Radio CCM, a Christian Polish radio network founded by a former underground ministry during the Cold War, has added a new, more powerful transmitter from the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., more than doubling the coverage area of its Chorzów outlet.

More than 4 million people in the area now have access to local Christian broadcasts, and the six-station network can potentially reach the entire Silesia region of southern Poland.

"This is huge," said Mike Dworak, sub-regional director for Central Europe. "It takes a lot of work, a lot of people and a lot of prayer to accomplish something of this magnitude." It is estimated that less than 2 percent of the population in Poland are believers.

Thousands of listeners have responded to the programming since the network began with a single transmitter in Oswiecim (Auschwitz) in 1998. "Your evening programs are deeply moving," wrote one listener recently. "The testimonies of changed lives remind me that God is in control. May Radio CCM lead many more people to an encounter with Jesus!"

When asked about specific needs for the ministry, Dworak replied, "Please pray for the continued health of the Radio CCM staff as they strive to help the network become self-supporting and for the ability to better publicize the stations and spread God's Word."

Radio CCM is owned and operated by DEOrecordings, a Christian nonprofit organization founded in 1975 with the primary goal of spreading the gospel through music and the mass media.