January 8th, 1990. That was our first day of broadcasting. WBVN was so much a "God work" to us.
In October 1987, for what I consider "unexplained reasons," I had told
my employer that I would be leaving that job. I didn't know when I
would be leaving. I did not know for what reason I would leave. But, it
had become "obvious" in my heart that I wouldn't be able to continue
working on a long-term basis with that company. That same October, a
friend called and told my wife that during one of her prayer times
she'd "seen my face" before her. She told Jane I should read Hebrews
10:35-36: "therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a
great reward, for you have need of endurance so that when you have done
the Will of God, you may receive what was promised." That had 1983 all
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see, in the summer of 1983, I had heard in an "unmistakable voice" a
promise from the Father. (Yes, it really did happen was just like I'm
telling it.) At the time it made no sense to me. Without revealing the
specific words, let me just say that it was a "word" that I had no
ability to fulfill or to perform. It hadn't come in a meeting and it
hadn't been delivered to me by anyone. To be perfectly honest, I felt
kind of silly about it, just keeping it to myself for many years. Then
in '87, something began to happen "in me," something pursuing me day
and night. It was something that "pulled me along" rather than me
pushing it. It was so strong. I remember walking down the hall at work,
walking toward the "boss's office" to turn in my resignation. Just as I
was about to knock on the door I knew immediately I should not go in. I
returned to my office, shut the door, paused and prayed a short prayer.
"Endurance…so that you will receive the promise" reoccurred in my mind.
Within a couple weeks, on January 14th, 1988, a man came into my office
and said there was an existing radio station for sale in the area and
"had I ever thought about doing a Christian Radio station?" "No! Not
me! Never crossed my mind!" Let me make it perfectly clear how I felt
about that suggestion: "Too much risk, not enough security, too much
money to start, not enough courage!" That's how I felt!
Uncharacteristically, within two weeks someone gave me $5000 with no
strings attached. Two days later, the first "fella" was asking me if I
had decided, "to go for it." Well to shorten the story, let me just say
that on the 15th day of March 1988, we were to sign contracts to
purchase that existing station. Just as amazingly, suddenly that same
day, the other party backed out of the sale. It seemed that everything
that had "pulled us along," everything that seemed so right, so
perfect, now was falling apart. At that same time, two national
ministries had been exposed for misbehavior and received lots of
national media attention. The environment was not really advantageous
for starting a local ministry by some "up-shot" trying to share
Contemporary Christian Music. By that March I was unemployed and had
already signed a loan to purchase that existing station. No job and a
big loan! Some of our friends suggested it was the devil interfering
with the process, others suggested the Father that had influenced the
situation. Jane and I prayed. We didn't do much talking, but a lot of
listening. Listening to our hearts and not our heads. Oh, we had many
thoughts, but we wanted to be lead by the inner person, listening to
the Spirit of Christ that dwelt within us. It was like being on a road,
not knowing the next destination and not being able to see around the
next curve but required to keep moving just the same.
Six months later, on August 25th 1988, we filed a petition with the
Federal Communications Commission for a new FM station license. There
had been no FM license available for this area until that day. That
summer, a special "window" was opened for a new broadcast station in
Carrier Mills, IL. We were told no ruling would come for at least for
one year, perhaps two, if someone challenged the application. Then,
just as suddenly as when every thing had turned bad, a "being pulled
along" began again. Things began to go in our favor. On April 21st,
1989, six months earlier than we were lead to believe by our FCC
attorney, we had a construction permit issued to us. We weren't sure
what to do next, but we believed that it was the fulfillment of a
promise made to our hearts 7 years earlier. On January 8th, 1990, WBVN
went on the air broadcasting a Keith Green song titled "The Victor" and
we began broadcasting CCM over WBVN.
Year seventeen begins in just a few days. We don't have a "fail-safe"
plan for the future. We live on a budget that operates 60 days at a
time. We've pledged to stay until we know God would have us do
differently and as long as we're relevant in our listeners' lives. Even
though we don't have a guarantee about tomorrow, we still believe God
is "pulling us along." We know how vulnerable we are in our own
ability. We're very aware of how the Father has blessed us rather than
having been "smart" enough to run a radio station.
Just like the first day, we still depend on listeners to keep us on the
air. They've done that for over 8 million minutes now. Our Message
hasn't changed. We still share a "Word" of Grace and Peace with our
listeners. Ironically, the purpose and vision of this ministry is not
nearly as complicated as the "mechanism of broadcasting" over FM 104.5.
One is miles of wires, and rooms full of computers and transmitters,
monitors and mics. The other is simply the encouragement found in
sharing the Love of God with our listeners using Contemporary Christian
Music.
We are so grateful for your partnership for these 16 years. I recently
heard Ryan Dobson say on Focus On The Family Daily broadcast while
talking about the ministry he's involved with: "All this and Heaven
too!" I thought that was a pretty good statement about what we get to
do here. "All this and Heaven too!" It's been a joy for us. We've had
such wonderful people work for us and many terrific volunteers over the
years. For 13 straight years our listener support has met the entire
budget needs of WBVN.
We've seen hardships and miracles. A few have accused that CCM is not
really Christian music at all because of it's contemporary sound and
the "fun" it is sometimes. At the same time, we've had letters and
phone calls that 'tearfully' offer expressions of how much these lyric
and tunes mean to people. We live in a very difficult time and having
the opportunity to have shared this Message and encouragement over the
16 years has been a tenderhearted experience for us and we trust for
our listeners as well. Thank you for all the kind words and prayers. We
obviously are grateful for the contributions that have kept WBVN here
for 16 years. How certain are we that God has been in this experience
and wishes to continue and use this ministry to encourage the believers
that choose to listen to FM 104.5? "Without a doubt," "absolutely,"
"10-4," "Positively," "For sure," "It's a deal," "Certainly,"
"Emphatically," "Roger," "Affirmative," "As sure as the sun comes up in
the morning," "O.K.!" "Yeah!" "Yes," "For sure," "Where do I sign?"
"Amen!" In 2006, may God bless this area in some small way through
programming heard over WBVN. |
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