HCJB
Encyclopedia
HCJB, "The Voice of the Andes", was the first radio station with daily programming in the South America
n country of Ecuador
and the first Christian missionary radio station in the world. The station was founded in 1931 by Clarence W. Jones, Reuben Larson, and D. Stuart Clark.
, and the son of a Salvation Army
minister. Following his graduation from Moody, Jones worked under evangelist Paul Rader
and was part of the founding staff of the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle where Jones assisted in leading music, working with youth and overseeing Rader's weekly radio ministry called "WJBT" (Where Jesus Blesses Thousands) Impressed by the impact Rader's radio ministry had made, Jones felt called to establish missionary radio in Latin America
. As a result, Jones traveled to Venezuela
, Colombia
, Panama
and Cuba
on a seven-week trip in 1928 looking for a suitable location for his envisioned radio station, but was unable to obtain the necessary government permits. Back in Chicago
nearly two years later, Jones met Christian & Missionary Alliance (CMA) missionaries from Ecuador
- Reuben and Grace Larson, John and Ruth Clark and Paul and Bernice Young. These missionaries encouraged Jones to consider Ecuador as the place to start his missionary radio station.
As the first step in fulfilling his vision, Jones needed to obtain a contract of approval from the Ecuadorian government for setting up the radio station. Reuben Larson and D.Stuart Clark, along with Ecuadorian lawyer Luís Calisto, worked to procure the initial contract. On August 15, 1930, the Ecuadorian Congress approved a bill which granted Jones a 25-year contract to operate a radio station in the country.
As with all countries having a governing body over broadcast operations, the call letters HCJB were obtained through the government of Ecuador, beginning with the internationally allocated prefix for Ecuador's broadcast stations (HC). Station co-founders Jones and Larson advocated for, and were granted by the government, call letters that were an acronym indicative of the stations' agreed upon purpose. The result was Heralding Christ Jesus' Blessings. In Spanish (one of the original broadcast languages of the South American station) the call letters represent Hoy Cristo Jesús Bendice.
Jones incorporated the World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc.
(WRMF) on March 9, 1931 as a non-profit entity and overseeing organization over HCJB. Jones was also the non-profit corporation's first president. The corporation's first officers were Adam Welty as treasurer, Ruth Churchill, secretary, and Lance Latham
and his wife, Virginia, along with Howard Jones and Reuben Larson serving on the board of directors.
HCJB's first broadcast on Christmas Day, 1931 had the potential of being heard by the six radio receivers capable of receiving the program and existing in the country at the time. The inaugural program was broadcast in English and Spanish from a studio in the Joneses' living room and powered by a 200-watt, table-top transmitter. The antenna used was a simple, single wire antenna strung between two make-shift telephone poles. The broadcast lasted 30 minutes.
Initially, HCJB only broadcast programs in English and Spanish. In 1941, however, live programs were added in Russian, Swedish and Quichua. By 1944, the station had aired programing in 14 languages including live programs in Czech, Dutch, French and German. Programs in languages such as Arabic, Italian and Hebrew were recorded elsewhere and sent to Quito on large acetate coated aluminium transcription discs. By 1967, live programming would be added in Portuguese and Japanese.
Following the first years of HCJB's broadcasts on 50.26 meters (5986 kHz), the shortwave
frequencies utilized by HCJB for its broadcasts from Quito were 6050 kHz, 9745 kHz, 11775 kHz and 15155 kHz. As the station's wattage increased, shortwave
radio enthusiasts in North America started receiving the station's broadcasts, submitting reception report
s in order to provide the HCJB engineers feedback on the station's signal strength and quality. Since a popular practice in the hobby of shortwave radio listening was to request a QSL card, HCJB started creating its own QSLs in 1932. By the 1970s, the station was one of the most powerful and most readily received shortwave stations. HCJB was heard around the world and received hundreds of letters each week with reception reports from shortwave DX
ers. The correspondence department of HCJB would respond in kind to its listeners with QSL cards and Christian tracts. As requests for QSLs became more frequent, HCJB missionary and radio engineer Clayton Howard suggested a shortwave listeners' club be created. In 1974, the Andes DXers International, (or "ANDEX") began. Members would receive a membership certificate and membership card with the member's name and individual member number, along with Howard's signature. ANDEX eventually had a membership in the thousands and continued as a service of HCJB until 1996.
