On the evening of Sunday, January 14, 2017, a phone call came from one of our faithful partners and associates in ministry. A staff of a radio station in town had approached him about their station’s (JayFM 101.9) plan to start a family-focused program.
We were ecstatic! For more than a year, we had been praying and seeking radio stations to air our recorded family programs from our international office. No station was ready to do this for free. They were demanding money, which we did not have. Hence our tapes remained on the shelves.
We booked an appointment and had a meeting with the management team of JayFM 101.9, Jos. They were pleased to know what our ministry is doing in bringing help and hope to families in the midst of moral pollutions and the abuse of the marriage institution going on in society. Surprise, surprise! The management wanted a live program and not prerecorded messages. We were asked to start the following Sunday (four days’ time)! Hosting a radio program at that time was nowhere in our thoughts, let alone having a plan. Well, we trusted God and started as requested by the management. For one hour, 6pm to 7pm every Sunday, we usually teach/discuss marriage and family-related issues and topics for about thirty to forty minutes, then open the phone lines to listeners to phone in and ask questions, share their concerns, ask for counsel, etc.
Another surprise! One of our callers that very first episode said, “Thank you for this program and what you are sharing. Today is my first time listening to this program [he didn’t know it was our own first time of doing it too!], but my own marriage situation is so serious at the moment that it can’t be discussed on radio. I need ample time to share my problems, and I need to see you face-to-face for counseling. Please, how can I meet with you?” We gave him our personal line, he called back the following day (Monday), and booked an appointment to meet with us on the following Wednesday. That was how Wednesdays have become our counseling day for our radio listeners whose cases cannot be briefly addressed on the air or via a private phone call during the week.
God is always ahead of us! This station reaches Plateau State and some parts of neighboring states (Kaduna, Bauchi, and Nassarawa States). Then one evening, a listener called and said he was calling from Akwa-Ibom State. We were shocked, only for the engineer on duty to tell us that the caller must have been listening via the internet. He educated us further that people have been listening to us beyond what we know, and that anyone can listen to us in any part of the world by downloading the station app—“JAYFM.”
This program has now given us more open doors for ministry—to share the gospel with thou
sands on the radio waves, one-on-one via phone calls, and during individual and couples’ counseling sessions.
PRAY FOR US! Because of the location of Plateau State, we have lots of Muslim listeners. Some have been calling in on the program. Pray for creative wisdom to share the gospel each week. Pray that many will come to the knowledge of Christ. Pray for divine wisdom to give godly counsel every time. And pray for the prosperity of JAYFM Radio station.
