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International South Carolina: College trains ministers to broadcast the gospel
International South Carolina: College trains ministers to broadcast the gospel 
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| South Carolina: College trains ministers to broadcast the gospel |
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All Rights Reserved The Associated Press State & Local Wire October 31, 2003, Friday, BC cycle SECTION: State and Regional LENGTH: 741 words HEADLINE: College trains ministers to broadcast the gospel BYLINE: By RON BARNETT, The Greenville News DATELINE: GREENVILLE, S.C. BODY: Michael Brown turned a knob on the control panel at North Greenville College's radio studio, adjusted his headphones and cleared his throat. "This the Lunchtime Show with Mike Brown," said the 19-year-old freshman from Columbia to anybody within a 10-mile range who might be listening. The college's low-power FM station doesn't reach much farther than Travelers Rest, but it's part of a fast growing mass communications program at the school - itself part of a fast growing industry: media ministry. As WLFJ - the Greenville-based contemporary Christian radio station - expands its reach as far north as Durham, N.C., and south to Savannah, Ga., North Greenville College is expanding its programs to meet the demand for people who have both technical know-how and ministry skills. "There's just all kinds of things that are happening, not only in radio stations," said Allen Henderson, general manager of WLFJ and an adjunct professor in the North Greenville program. "Churches and other ministries are using the computer to broadcast music and teaching and other kinds of things too." North Greenville this fall started a new degree program for "media ministers." Linwood Hagin, chair of the college's mass communications program and a member of a church media committee through the National Religious Broadcasters, said his research showed that no college in the country was offering such a program. "So I'm thinking there's an opportunity here to actually train students and direct students toward that particular type of career," he said. More churches are using sophisticated equipment such as TV projectors, Powerpoint presentations and videos to enhance services, as well as to broadcast the message, he said. "It's not you have to come to church and hear a message. You can hear a message almost anywhere today," he said. The college is also converting a room in its student center into a TV studio, which will be run by students. "When I came here, that room that you see there was just a closet full of junk," TV instructor Shurajit Gopal said, pointing to a small room filled with computers he has reconfigured into video editing machines. Gopal's arrival at North Greenville two years ago shows the reach of media ministry as well. He was teaching in Madras, India, when he stumbled across the college's Web site and was struck by a digital photo of a statue of Jesus washing Peter's feet and the words "Where Christ Makes the Difference." "I sent my resume, and within two and a half months I was here," he said. He hopes to expand the TV program beyond the campus cable system it now operates on to a global system. "And I think that will happen," he said. There's good reason to expect growth in Christian radio as well. According to the 2002 Directory of Religious Media, the number of Christian radio stations grew from 399 in 1971 to 1,631 in 2002. The Arbitron Radio Today 2003 Edition lists 1,843 such stations. A survey by the Barna Group, a California-based organization that tracks trends in Christianity and society, shows that 48 percent of Americans listen to Christian radio each week. Entercom Communications, owner of several other radio stations in the Upstate, recognized the market for contemporary Christian music and last month switched two of its FM stations from an "80s and more" format to "positive country and contemporary Christian." "The decision for us to do that was based upon the fact that Christian music has grown to become such a mass appeal radio format nationwide, and we found through a couple of studies that we did that it has a specially strong appeal in the Upstate," said Nikki Nite, program director for the stations, called The Walk. More market research showed "a natural synergy" between contemporary Christian and country music, she said. What's positive country? "We actually listen very carefully to the lyrics of every song that we've added to The Walk," she said. "Basically, they are songs that either have a spiritual message in them or they are songs that are positive about life experiences." The new station will stay away from preaching. "We really feel like the music speaks for itself," Nite said. Christy Pryor, head of communications for the National Religious Broadcasters, said this format is relatively new. "Country has its basis in gospel music anyway, so it's a natural marriage in my mind," she said. LOAD-DATE: November 1, 2003 |
