North America: Adventist Broadcasters Reach Out to Religious Stations

North America: Adventist Broadcasters Reach Out to Religious Stations

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | Mark A. Kellner/ANN

Seventh-day Adventist broadcast ministries, including one of the oldest religious programs continuously aired on radio, were prominently featured at the 2004 National Religious Broadcasters Convention, held in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dr. Charles F. Stanley, center, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, poses with Pastor John Lomacang and his wife Angela National Religious Broadcasters Convention.
Dr. Charles F. Stanley, center, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, poses with Pastor John Lomacang and his wife Angela National Religious Broadcasters Convention.

Seventh-day Adventist broadcast ministries, including one of the oldest religious programs continuously aired on radio, were prominently featured at the 2004 National Religious Broadcasters Convention, held in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Amazing Facts, 3 Angels Broadcasting Network, Breath of Life, Faith For Today, It Is Written, Loma Linda Broadcasting, SafeTV and the Voice of Prophecy were all exhibitors at the event; The Quiet Hour, the Adventist Media Center and Adventist World Radio each sent representatives to the conference, which drew 6,000 delegates from around the world.

Blue Mountain Television, a viewer-supported Christian station affiliated with 12 Seventh-day Adventist churches in Walla Walla, Washington, won a first place “People’s Choice” award from NRB members for their program, “Escape.” The show won a third place award in 2003.

According to Dr. Frank Wright, president and chief operating officer of the NRB, the association’s members are glad to have Adventist broadcasters in their midst as co-workers in ministry.

“I think the National Religious Broadcasters has progressed to where people don’t think about denominational differences,” he told ANN. “These ministries are all part of the body of Christ.”

Composed primarily of evangelical Protestant broadcasters, the NRB has not always been a place where Adventists were warmly welcomed. In the more than three decades since the Voice of Prophecy was admitted to NRB membership, however, misconceptions and prejudices about the church have melted.

“Being here, we’ve been able to knock down walls of prejudice” surrounding the Adventist Church, said Pastor Lonnie Melashenko, speaker/director of the Voice of Prophecy, which celebrates its 75th year of broadcasting in 2004. He said the VOP was able to gain airtime in St. Louis, Missouri, and Las Vegas, Nevada, because of the contacts made at NRB events.

Pastor Doug Batchelor, speaker/director of Amazing Facts, also praised the show for the range of contacts it affords a ministry.

“The wonderful aspect of being at a convention like this is that we encounter myriads of leaders in religious broadcasting that tell us they’re being impacted positively by our ministry,” he said.