Since the station's first year of broadcasting, staff members produced the HCJB's own original radio programming. HCJB's original programming has ranged from programs completely in Quichua (the primary language of the people of the Andes
), Andean-music programs, Christian music programming, talk and mail-reading programs featuring mail received from listeners around the world, Bible study and teaching programs, and programming featuring information about shortwave radio listening. Some of the most popular HCJB-produced programs over the years have been "Morning in the Mountains," "Musica del Ecuador", "Musical Mailbag," "Happiness Is" and "DX-Partyline." "DX-Partyline" was hosted from its inception by HCJB missionary Clayton Howard and his wife, Helen. The program was heard for more than 40 years, twice a week, and included the reading of letters from shortwave listeners around the world as well as DX
and reception reports sent to the station. "DX-Partyline" also included shortwave radio
listening tips, information on antennas, and equipment reviews. Programs not produced by HCJB were also broadcast from the Quito station. Typically of a religious nature, some of the non-HCJB produced programs broadcast from the station were the Pacific Garden Mission's
"Unshackled!
", the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association's Hour of Decision
, the Salvation Army
's "Wonderful Words of Life" and Moody Bible Institute
radio station WMBI
's "Nightsounds" with Bill Pearce
, among many others. Much of HCJB's original programming also included music recorded, produced and performed by HCJB missionaries. Much of the HCJB-produced music broadcast on the station was also available on LP record albums
and later on cassette tapes.
HCJB Global Technology staff members are involved in research, development, training and technical support for AM, FM and shortwave radio stations as well as satellite distribution and satellite-based Internet services. In recent years they developed station automation systems and a fixed-tuned, solar-powered SonSet radio that can be pretuned to pick up a specific Christian radio station. HCJB Global staff have been active in pioneering equipment and software for a form of digital radio broadcasting called DRM
.
. According to HCJB Global President Wayne Pederson, the change was made because, “the way people consume media has changed, so we have the opportunity to change to delivery systems such as satellite, AM/FM and the Internet. The closing of shortwave in Latin America is strategic because of the planting of local radio stations across the region and around the world. These stations are staffed and programmed by local Christians who can speak to the culture in their own communities.” HCJB Global's focus is now on “radio planting”—assisting local Christian ministries in beginning implementing their own Christian radio ministry. Worldwide, more than 350 local stations have been assisted in this type of endeavor, including nearly 60 stations in Latin America
alone. Although the historic station and transmitter sites in Ecuador will no longer operate on the shortwave bands, Shortwave broadcasts continue from HCJB Global Australia's site in Kununurra, Australia
and from commercial broadcast sites and partner ministry broadcast sites around the world.
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n country of Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and the first Christian missionary radio station in the world. The station was founded in 1931 by Clarence W. Jones, Reuben Larson, and D. Stuart Clark.
History
Radio station HCJB started as the vision of Clarence W. Jones, a musician, graduate of Moody Bible InstituteMoody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute is a Christian institution of higher education and related ministries that was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Since its founding, MBI's main campus has been located in the Near North Side of Chicago. MBI's primary ministries are education,...
, and the son of a Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
minister. Following his graduation from Moody, Jones worked under evangelist Paul Rader
Paul Rader (evangelist)
Daniel Paul Rader was an influential evangelist in the Chicago area during the early 20th century and was America's first nationwide radio preacher.-External links:**...
and was part of the founding staff of the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle where Jones assisted in leading music, working with youth and overseeing Rader's weekly radio ministry called "WJBT" (Where Jesus Blesses Thousands) Impressed by the impact Rader's radio ministry had made, Jones felt called to establish missionary radio in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. As a result, Jones traveled to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
on a seven-week trip in 1928 looking for a suitable location for his envisioned radio station, but was unable to obtain the necessary government permits. Back in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
nearly two years later, Jones met Christian & Missionary Alliance (CMA) missionaries from Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
- Reuben and Grace Larson, John and Ruth Clark and Paul and Bernice Young. These missionaries encouraged Jones to consider Ecuador as the place to start his missionary radio station.
