Sharing International

Radio Broadcast Training in the War Zone·

Dr. Charles Pollak, Sharing International

My Lebanese newscaster’s lips quivered as he stood in the studio doorway, “God bless you, my brother Chuck Pollak. Our brother, Raschi, was killed last night.” Rockets and bombs hurled toward us frequently, sometimes daily, at the Voice of Hope Christian Radio stations in Southern Lebanon. Our American and Lebanese staff had grown accustomed to the terrifying daily interruptions in this war zone. We knew death was always a possibility, but somehow it all seemed far off, and that it wouldn’t really be expected of us. Nothing could have prepared me for the words I heard that morning. We trained every member of the national staff. We knew and fellowshipped with their families. Our children played together. I deeply respected their passion for Christ as these new broadcasters daily risked their lives to boldly proclaim the Gospel. They, as we, were aware that some of the most dedicated listeners were terrorists who noted their names and waited for an opportunity to kill them — and their families — and silence the message of hope and peace.

For the first time in 30 years of broadcasting, my voice caught and came in sobs before I could cut my microphone. Many things flashed through my mind as shock, sorrow and grief settled in my heart. Raschi was a friend, the father of four children, one only two days old, and he desperately wanted to serve Christ as a pastor someday. Was the price too high to spread the Gospel, would our staff give up and desert he work in a justifiable attempt to protect their families? One by one the staff of the Voice of Hope gravitated to the station, driving through a battle zone to get there. We grieved, wept and prayed together, American and Lebanese, believers seeking their God not knowing why Raschi had to die, but trusting in His care. What happened there that day changed my life forever. After prayer, the Lebanese staff recommitted their hearts, their lives and their families to serve God, without reservation. The American staff was more committed than ever to proclaiming the Good News over the air waves in that turbulent part of the world. What the Lord was doing through the radio station was much bigger than any one of us. My admiration for the staff soared. We Americans could go home someday and recount wonderful, challenging stories about “the field.” But these folk burned with such a passion to reach their nation, gripped in an unrelenting, brutal civil war. They would stay, for it was their country. They would take what we had started and use it for God’s glory, whatever the cost. Raschi was the first, but he wasn’t the last. Several more went to be with the Lord … we grieved, but also rejoiced, knowing they would meet many souls in eternity who were there as a direct result of the broadcasters’ efforts.

Basic Training

Since that time, I have had the privilege to train leaders in many countries experiencing the freedom of deregulation that makes Christian radio possible. Without exception, I find a deep-seated love for the Lord and a call from God to reach their people for Christ through media. They lack only the practical training to make it a reality. We in American Christian broadcasting are blessed with expertise and a rich heritage from those who went before us, who had a powerful impact for the cause of Christ, ensuring that we would have that same opportunity to serve the King through broadcasting. In so many nations, this has yet to happen. Their airwaves are open for the first time in history. How the media are used and who sets the agenda and priorities will determine the course of broadcasting for the next few decades. In some countries, secular commercial interests, unfettered by immature regulatory systems, air content that would not be allowed in the United States. What responsibility do we as Christian broadcasters have to those in many nations who may only know how to turn a radio on and off, but yet have a call to reach their country for Christ? I believe those of us who have ability are required to share with others who have heard the call but don’t know how to begin or maintain the work. “To whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48).

International War Zones

Many international ministries have made it their business not only to spread the Gospel through their own stations with missionaries at the controls, but also to equip nationals to do it themselves. They’ve done this without strings attached, seeking only to train, disciple and then pull out as a matter of strategy. Shortwave pioneers HCJB, Trans World Radio, IBRA, Far East Broadcasting and others that broadcast into closed and remote areas developed training programs, planning for the day when foreign missionaries would no longer be able to remain. Meanwhile, newer ministries such as Handclasp, Radio Africa Network, United Christian Broadcasters, International Communication Training Institute (ICTI) and our own Sharing International have joined in, conducting seminars in emerging nations for believers whom God has called to reach their own people with the Gospel through radio and television. We use international broadcast professionals and faculty who donate their time and pay their own expenses to share what they know with national organizations radically dedicated to the message of Christ, no matter the cost.

The concept of “sharing what we know” is central to the Gospel message. Peter heard the Macedonian call to “come over and help us,” empowering the Macedonians in Word and practice to reach their own people in their unique cultural setting. In many areas of the world, deregulation and privatization of the air waves is in full swing. Countries whose people thought of radio as a tool in the hands of their government now have the first irresistible taste of media that is driven by the Holy Spirit and the needs of the audience. Many research studies show that messages embedded in popular music or television programs over time will influence heavy users of those media, leading the audience to adopt a program’s depiction of reality as truth. Airwaves filled with rock music embracing the culture of death and TV screens overflowing with sex, drug use and violence set new standards that developing countries see as harmful to their youth and their culture. Countries that enjoyed strong family ties and values, manageable crime rates and social stability find themselves dealing with the rise of gangs, promiscuous youth and the deconstruction of the family unit.

A study of regulatory cycles shows that once standards are set in government or by the society as a whole (barring any radical revolutionary change), several decades elapse before that standard is changed. If the standard set is a godly one, the cycle is the same. Christians in these developing nations have the opportunity to set the broadcasting agenda, both Christian and mainstream, for many years to come — all our brothers in those countries need is for you and me to show them how.

These are people like you and me who volunteer their services for the short-term. Sharing International accomplishes its goals and strategies with a methodology evolved over the past 15 years. When would-be broadcasters request assistance, the process of building a team of possible trainers and facilitators begins. Volunteer trainer data stored in a specialized database includes: the regions to which each is willing to travel, 30 professional specialty categories, three support categories, demographic and contact information. Telephone and internet forums are used to contact members, initiate interest, assemble the training team and strategize with regard to the objectives of the trip. Each member of the training alliance plans from the convenience of home or office. Since most trainers are from Western countries, they generally pay airfare to the host country. Once in the host country, all travel expenses, food and lodging are furnished by the national organization. This is a vacation like no other.

The trainers include technicians, engineers, producers, managers, industry professionals, consultants, teachers and academics. The requirements of each particular trip differ: time of year, financial arrangements and costs, host region, broadcast ministry proposed, spiritual conviction, and communication strategy of the organization. The team is assembled in accordance with the particular objectives of the host organization, its broadcast ministry objectives, and an assessment of what objectives and goals can be accomplished during each visit. Each volunteer media trainer prayerfully considers the opportunity presented. Many use their vacation time. Most return home blessed by receiving far more than they invested in eager, would-be broadcasters.

There are many Raschis out there serving in Christian radio and television, often in dangerous or difficult conditions. They are committed to do what God has directed, regardless of our help. All they need and want to know is what we know; they want to glean from our experience in order to reach their countrymen in their own way with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your experience may not be in a war zone as mine was; but we will share the satisfaction of “entrusting to faithful, brave and dedicated men that which was entrusted to us” (2 Timothy 2:2) and watching as they win spiritual battles in their nations for Jesus.

Charles T. Pollak, Ph.D., is the Director of Radio for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and President of Sharing International. Contact him at ctp@sharingonline.org or Sharing International, 17866 State Hwy 110 N, Garden Valley, TX 75771, (903) 963-3536. To become a volunteer nationally or internationally, request a registration form from Dr. Don Clark, (info@sharingonline.org).