5/01/2006

NWR Makes Radio Ministries Possible for Many Churches
Low cost can give every church its own station and ministry outreach

GREG JOHNSON
DAKOTA VOICE

Imagine your church having its own 24x7 radio station featuring CD quality broadcasts of the most popular Christian music listened to today. Your church is also reaching out with the Gospel to thousands of people daily. Sound like something for the megachurches only? Not anymore.

In 2004, Christian radio veterans Mike Trout and Rick McConnell founded Next Wave Radio Network in Colorado Springs, CO. Mike began his broadcasting career in 1967 at Biola and later spent 20 years helping to build the broadcast outreach of Focus on the Family. Rick started broadcasting in 1978, with most of his career in Christian radio and ministries, including 6 years with Focus on the Family. NWR was launched to enable churches to expand their outreach through the growing Internet radio medium. Today there are approximately thirty million regular Internet radio listeners in the US alone. This is an increase of over 50% in just one year according to a recent study by Arbitron/Edison Media Research, "The Infinite Dial: Radio's Digital Platform".

NWR is staffed by creative professionals who are experienced in radio, ministry, and graphics design. Dakota Voice contacted Joe Muench, Inspirational/Adult Contemporary Music Consultant for NWR Network.  Joe resides with his family in Rapid City, SD. He is also the General Manager of The Body Builder Christian Bookstore in Rapid City. Since 1979, listeners across the country have heard Joe on many radio stations. Joe told Dakota Voice, "We're launching into several formats over the next few months...I'm taking the Inspo/AC format,... Bob Blue is heading up the Contemporary Hit Radio format, and we'll likely be adding Rock, Southern Gospel, Traditional, and other formats, as well."

Next Wave Radio Network provides customized internet radio stations for churches and organizations who seek to reach online radio listeners. Clients are provided their own distinct internet radio station which they can use to broadcast live church services, promote upcoming ministry events and offer contemporary Christian music.

In addition to offering online radio stations, NWR Network also provides online sermon archiving. Church family, visitors, and those who are seeking can listen to clear broadcasts of any or all sermons that are recorded during services - anytime. The radio spots featured during the music breaks can be those created by NWR’s professional announcers and they can also be 15, 30 or 60 second announcements by church staff or family. Highlights from sermons and devotionals can be broadcast around the clock as well. Contributors (underwriters) can also use these spots to get their businesses mentioned, and quickly defray the very modest fess charged by NWR.

All that is needed for a church to provide their own Christian radio to the world is a simple website where listeners can simply click and listen. Churches can expand their web site to offer training, downloads, Bible studies, great links and more. You can order a demo CD and brochure or listen to a 20 minute example of the radio programming at NWR’s web site. The online demo is provided for both dial up and broadband connections. They also provide links to many of their client church sties where you can view each church’s web site and listen to their radio stations. Read the How it Works section on NWR’s web site, and you will probably begin to see a lot of really neat possibilities for your church.

I’ve listened to the music on NWR’s site and on several of their clients’ church sites. The programming and music listening quality is excellent with a broadband (cable modem) connection. I compared these broadcasts to other popular Internet radio broadcasts and there is a difference with NWR’s technology. It is as they say, “CD quality stereo.” I realize there are a lot of people who use dialup modem connections that are much slower, but NWR states that these will give listening results that are similar to FM radio – not bad! Again, if you're a Church interested in NWR's services, you can visit them on the web at www.NWRNetwork.com, or call Mike Trout at (719) 477-6932