As the first step in fulfilling his vision, Jones needed to obtain a contract of approval from the Ecuadorian government for setting up the radio station. Reuben Larson and D.Stuart Clark, along with Ecuadorian lawyer Luís Calisto, worked to procure the initial contract. On August 15, 1930, the Ecuadorian Congress approved a bill which granted Jones a 25-year contract to operate a radio station in the country.
As with all countries having a governing body over broadcast operations, the call letters HCJB were obtained through the government of Ecuador, beginning with the internationally allocated prefix for Ecuador's broadcast stations (HC). Station co-founders Jones and Larson advocated for, and were granted by the government, call letters that were an acronym indicative of the stations' agreed upon purpose. The result was Heralding Christ Jesus' Blessings. In Spanish (one of the original broadcast languages of the South American station) the call letters represent Hoy Cristo Jesús Bendice.
Jones incorporated the World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc.
World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc.
World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc., also known as HCJB Global, is a corporate entity and nonprofit, noncommercial, interdenominational worldwide missionary organization with headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado.-History:...
(WRMF) on March 9, 1931 as a non-profit entity and overseeing organization over HCJB. Jones was also the non-profit corporation's first president. The corporation's first officers were Adam Welty as treasurer, Ruth Churchill, secretary, and Lance Latham
Lance Latham
Lance Brenton Latham, 1894-1985, was a prominent preacher, evangelist, youth minister, and musician in the early to mid-20th century in Chicago, Illinois....
and his wife, Virginia, along with Howard Jones and Reuben Larson serving on the board of directors.
HCJB's first broadcast on Christmas Day, 1931 had the potential of being heard by the six radio receivers capable of receiving the program and existing in the country at the time. The inaugural program was broadcast in English and Spanish from a studio in the Joneses' living room and powered by a 200-watt, table-top transmitter. The antenna used was a simple, single wire antenna strung between two make-shift telephone poles. The broadcast lasted 30 minutes.
Frequencies, QSLs, and programming
Following the first years of HCJB's broadcasts on 50.26 meters (5986 kHz), the shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
frequencies utilized by HCJB for its broadcasts from Quito were 6050 kHz, 9745 kHz, 11775 kHz and 15155 kHz. As the station's wattage increased, shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
radio enthusiasts in North America started receiving the station's broadcasts, submitting reception report
Reception report
A reception report is a means by which radio stations receive detailed feedback from their listeners about the quality and content of their broadcasts...
s in order to provide the HCJB engineers feedback on the station's signal strength and quality. Since a popular practice in the hobby of shortwave radio listening was to request a QSL card, HCJB started creating its own QSLs in 1932. By the 1970s, the station was one of the most powerful and most readily received shortwave stations. HCJB was heard around the world and received hundreds of letters each week with reception reports from shortwave DX
DXing
DXing is the hobby of tuning in and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens' band radio or other two way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to receive written verifications of reception from the...
ers. The correspondence department of HCJB would respond in kind to its listeners with QSL cards and Christian tracts. As requests for QSLs became more frequent, HCJB missionary and radio engineer Clayton Howard suggested a shortwave listeners' club be created. In 1974, the Andes DXers International, (or "ANDEX") began. Members would receive a membership certificate and membership card with the member's name and individual member number, along with Howard's signature. ANDEX eventually had a membership in the thousands and continued as a service of HCJB until 1996.
Since the station's first year of broadcasting, staff members produced the HCJB's own original radio programming. HCJB's original programming has ranged from programs completely in Quichua (the primary language of the people of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
), Andean-music programs, Christian music programming, talk and mail-reading programs featuring mail received from listeners around the world, Bible study and teaching programs, and programming featuring information about shortwave radio listening. Some of the most popular HCJB-produced programs over the years have been "Morning in the Mountains," "Musica del Ecuador", "Musical Mailbag," "Happiness Is" and "DX-Partyline." "DX-Partyline" was hosted from its inception by HCJB missionary Clayton Howard and his wife, Helen. The program was heard for more than 40 years, twice a week, and included the reading of letters from shortwave listeners around the world as well as DX
DXing
DXing is the hobby of tuning in and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens' band radio or other two way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to receive written verifications of reception from the...
and reception reports sent to the station. "DX-Partyline" also included shortwave radio
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
listening tips, information on antennas, and equipment reviews. Programs not produced by HCJB were also broadcast from the Quito station. Typically of a religious nature, some of the non-HCJB produced programs broadcast from the station were the Pacific Garden Mission's
Pacific Garden Mission
Pacific Garden Mission is a homeless shelter in the South Loop section of Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1877, by Colonel George Clarke and his wife, Sarah. It has been nicknamed, "The Old Lighthouse." It is the oldest such shelter in Chicago...
