There are a number of people teaching God’s word in the world,
but not all of them have as much name recognition as evangelist
ministers Pastor John MacArthur or Pastor Chuck Smith.
The Calvary Chapel of Russell has applied for a radio station
license from the Federal Communications Commission that will bring
more voices to the ears of local listeners.
“We want to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” said
Jim Stowe, associate pastor of Calvary Chapel. “The most effective
way to do that is through teaching God’s word.”
The church has two non-commercial, educational applications
currently pending with the FCC; one for a station using an existing
tower in Bradford at frequency 90.5 FM and another for an existing
tower in Tidioute at frequency 88.7 FM. The FCC opened a brief
window Oct. 12 through Oct. 22 for the application of
non-commercial, educational licenses, something the agency had not
done in a few years.
The radio station would be an extension of the church’s
educational programs, including religious education, fellowship,
and strengthening family and social values, Stowe said. The station
would also “provide a hub where people in the Christian community
can know what is going on,” Stowe said. Music will also be a part
of the planned 24-hour/seven-days-a-week station.
Information about community events, local high school sports,
local high school events, local Christian events, as well as
weather warnings and school closings will be covered. Calvary
Chapel will be able to reach nearly 60,000 people in the Bradford
and Tidioute areas with a broadcast area of about 1,500 square
miles, according to the applications.
“It will be a local radio station and very much have a
commitment to the local community,” Stowe said.
The station will also be a training ground for secondary
students at Calvary Chapel Secondary School who are interested in
broadcasting or journalism fields, Stowe said, adding Calvary
Chapel is also willing to discuss partnerships with community
groups.
Not all of the details of the stations are worked out yet. The
location of the stations have not yet been decided, but will be in
or close to Bradford and Tidioute, Stowe said.
Station staff has yet to be picked and the church is praying for
the right person to oversee the station, he said.
Calvary Chapel began the application process in August by
preparing documents and enlisting a broadcast engineer to do a
feasibility study for a non-commercial broadcast signal in the area
and help with the application. The church looked at possible
locations within 25 miles of Russell. Both the Bradford and
Tidioute applications were submitted Oct. 14.
The FCC recently announced its list of approvals and denials,
but Calvary Chapel didn’t make either list. Its application has
been deemed “tendered for filing,” which means the proposed
stations have one or more conflicts with other pending radio
stations. Stowe said he was unsure of what the conflicts could be
but said the church has until Jan. 7 to make the necessary changes
to its application. The FCC will then assign points to all
“tendered for filing” applications and grant licenses to stations
with the highest number of points.
Calvary Chapel has been recording sermons over the last 10 years
and began hosting them on their Web site about three years ago. The
church may broadcast online someday, but not anytime soon, Stowe
said.
The main Calvary Chapel, of Costa Mesa, Calif., was granted a
license by the FCC to hit the radio air waves in 1985, fulfilling a
prophecy set nearly 20 years prior. Smith began ministering at the
church in 1965, church members heard a prophecy saying Smith would
come and lead the church, the church would grow and be blessed by
God, and would be on the radio. The church is not only in radio
today, but television, and Internet broadcasts and podcasts. Many
of the over 1,300 affiliate churches operate radio stations.
