MINISTRY: What is Adventist World Radio, and what does it do?
Haylock: Adventist World Radio (AWR) was created for the purpose of broadcasting the gospel to areas where it was difficult, if not impossible, to penetrate through formal evangelistic endeavors.
Even though that is still the basic objective, the mission has been expanded to include beaming the last-day message to all the world because radio waves directed to any particular area reach into many other countries as well.
MINISTRY: How did AWR get its start?
Haylock: In 1969 the General Conference appointed a committee to look into the feasibility of worldwide shortwave broadcasting. The idea had been suggested by several people, including H.M.S. Richards, Sr., founder of the Voice of Prophecy radio broadast.
MINISTRY: Where did it begin?
Haylock: For years we had been broad casting into Europe from a commercial station in Tangier. This station was shut down when the government of Morocco changed, and the transmitter was transferred elsewhere. That station's owner began planning to build a bigger and better station in Portugal and invited the General Conference to use the new facilities when they were completed. By 1969 this new station was under construction, and we were informed that broadcasts could begin in the fall of 1970. That was the spark that the General Conference Communication (formerly Radio/TV) Department needed to ignite the idea of Adventist World Radio.
MINISTRY: How many stations are operating now, and how much of the world is covered?
Haylock: Adventist World Radio owns stations in Italy, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Guam. In addition, we lease time on Radio Trans-Europa (Portugal), Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (Sri Lanka), and Radio Africa No. 1 (Gabon). Our broadcasts from these seven stations effectively cover about 75 per cent of the world.
MINISTRY: One of the most exciting projects right now is, of course, the new KSDA station on Guam. Where did the idea for such a huge station on a remote island come from?
Haylock: During the planning stage in 1969 the world was divided into four operational areas by grouping together the various divisions. The initial charter en visioned Adventist World Radio as an inter-division organization of the General Conference capable of coordinating broadcast efforts between two or more divisions.
At the request of the General Conference, a well-qualified broadcast engineering company undertook a feasibility study in 1977 to outline a global strategy in broadcasting for the church. Subsequently, Asia and the Far East were given the highest priority because of the density of the population there.
When I arrived at the General Conference in 1980, I was assigned the task of looking for a suitable location for a station in the Far East. The details of that search are too extensive to relate here, but we concluded that Guam offered the best possibilities.
Once the site was chosen and the construction permit granted by the Federal Communications Commission of the United States Government, the 1984 Annual Council voted to make this new station the General Conference session offering project for 1985. An offering committee was named and goals totaling $5 million were recommended. Alien Steele was appointed manager and began organizing a team in January 1985. Of fices were opened on Guam, land secured, building permits re quested, blueprints approved, roads cut, and by March 1986 the construction of the AWR-Asia broadcast center began. A year later KSDA went on the air for the first time. We experienced the miraculous guidance of the Holy Spirit every step of the way through this project.
MINISTRY: What is happening at KSDA now?
Haylock: Since the end of October KSDA has been on the air an average of 32 transmitter-hours a day (16 hours per day on each of the two transmitters), broad casting to the countries of Asia and the Far East in 14 languages. Programs are produced in the countries where the languages are spoken. Some countries such as India and the Philippines produce programs in more than one language. The programs for the largest language block, Mandarin, are produced in Hong Kong.
MINISTRY: How is all this paid for?
Haylock:Production expenses for programs are the responsibility of the field that produces them, but KSDA broadcasts them free of charge. The operation of the station is supported by free-will offerings and a General Conference appropriation. The Adventist World Radio 1988 budget is more than $2 million.
MINISTRY: What sort of response is our programming getting?
Haylock: So far this year AWR has received more than 6,000 letters from 114 countries. Some correspondence comes from people who are curious about short wave broadcasting, while others respond because of interest in the messages broad cast. Bible correspondence schools in the target areas process these responses and cultivate the interest. Of course the number of those who listen far exceeds that of those who write to us.
MINISTRY: What are your hopes for AWR's future?
Haylock: KSDA (Guam) is the largest AWR station. We hope to have similar stations in each of the four areas of operation so we can broadcast the gospel 24 hours a day and fulfill our global strategy.
The stations in Italy and Costa Rica need to be upgraded in order to realize their full potential. We also need to add doz ens of languages to our program schedule in order to reach millions in our potential audience that we are not yet reaching.
MINISTRY: How can individual pastors and church members help?
Haylock: If they are living within reach of a station signal, they can invite their friends to tune in to the broadcasts. Pro gram schedules and frequencies are avail able from the Adventist World Radio, Washington office, or their local communication department director. Individuals can also pray for the success of this evangelistic adventure and help nurture any developing interest in their area. And they can contribute annually to the support of the broadcasts. March 12, 1988, is Adventist World Radio Offering day. All offerings should be clearly marked Adventist World Radio and given to the local church or sent to AWR at 6840 Eastern Avenue N W., Washing ton, D.C. 20012.
