Covenant News

New Directions Taking Shape for Russian Christian Radio

MAGADAN, RUSSIA (July 26, 2001) - Changing times often require changed strategies. That is nowhere more apparent than the Covenant-supported Christian radio ministry in Russia.

Christian Radio for Russia is a new organization created to aid radio stations in Russia, helping to ensure that Christian radio projects in Magadan and Moscow will continue. It also will work to see that program support for Alaska-based KICY Radio will remain a force in Russia. Dan Johnson is the director of Christian Radio for Russia, working with a seven-member board of directors. Besides its office in Moscow, a liaison branch will be located at First Covenant Church in Jamestown, New York.

The Board of World Mission of the Evangelical Covenant Church has adopted new policies to guide future mission work in Russia. The new policies eventually will lead to development of self-governance and self-support on the part of New Life Radio in Magadan and New Life Satellite Radio in Moscow, moves designed to help ensure long-term stability. Both stations will become involved in raising financial support for these ministries. The World Mission department will continue partnering with HCJB, a worldwide Christian radio organization, in supporting these radio ministries.

Nationwide direct-to-home satellite radio is being broadcast to Russia, according to Johnson. Since June 2, there has been four hours of broadcasting to the Russian Far East via KICY. There is AM broadcasting in Moscow and the region and FM broadcasts reach to Chechnyia, nearly 1,000 miles from Moscow. Other FM stations will be starting in the near future, said Johnson, who has been involved in Christian radio to Russia since 1993. He has worked with radio broadcasts in that country since 1988.

"We surmounted the technical and legal hurdles," said Johnson. Our budget is $150,000 for Moscow radio, which isn't that substantial. But many people don't know we exist. The challenge is to get the word out because we're trying to build a Christian communications infrastructure, which doesn't currently exist. Christian radio is nonexistent in about 99 percent of the country. Our goal is to promote the development and expansion of Christian programming."

Russia is a country of 200,000,000 people in an area that covers 11 time zones - it runs from the Bering Strait to St. Petersburg. As big as this country is, Johnson knows that the Moscow and KICY connections can blanket the area with total signal penetration. "Any area of the country, even the most remote, can get direct-to-home programs, except the far eastern area of Russia, which is covered by KICY," Johnson noted.

For more information on Christian Radio for Russia, contact Johnson by mail at First Covenant Church, 520 Spring Street, Jamestown, NY, 14701, or by email at crfr@juno.com. The Christian Radio for Russia website is www.christianradiorussia.org.

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