More than 345,000 people living in Constanta, Romania, a strategic port city on the Black Sea, can now hear Christian radio broadcasts in their native tongue through a joint effort of HCJB World Radio, the Romanian Missionary Society (RMS) and local believers.

The station is part of the Radio Voice of the Gospel (RVG), a nationwide network of eight Christian FM stations. HCJB World Radio and RMS helped with equipment and funding for construction and materials that were purchased locally.

Station Manager Bogdan Vlagea and his young 20-something staff began broadcasting at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by station managers from most of the other seven network stations along with local pastors and supporters. HCJB World Radio Romanian Director Steve Hunter also attended. The initial broadcasts were followed by a three-hour dedication service at the Second Baptist Church where the studios are located.

Hunter says the station will easily cover the entire city's population as well as "many more listeners within a radius of 30 to 40 miles from the city center." Constanta is the largest seaport on the Black Sea with commercial vessels arriving from around the world to serve Eastern Europe.

RVG had included Constanta in its original strategy to blanket Romania's main population centers with Christian radio programming. However, the initial application for this license was denied. About three years ago when authorities reopened bidding for licenses in Constanta, RVG reapplied and was granted the license for the eighth station in the network.

To lay a foundation for the station, a local advisory committee was formed to develop local support. The chairman is Daniel Fodorean, a young Baptist pastor who works in the Constanta area. He has planted 69 churches throughout eastern Romania in the last 10 years. It was through Fodorean's initiative that space for the radio studios was offered in the Second Baptist Church's educational building.

Plans are also under way to place RVG programs on Europe's digital direct-broadcast satellite radio system. Unlike XM or Sirius satellite radio in the U.S., the new service will not require listeners to pay a subscription fee. Many Europeans already have the inexpensive satellite receivers that will pick up the broadcasts.

During Hunter's recent visit to Romania, German engineer Matthias Barthel provided a satellite training session for RVG station managers. This training, held two days prior to the dedication of the Constanta station, set a basic groundwork for a new satellite ministry with plans to begin operations in early 2006. The licensing agreement with the Romanian government requires satellite broadcasting to begin before the start of 2007.

Satellite broadcasts will reach all of Romania as well as Romanian speakers in other parts of Europe. "For the first time since its inception, RVG will have, by means of the satellite, the technical facility to carry simultaneous programming on all eight stations-something that has not been possible until now," Hunter explained. "The highest quality programs from each of the stations will then be carried on the network. In addition, individual stations will still broadcast local programs, weather and news."

HCJB World Radio and the Romanian Missionary Society assisted Romanian Christians in establishing RVG soon after the fall of communism in 1989. HCJB World Radio has provided all of the network radio stations with equipment, training in broadcast arts and technical help.

RMS assisted with personnel and funding for construction and furnishings. Moody Radio also provided numerous seminars in Romania as well as training for key Romanian personnel at WMBI, Moody's Chicago station.

Source: HCJB World Radio