Mission articles
In an age when going to church is no longer part and parcel of people’s
weekly activities, Christians are forced to examine the Biblical mandate
to ‘go into all the world’, and in so doing, think through ways to
reach a very modern, complex society.
Over a period of time a number of people from Ballymoney Baptist Church felt an increasing desire to try and reach our town and district with the Christian message using the medium of radio. A handful of fellow Baptists in the province had already ventured out in this way and their positive experiences encouraged us to take up the challenge. So in October 2004, a small committee was formed with the aim of broadcasting early in 2005.
The committee’s first task was to establish goals. At the top of the agenda was the aim of broadcasting the gospel to a town and district where many were not in the habit of attending an evangelical church. We felt a particular burden for some nearby Catholic villages. Our radio broadcast could be an effective way to enable people to listen to our message without physically having to come through our church doors.
On top of this fundamental aim, we also wanted to present Biblical principles and teaching on a range of broader issues. Our view was that it would be quite difficult to maintain purely evangelistic programmes for three days of broadcasting. A variety of topics and speakers would, we hoped, capture the interest of different listeners. We also believed that our profile as a church in the community would be enhanced, and a platform established for future ministry. Additionally, it was hoped that this would be a means of mobilising and strengthening our fellowship – an important aspect of radio ministry that other churches had already experienced.
How would we make it all happen? Our first concern was to commit our needs continually to the Lord, and so from January to March we met for prayer on Saturday mornings. This was a crucial ingredient in our preparation.
On a practical level, the first step was our application to the Radio Authority for the three licences required to get us on air. Two covered our right to play music and the other would grant the right to broadcast. We hoped to get the green light at the turn of the year, at which point our frequency would be allocated.
We wouldn’t be able to broadcast without this permission. Nor would we be able to broadcast without the proper equipment! We sourced our studio equipment from a Christian who has been involved with this ministry in his own church and elsewhere. His experience would prove to be invaluable.
Meantime, there was plenty to be getting on with. We needed a logo to accompany our frequency, so a competition was launched in the church to find something that would identify who we were and what we were about. Lots of young people submitted entries and eventually we chose a winner. We would call ourselves ‘LIFE 4 YOU’ Radio.
The church membership had to be mobilised early in order to ensure that we would be well prepared. There would be something for everyone to do, from helping out with the technical aspects, to answering the phones and spreading the word through our publicity campaign. We would pre-record favourite verses to be broadcast on the hour every hour. This was a very useful idea, and involved members of the church from the oldest to the youngest.
Then of course there was the programme schedule itself. We had forty hours of live programmes to do over the weekend. Each slot was an hour long, apart from our slightly longer live Sunday worship services. Again, here was opportunity for all ages and branches of the church to get involved. So people submitted their ideas, researched their material, and over thirty of them would eventually present their programmes.
After six months of hard work by everyone, ‘LIFE 4 YOU’ Radio, broadcasting on 107 FM, went on the air on Friday 18 March. What followed was one of the most exciting weekends in the life of our church. To be able to turn on the radio either at home or in the car, and hear ourselves presenting what we believed to the town and district was a great joy. The sense of excitement at the church was difficult to put into words, and the fellowship we enjoyed as we worked together was special. The positive feedback we began to receive from listeners was most encouraging – so many seemed to be tuned in. Some confessed to listening in all weekend! Local ministers and other Christians phoned and commended us for our efforts. People as far as twenty miles away had managed to pick up our signal, and an employee of the ‘local rival’ (BBC Radio Ulster!) phoned with some very positive comments!
So what was on the menu? ‘Radioactive Kids’ was the production of our children’s clubs and their leaders. ‘The Good Old Days’ brought together some of our older folks who shared memories and experiences with their young interviewers. We enjoyed a serial adaptation of Pilgrim’s Progress, and even had an overseas telephone link with missionaries in Peru. Through these and other programmes, the Bible’s message was presented.
At midnight on Sunday 20 March it was all over. Was it worth all the effort? The answer was a collective ‘yes!’ By the grace of God, we felt we had achieved our goals: the gospel was preached over a geographical area that would have proved very difficult using other methods. Church members were mobilised, strengthened and encouraged as they served the Lord together. Our church profile was greatly enhanced, as positive feedback during and after the weekend revealed. The news that one man had come to faith in Christ as a result of listening all weekend was the icing on the cake.
Would we do it again? Plans are already in place for April 2006! This time, we hope to add a new dimension by broadcasting on the internet. Again, we are following in the footsteps of another church’s broadcast, which recorded 1700 people listening in from as far away as Australia and Jamaica.
At our next church meeting we thought about Psalm 126:2-3, which seemed to sum up our experience the previous weekend: Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.