Some things are worth waiting for, including a radio station seven years in the making. Birth announcements will soon be going out, but until then, we want you to know that 1143 DZMR, our Cagayan Valley station in northern Luzon, Philippines, is now in its final stages of completion.

We’re particularly excited about this project, as the station’s 10-kilowatt transmitter will broadcast the gospel to a region dominated by 30 people groups known for worshipping spirits. FEBC will deliver the Good News to many of those groups in their heart language for the very first time.

Add to that the fact that many of the 4 million residents live in remote mountainous areas, making it difficult for pastors and missionaries to share the gospel with them. Radio waves, fortunately, are not hampered by such barriers!

Reaching New Ethnic Groups

When FEBC-Philippines began preparing for the new Cagayan Valley radio station, they initially chose four major ethnic languages to go on the air, then proceeded to train programmers. At the conclusion of the training, a broadcast schedule was prepared, which found its way into the hands of the Bugkalot tribe, an ethnic group living in the area.

Why Aren’t We On Your Schedule?

“We want our people to hear the Good News, too,” the Bugkalot pastors said. A couple of years earlier, Christian Bugkalots had been given wind-up radios by FEBC, and they later made a donation towards our Cagayan Valley radio station before it was built, eager to see the gospel broadcast in their region.

Emmanuel and Miriam Perez, the new station and program managers, assured the Bugkalots that they would also be trained. While several are pastors accustomed to public speaking, some of them have never used a computer or talked on the radio. So a great deal of training will be required. As Miriam put it, “This is a huge paradigm shift for them, as their villages only recently acquired access to electricity. Computers are a whole new world to them.”

Reaching Christians and Non-Christians

The current strategy for Bugkalot broadcasts is to produce a 30-minute daily program for the family, targeting non-Christians, as well as a 30-minute daily program for Christian growth. There are an estimated 5,000 Bugkalot believers in the Cagayan Valley, with hopes this number will increase through FEBC broadcasts.

Praise God for this kind of problem: pastors eager to be trained so they, too, can broadcast the Good News to their people!