Probably no other phase of our work has bounded forward so rapidly as radio broadcasting of the advent message. I have read with interest the accounts of radio evangelism printed in the Ministry, and I venture to relate my own experience and convictions. About a year and a half ago I was asked to take over a radio program which had been operating for a number of years. It was started by others, and carried on under various names. Since taking over in 1940, I have used the name "Prophecy in the News." We find that such a title arouses interest and attracts the eye, as people generally are interested in both prophecy and news.
Our work, is similar to other radio work carried on by our ministers. We give a book a month, send out free Bible studies, offer free copies of sermons to get names, and send out form letters. We announce our church or hall meetings, and preach the message. There are some things about the Prophecy in the News program, however, that may be different from others.
First, it is an out-and-out Seventh-day Adventist broadcast. At the beginning and end of each program it is announced: "This broadcast is sponsored by the Iowa Conference of Seventh-day Adventists." People who listen know to whom and to what they are listening. When they ask for literature, they know what they will get. This adds to the prestige of the denomination and tends to break down prejudice. It is also a great help to our local work, and advertises the local church.
Second, most of our radio work is on the small stations or a chain of small stations. But our program is broadcast from one of the nation's most powerful stations, WHO of Des Moines. This station has a frequency of 1,040 kilocycles, a power of 5o,000 watts, and is a clear-channel station. It can be heard direct over half of the United States. We receive mail from listeners in half of the States of the Union and half the provinces of Canada. Tests and polls would seem to show that WHO is the favorite station of more than five million listeners.
This, of course, brings up some problems which will need to be worked out. We are sending Bible studies into many different States, directly benefiting other conferences. There needs to be a clearing-house arrangement among our conferences.
It is not only in the faraway places that an interest is aroused by the radio. I have found that this work very definitely helps my local and district work. In the larger churches there are always a number of aged and infirm who are not able to attend the regular church services as they would love to do. To these, as well as to our isolated members scattered
throughout the district and the State, the radio message each week is a source of great comfort and encouragement. It keeps them in close touch with the church, and many are the letters of thanks and encouragement, and the requests for prayer, that come in, as well as dollars to keep the program on the air.
Sometimes I think that we little realize the tremendous possibilities that are ours in radio work. A short time ago one of our sisters came to me to tell me that one Sunday she was in one of the large drugstores downtown, and there, gathered around a radio, was a group which she estimated at seventy-five listening to the Prophecy in the News broadcast. We think of people gathering in such groups to listen to ball games or the news, but not to the third angel's message. God is using the radio in a strong way.
The experience of writing out a prophetic sermon each week has probably been of greater value than I anticipated. It has taught brevity, condensation, and accuracy. It is amazing how much doctrine and instruction can be put into fifteen minutes each week.
We know definitely of hundreds and thousands of dollars of tithe and mission funds that are being brought into the church as a result of radio contacts. The old saying, "The light that shines the farthest, shines the brightest nearest home," is always true of the radio. It enters the homes of high and lowly, and carries a message direct to the heart. As a result, persons are saved, barriers are broken down, and there is an increase in church attendance.
I believe we are seeing just the beginning of God's power in giving the message wings. The radio is truly one of our greatest agencies in scattering a knowledge of God's last message.
