A powerful way to reach marginalized communities across borders, shortwave is highly effective at reaching remote audiences with the gospel, particularly in areas where Christians are persecuted.
Shortwave (SW) radio has a huge range – it can be received thousands of miles from the transmitter, and transmissions can cross oceans and mountain ranges. This makes it ideal for overcoming boundaries and obstacles, reaching nations without a radio network or where Christian broadcasting is prohibited. Shortwave transmissions are easy to receive too – even cheap, simple radios are able to pick up a signal.
Whilst FEBC uses all forms of media and digital technologies to share the Good News, short wave radio remains an important medium, primarily because it can still reach places other broadcasts cannot.
Reaching the least reached.
There still remains isolated communities and ethnic minorities to reach with the good news of Jesus. For those waiting to hear the name of Jesus for the first time, FEBC can use short wave broadcasts to reach hearts in places never reached before. It enables us to speak into the lives of the persecuted, refugees, ethnic minorities and those living in extremely remote parts of the world.
In north-east Africa and the middle east, where religious broadcasting
is banned, our local partners create audio content and broadcast it via shortwave transmission without risk of prosecution or persecution. In this region, which cannot be named, there are different religions, social systems and strict politics against Christian messages. No religious broadcasts are allowed within the entire country. In addition, more than 3/4 of the population live in remote rural areas where access to electricity, internet and other media simply doesn’t exist.
Short wave broadcasts are sent from outside the region where government leaders have no control over the content. They have the potential to reach more than 150 million people who would otherwise never hear about the love of Jesus.
An FEBC team member (country and name withheld for protection) shares his account of the lengths that are taken to share God’s Word. “We crossed national borders, drove on a road to the end of the line and then walked for five days through the mountains. We carried 120 wind-up shortwave radios.” This is the love and commitment to reach the unreached and hardest-to-reach.
