(Oct. 7, 2011 - by Ralph Kurtenbach) "Reaching the Continent One Listener at a Time." It was an interesting theme given that radio is commonly known as a mass medium … and that an estimated 1 billion people live on the continent of Africa.

Yet it was exactly this message that Dr. Seth Anyomi delivered to those who gathered at the biennial Africa by Radio (AbR) Continental Conference in Accra, Ghana, Sept. 13-15.

Anyomi was among nearly 100 people from 19 African nations plus five other countries who discussed ways to reach their continent with the gospel of Christ. Participants learned of the need to reach a specific listener, profiled as "4/14," or children ages 4 to 14.

These children are increasingly being raised in child-led households due to war and disease, according to Sandy Day from Cape Town, South Africa, administrator of the Radio Africa Network and AbR's secretary.

"Radio is still the most listened-to medium in Africa and has the opportunity to speak into their lives as well as address biblical worldview values to all ages," Day continued. Many sessions dealt with practical learning of radio skills such as selecting a portable recorder, planning Christian programming and installing/maintaining transmitters.

Frederic Doumdingao (right) of Radio Voix de L'Esperance in Chad receives the Associates Recognition Award from Andrew Steele of the International Communication Training Institute (ICTI) in the U.K.

"Capturing information and reporting events happening in a station's community are vital to vibrant and relevant programming that increases audience participation and engagement," said Tim Miller, development director for FEBA Radio in East Africa. Portable digital recorders have shortened the time needed to bring coverage of events to listeners, but also heightened audiences' expectations of participatory-style programming.

The conference also treated the topics of online education, new media and even healthcare concerns.

"E-learning is probably the fastest growing type of learning opportunity in the world, including Africa," Svante Hektor of IBRA Media in Sweden said of electronic learning. He added that schools and universities offer online studies, but suggested that ministries could combine local hands-on experience with online resources for development of staff.

Balancing opportunities in new media with the reality of the digital divide, Mark Taylor spoke on "New Media Hype or New Media Hope? What Might We Expect to Be Able to Use in Africa?"

Lee Sonius, director of HCJB Global's Sub-Saharan Africa Region, addresses delegates at the Africa by Radio Continental Convention.

HCJB Global Voice's project director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Jeremy Maller, called the conference "an encouragement for all of us to be able to worship and fellowship together."

"Swahili, Ga, Éwé, Twi, Lingala, Amharic … oh and English and French and a few other African languages … that's how we worshiped God this morning at the Africa by Radio conference!" said Sheila Leech, HCJB Global's vice president of international healthcare.

Speaking to the group, Leech addressed healthcare needs and the accompanying opportunities for ministry. AbR has developed a Disaster Response Manual to instruct radio station staffs on how they can respond to disaster scenarios as well as diseases so listeners are kept informed and assisted in those times. The manuals are available for AbR associates as well as non-associates at a minimal cost (US$6) by sending an email to [email protected].

Convention delegates enjoy worship time.

Theo Asare of Theovision International spoke on offering pastoral care via the radio for rural Christian workers. Asare has collaborated with HCJB Global on radio and healthcare projects throughout Ghana. Another HCJB Global ministry partner, Étienne Kiemdé of Radio Evangile Développement (a network of eight stations) in Burkina Faso, was among those who spoke at the event.

"Although AbR identifies key cities and people groups for strategically targeting them with Christian radio, we are mainly concerned with encouraging, supporting and equipping local believers to do the work," Day concluded. "We also encourage networking towards shared programming and resources and try to provide information and support for emerging stations."

Source: HCJB Global