Inspiracom CEO Glenn Laffite (right) with volunteer radio programmer Víctor Venalonzo of Bethany Church in the studio of network station KYRM in Yuma, Ariz.

(May 21, 2013 - by Ralph Kurtenbach and Harold Goerzen) As part of ongoing efforts to inspire people's response to the life-changing message of Christ, a media and teaching ministry at the U.S.-Mexico border, the World Radio Network (WRN), is launching its new name, Inspiracom.

"We've been known as WRN since 1982, but our name has never actually described who we are, especially in both English and Spanish," explained Glenn Lafitte, the network's CEO. "We were looking for a name that would unify all that we do with Spanish and English radio and in Spanish Bible correspondence."

Lafitte said the name's "inspire" aims to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit in people's lives. "The 'com' has lots of possibilities-communication, community, even communion" he added. "It also works well in both English and Spanish, and it's easy to pronounce."

Inspiracom is based within a restive region of North America deemed as the Western Hemisphere's only "global hotspot" by the Operation World prayer guide. The border region is listed along with Afghanistan and Pakistan, Somalia, the Korean Peninsula and 10 other areas "most likely to cause turmoil, conflict, suffering or even war in the coming years."

"These need to be covered in prayer," stated the 2010 edition of Operation World. Having served with the network for 25 years, Lafitte and his wife, Bonnie, have witnessed as dangers have mounted for those living in the border area. "Our hope is that the network can be used of the Lord to be a vessel of hope in Jesus to this hotspot where the network has ministered since 1978," Lafitte said.

Network station KVER in El Paso, Texas (foreground) reaches across the border to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, making Spanish gospel broadcasts available to about 3 million people.

Thirty-five years ago, the network became a cooperating ministry of HCJB Global. In 2005 it established its own legal identity. The informal April 1 launch of the Inspiracom brand throughout the 13 FM stations (plus more than a dozen repeaters), stretching from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Yuma, Ariz., will see each station begin using the new name.

Inspiracom's new logo, tagline and mission statement have yet to be approved by the board of trustees. The network's first station, KVMV 96.9, went on the air in McAllen, Texas, in 1972. Today the network's broadcasts are within hearing range of more than 13 million people.

Throughout the years, radio broadcasting has been the network's mainstay. However, Arron Daniels of the network's Sierra Vista, Ariz., outlet used social media and the Internet when his station responded to community needs during a huge conflagration in mid-2011 known as the Monument Fire. No rains had fallen for 200 days when the fire began in the Coronado National Monument near the Mexican border.

Staff at Daniels' station, The Spark, rallied listeners to help various agencies-including the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Cochise County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Forest Service-to provide refreshments to evacuees and firefighters.

A plane drops fire retardant on a growsing wildfire near Sierra Vista, Ariz., in mid-2011. Staff members from network station KWRB brought relief to firefighters and victims during the peak of conflagration.

"We're very thankful for the social media," Daniels recounted. "During times like this, Twitter has been extremely effective." In light of a changing media landscape, the name Inspiracom reflects well a broader communications approach that stations as well as the network at large have adopted.

Staff members at Inspiracom outlets in other border communities have not only weathered hurricanes, tornadoes and floods, but helped those affected by the natural phenomena. Teaming up with community volunteers, the stations' program hosts, managers and public relations specialists have helped with relief efforts and encouraged victims to move past difficult times.

Programming also includes content from the Academia Cristiana del Aire, a series of correspondence courses complemented by on-air teachings geared toward bi-vocational pastors. Founded in Ecuador as the Bible Institute of the Air (BIA) in 1949, the Spanish-language teachings and workbooks have helped meet the needs of radio listeners throughout Latin America.

Together the ministries exist to see people living at the crossroads of Spanish- and English-speaking cultures inspired through Christ-centered media and eternally transformed by God as they engage with relevant programming. Inspiracom will also retain a sub-brand, Radio Cadena Manantial, which delivers programs to Inspiracom affiliates (presently by satellite as well as the Internet).

Delmith Hunter, a staff member at KYRM in Yuma, counsels a listener via the telephone.

At the recent Expolit (Spanish Christian literature and music) exposition in Miami, Fla., Inspiracom's Spanish-language stations were honored with the "Eagle Award" for excellence among radio networks in the Spanish-speaking world.

"The ministry of Radio Manantial has been a great blessing in my life. I've been listening for five years and it's now part of my life," wrote one of the Inspiracom network listeners. "What a wonderful way to evangelize 24 hours a day with preaching and praise."

"You are wonderful instruments (angels on earth) of our Lord Jesus Christ that transmit so much peace to our hearts and minds," the listener continued. "Thanks for being there because you transform our life filling it with harmony, peace and blessing."

Sources: HCJB Global, Inspiracom {source}
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