"Unshackled!
Unshackled!
Unshackled! is a radio drama series produced by Pacific Garden Mission, in Chicago, Illinois, that first aired in 1950. It is the longest-running radio drama in history and one of very few still in production in the United States...
", the Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
Evangelistic Association's Hour of Decision
Hour of Decision
Hour of Decision is a weekly radio broadcast by the Dr. Rev. Billy Graham. Graham began it with a few of his own dollars and ties with a radio station through a friend at his old church. As more and more people listened to the show, donations poured in to keep the show on the air...
, the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
's "Wonderful Words of Life" and Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute is a Christian institution of higher education and related ministries that was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Since its founding, MBI's main campus has been located in the Near North Side of Chicago. MBI's primary ministries are education,...
radio station WMBI
WMBI
WMBI-FM is an FM Station broadcasting on 90.1 MHz in Chicago. WMBI is owned and operated by the Moody Bible Institute and broadcasts from their campus in downtown Chicago. WMBI is the flagship station of Moody Radio. Moody Radio owns and operates 37 stations around the country and the network...
's "Nightsounds" with Bill Pearce
Bill Pearce
Bill Pearce was an American singer, solo trombonist, nationally syndicated broadcaster and inductee into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame....
, among many others. Much of HCJB's original programming also included music recorded, produced and performed by HCJB missionaries. Much of the HCJB-produced music broadcast on the station was also available on LP record albums
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
and later on cassette tapes.
Milestones and achievements
- 1931 - The station's first broadcast using a 200-watt transmitter designed and built by HCJB Engineer Eric Williams.
- 1936 - An RCA medium-wave transmitter is added.
- 1937 - The addition of a 1,000 watt transmitter designed and built by HCJB Engineer Victoriano Salvador.
- 1940 - The station adds a 10,000 watt transmitter designed and built by HCJB Engineer Clarence C. MooreClarence C. MooreClarence C. Moore was an engineer and minister at Radio Station HCJB with primary transmitters in Quito, Ecuador. He went on to found International Radio and Electronics Corporation in Elkhart, Indiana which was renamed Crown International in the 1960s at the suggestion of his wife Ruby...
, allowing the station's broadcast signal to reach around the world.
- 1940 - Clarence MooreClarence C. MooreClarence C. Moore was an engineer and minister at Radio Station HCJB with primary transmitters in Quito, Ecuador. He went on to found International Radio and Electronics Corporation in Elkhart, Indiana which was renamed Crown International in the 1960s at the suggestion of his wife Ruby...
invents, and later patents the cubical quadQuad antennaThe quad antenna is an antenna which is frequently used by amateur radio operators. It consists of a driven element and parasitic elements, like a Yagi; however, the elements are square loops. If there is only one parasitic element it is referred to as a 'Cubical Quad' .- History :It was developed...
antenna and puts it into use at HCJB.
- 1952 - the station moves its shortwave broadcasting to a new site in Pifo, Ecuador.
- 1956 - HCJB begins broadcasting with its first high-powered 50,000 watt transmitter designed by HCJB Engineer Herb Jacobson and built by HCJB engineers and staff.
- 1965 - The station's own hydro-electric plant at Papallacta begins generating electrity to power shortwave broadcasts from Pifo.
- 1967 - The station purchases three RCA 100,000-watt shortwave transmitters. The units required extensive reworking and entered into service in 1968, 1969 and 1970.
- 1979 - The construction of a steerable antenna is completed.
