World Radio Day on 13th February gives us a chance to celebrate radio and the ways it is able to shape our lives.

"Radio informs us and transforms us, through entertainment, information and audience participation.  Having a radio means you are never alone – you always have a friend in radio." 

(About World Radio Day website, 2017).

This week as the world revels in the unique medium of radio, Feba's CEO, Bob Chambers reflects on radio's remarkable power:

My wife and son took part in a survey recently and had to document all their radio listening over a period of one week – even the few minutes snatched in the car on a school run! I suspect some of you will have taken part in similar research at some point, and I wonder what your station or programme preferences / habits might be?

At Feba, we obviously recognise and seek to harness something of the remarkable power of radio. Our project portfolio, focusing on areas such as health and wellbeing, peace and reconciliation, the persecuted church, emergency response communications, displays some of the varied and creative ways in which our partners are using radio to demonstrate and proclaim God’s love.

...we’re focused on opportunities to use audio media for mission, at the centre of which must always be our love for God and our neighbour

Bob Chambers, Feba CEO

We work across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, through local partner organisations.  Wherever our partners are located or whatever they’re broadcasting, relationships with listeners are key, for without an audience their broadcasts would be worthless. That’s part of the reason we work with them on design, monitoring and evaluation of their projects, emphasising the need for two-way communications and ongoing ‘listener engagement’.

Love of God, love of mission, love of radio

It was wonderful to spend some time with the Yemen Project team members in November, hearing more about their work and getting to know them better. One of the things that struck me was the potent combination of their love for God and their love for the people of Yemen. The team’s enthusiasm and commitment to the ministry was unmistakable, and it was clearly fuelled by that love; I believe the level of engagement they have with their listeners is, at least in part, due to that love, too.

Right across Feba’s portfolio of projects, we’re focused on opportunities to use audio media for mission, at the centre of which must always be our love for God and our neighbour. The outworking of that will take various forms dependent on context, and some of our supporters do have particular favourites; I don’t know what you would choose to ‘tune in’ to, but whatever your preference I do sincerely hope that you will continue to be inspired by the radio ministry our partners undertake.  

Do please like and follow our Facebook page for updates and read more about that remarkable power of radio in our blogs "Open Mic" and "Stories".

Thank you once again for your partnership with Feba.

Bob Chambers, Feba CEO.