines is Bringing His Light to the World and from what I saw, they take it seriously.
A Unique Voice There are a lot of competing voices in our world today. The barrage of media messages is a steady din in our hyper-connected society. When it comes to the airwaves, though, Faith FM stands apart. It holds a unique place as a voice of the Gospel. From its music, advertising, to its on-air personalities, its a voice of hope and healing because its a consistent message of transformation found in Christ alone. Which leads to my next point.
A Transformational Voice During my time I heard real-life stories of people who's lives had been changed because of the station. People who were flipping between stations and came across a message, a song, something that caused them to seek God and begin a relationship with him. As churches we get fired up when we see those kinds of life-altering decisions and the people at Faith FM were no different. They are experiencing God's blessing and fruit for their endeavours.
A Collaborative Voice A final observation was the stations desire to be in vital partnership with local churches. Faith FM does not see itself as a lone ministry, but an extension of the church. Frankly, as noted in the points above, they are able to reach in ways the average local church cannot. And you know what, that's okay.
We live at a time when the church needs a strong unified voice in the culture and every vital partnership that brings the Gospel message is a collaboration worth investing in. As a pastor, I've asked myself a question that has been a core value question over my years of ministry. If our church disappeared from the community would it be truly missed?
Fortunately, I'm in a church where I sincerely believe we would leave a vacuum if we were gone. I've asked that same question regarding Faith FM. Based on my observations I can truly say that if their voice was ever silenced, our city and our churches would suffer loss. Let's pray that Faith FM continues to be a voice for the Gospel for many years to come.
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