Radio is one of the most powerful means to communicate the gospel, especially in rural areas. So says Gospel for Asia’s Daniel Punos. That’s why the missions group has been investing in radio outreach for more than 30 years.
Indeed, Punos says radio is more effective in Asia than the United States because people listen to it like they did during the golden age of radio: “Whole families gather around the radio in the villages. Communicating the gospel and God’s Word through radio is one of the most powerful means to communicate the truth of God’s Word.”
Punos reports GFA has more than 110 languages on the radio beaming into India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Burma and other countries in Southeast Asia. “We get over 1 million responses a year telling us that this is the first time that they’ve heard about Jesus,” adds Punos, noting those responses sometimes reveal unique conversion experiences.
Punos says radio is able to go into areas antagonistic to Christians: “Radio isn’t threatening. You can turn it off if you want to, so people don’t really feel threatened by the radio.”
While the anti-Christian sentiment isn’t a threat, Punos says radio is very effective in evangelism. “He’s not just preaching on the air, but we address specific difficulties and problems in society and families and individuals,” he explains. “We talk about the reasons, and then we talk about what the Bible says and how Jesus can answer these questions.”
While GFA is already having an impact in India, there’s still so much more to do. Punos wants to grow the outreach to at least 300 languages. In India alone, there are 1,000 dialects, he says, and these people need to hear the gospel.
According to Punos, radio goes ahead of their people. He tells us about one listener’s letter, who writes: “Every morning we gather around the radio and listen to the broadcast. We’ve all given our hearts to Jesus. Can you please send someone to tell us what to do next? I mean, a church was planted before even one of our people got there.”
