GAYLORD E-FREE LIVE ON THE RADIO

Most of you know that I have a live radio show every Wednesday morning (around 8:20am) on 101.5FM here in Gaylord.  We now have been approached by 101.5FM with the exciting opportunity to also put on air our 9am Contemporary Worship Service live each Sunday.  101.5FM is a Classic Hits Station that reaches more than 20 counties in Northern Michigan and the upper Peninsula.  This is an opportunity that is right in line with our 3-year vision plan.  Below are some questions and answers:

  

When would this opportunity start?  Sunday, July 7

What station will our service be aired on?  101.5FM

Will this service be aired live or taped and edited?  This would be a live broadcast of our 9am Contemporary Service

Will we have to shorten our service from 70 minutes down to 60 minutes to keep it within an hour timeframe?  No!  The radio station is willing to air the whole service (9:00–10:10)

How much will this cost us as a church?  This will cost us just $100/week.  That’s $100 for 70 minutes of live air time

Are there any technology needs/costs for this to happen?  All we need to do is purchase one device (roughly $200).  Using our high speed internet, we would then take a main audio output from our sound board and plug it into this device and we are set.  Our sound man will then initiate the connection each Sunday and the radio station will have a person back in their studio who would confirm the connection and text back and forth to our sound man if anything needs adjusted

Is there any drawback to doing this?  The only drawback is the quality of the music as it is aired live.  To do that right, you really need to run the music through a separate sound board so it can be mixed differently than it is in the Gospel Center.  However, we are not ready to do that.  As a result, the quality of the music element over the radio will not be to the level it is in the Gospel Center but it will still be good.  This is something we can improve upon as we move forward.

Will putting our services on radio really bring about fruit?  There is no doubt that it will.  Technology is a very powerful tool.  Earlier this month I opened the Michigan State Senate in prayer.  We posted a video of this 2-minute prayer on our church Facebook page and in less than 24 hours over 5,000 people had watched it.  Our services on radio will move us from “addition” to “multiplication” when it comes to “meeting and moving.”  We have the advantage that the 101.5FM listeners are already familiar with me through my weekly live radio show.  As I use this Wednesday radio show to promote our Sunday morning services on the radio, they will be much more likely to listen. 

Won’t putting our services on the radio result in many people stopping to attend and just listening at home?  That is highly unlikely.  The people who attend are here for more than just hearing the service.  They are here because of the atmosphere and the fellowship that cannot be experienced over the radio.  While there may be a handful of people who quit attending, the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people who will begin hearing our message that do not go to church anywhere will far outweigh this in fulfilling our vision as a church

How do we come up with the money for this?  Obviously, this is not in the budget.  Our cost for July-December should not exceed $3,000.  If 30 people were to each give a one-time gift of $100 over and above their regular giving, we would be set.  If you would like to be one of these 30 people, mark your gift “radio” and give it through the offering or by mailing it to or dropping it by the church office.  We do ask that this gift be above regular giving so as not to hurt our present ministry.  

Why should we do this?  This opportunity is a bulls-eye to our vision and will allow us to go to the next level in meeting as many people as possible right where they are so we can move them closer to where God wants them to be.  God has opened this door of opportunity.  As an Elder Board we are 100% convinced that this is an opportunity that we need to take as a church and we ask you to join us in praying for it.