- 1981 - A 500,000-watt shortwave transmitterTransmitterIn electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
capable of overcoming any Russian jammingRadio jammingRadio jamming is the transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. Unintentional jamming occurs when an operator transmits on a busy frequency without first checking whether it is in use, or without being able to hear stations using the frequency...
efforts is put into use. The transmitter was designed and built by HCJB Engineers at facilities loaned by Clarence MooreClarence C. MooreClarence C. Moore was an engineer and minister at Radio Station HCJB with primary transmitters in Quito, Ecuador. He went on to found International Radio and Electronics Corporation in Elkhart, Indiana which was renamed Crown International in the 1960s at the suggestion of his wife Ruby...
at Crown InternationalCrown InternationalCrown International, or Crown Audio, is a manufacturer of audio electronics, and is a subsidiary of Harman International Industries. Today the company is known primarily for its power amplifiers, but has also manufactured microphones, a line of commercial audio products as well as digital audio...
in Elkhart, IndianaElkhart, IndianaElkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
.
- 1982 - A second hydro-electric plant at Papallacta to provide power for the station's shortwave broadcasts is added.
- 1986 - The HCJB World Radio Engineering Center (now called the HCJB Global Technology Center) was created at the Crown International facilities under the direction of David Pasechnik. The goal was to design and build HC100 (100,000-watt) shortwave transmitters for HCJB and its the ministry's contributors in the "World by 2000" challenge.
- 1990 - The first HC-100 (100,000-watt) transmitter goes on the air in Quito, Ecuador. Since that time eight more HC-100s were built and put into use by the World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc.World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc.World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc., also known as HCJB Global, is a corporate entity and nonprofit, noncommercial, interdenominational worldwide missionary organization with headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado.-History:...
in Ecuador, Swaziland and Australia.
- 1992 - A radio station in BukavuBukavuBukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo , lying at the extreme south-eastern extent of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the Sud-Kivu province and as of 2009 it had an estimated population of...
, ZaireZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
is "planted" by HCJB. The station used a portable FM transmitter designed and built by staff at the HCJB Engineering Center.
HCJB Global Technology staff members are involved in research, development, training and technical support for AM, FM and shortwave radio stations as well as satellite distribution and satellite-based Internet services. In recent years they developed station automation systems and a fixed-tuned, solar-powered SonSet radio that can be pretuned to pick up a specific Christian radio station. HCJB Global staff have been active in pioneering equipment and software for a form of digital radio broadcasting called DRM
Digital Radio Mondiale
Digital Radio Mondiale is a set of digital audio broadcasting technologies designed to work over the bands currently used for AM broadcasting, particularly shortwave...
.
End of a broadcasting era
After nearly 80 years of shortwave broadcasting from Ecuador, Radio Station HCJB ended the remaining regional shortwave transmissions on Sept. 30, 2009. The international transmitter site in Pifo was dismantled to make way for the city of Quito's new airportNew Quito International Airport
The New Quito International Airport is an airport being built in the Tababela parish, about 20 km east of Quito, Ecuador, to replace Mariscal Sucre International Airport. Work on the facility began in 2006 and is expected to be completed by November 2011. A renegociation of the financing...
. According to HCJB Global President Wayne Pederson, the change was made because, “the way people consume media has changed, so we have the opportunity to change to delivery systems such as satellite, AM/FM and the Internet. The closing of shortwave in Latin America is strategic because of the planting of local radio stations across the region and around the world. These stations are staffed and programmed by local Christians who can speak to the culture in their own communities.” HCJB Global's focus is now on “radio planting”—assisting local Christian ministries in beginning implementing their own Christian radio ministry. Worldwide, more than 350 local stations have been assisted in this type of endeavor, including nearly 60 stations in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
alone. Although the historic station and transmitter sites in Ecuador will no longer operate on the shortwave bands, Shortwave broadcasts continue from HCJB Global Australia's site in Kununurra, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and from commercial broadcast sites and partner ministry broadcast sites around the world.
See also
- World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc.World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc.World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc., also known as HCJB Global, is a corporate entity and nonprofit, noncommercial, interdenominational worldwide missionary organization with headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado.-History:...
- Mission Aviation FellowshipMission Aviation FellowshipMission Aviation Fellowship is a Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indigenous villagers in the world's most remote areas...
- Shortwave listeningShortwave listeningShortwave listening is the hobby of listening to shortwave radio broadcasts located on frequencies between 1700 kHz and 30 MHz. Listeners range from casual users seeking international news and entertainment programming to hobbyists immersed in the technical aspects of radio reception and DXing...