Adventist leaders celebrate the expansion of Adventist World Radio on the continent.
More than 50 Adventist radio managers, technicians and communicators from three regions on the continent of Africa attended the Adventist World Radio (AWR) advisory last week to enhance skills and get equipped for excellence. Delegates met at the headquarters for the Adventist church in the East-Central Africa region, known as Advent Hill, in Nairobi, Kenya from June 23-June 27.
The specialized training conference, also known as an advisory, is sponsored once every five years by Adventist World Radio (AWR) and is a special time for radio producers to showcase the impact of radio ministry while demonstrating its unique ability to transform lives for God’s kingdom.
The African regions represented at the training included the East-Central Africa Division (ECD), the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Division (SID) and the West-Central Africa Division (WAD).
The event featured a plethora of dynamic presentations by experts from every region of the continent. Dowell Chow, president of the AWR said, “If the church relied on messages preached from the pulpits alone, we would not be as efficient in sharing the gospel, but radio the invisible preacher is proving to be very effective in accomplishing Matthew 24:14.”
According to church leaders, AWR has invested more than $1 million to help establish FM stations in Africa throughout the past decade. There are now at least 22 FM stations in the East Central Africa Region alone.
“This is overwhelming, in the last five years the radio ministry in Africa has expanded tremendously, and we are reaching more and more people. To God be the glory!”, said Greg Scot, vice president of AWR.
In some regions, the messages from AWR have reconciled people whose relationships have been marred by civil wars, genocide and other social discrepancies. In other regions, new churches have been organized as a result of listening to the Adventist messages of hope and wholeness.
While AWR leaders celebrated the advancement of Adventist radio in Africa, they are also requesting prayer for several challenges. Some delegates revealed many countries are still struggling to establish a radio station due to transmission issues or the lack of access to the digital technology needed to make AWR successful in their region. As an antidote to the scarcity of transmissions, others encouraged the development of online radio stations and live streaming.
Another challenge is how to effectively follow up with listeners, which is worse with shortwave broadcasters whose listeners live far from the source of the message. It was reported that some of the listeners who live in remote areas would be baptized if they were visited and given bible studies. But their locations, however, make it logistically challenging for members to visit.
Church leaders have already begun planning for the next advisory for the three African regions that will take place in South Africa in 2021.
