Mobile Apps Support Ethnic Languages

Your support of “Radio” ministry in the modern day is something much broader than AM, FM and ShortWave broadcasts.  To quote a now somewhat dated commercial, “this isn’t your parent’s radio.”  At FEBC most of our languages have a broadcast, a web stream, audio on demand download and increasingly an App for smartphone that lets listeners find the content they want and form relationships with our country/language ministries via social media.   A good example of an on line web presence that will ask if you want to get the App for your phone is our new Cantonese local web radio offered by FEBC Hong Kong: SooRadio.net.

As of today, FEBC has more than 38 languages with streaming or audio on demand web services and at least 20 languages where the ministry has deployed a smart phone App.  I use the word at least because this area of ministry development is happening so quickly and in so many countries that my information is always behind the times.

And it isn’t just the big languages with a web presence.  With the ability to use templates provided by major app platforms even our tribal languages can mange to have Apps and a web presence.  You know kids these days always have a smart phone in their hand and they can watch or listen to any content they want.  We all work to promote professional content development by our fields and language teams so that they can compete with secular media for the clicks, likes and downloads that measure ministry effectiveness today.

FEBC is still committed to AM, FM and ShortWave radio too.  Each of these different media channels is effective in its own right and when targeted to appropriate language and cultural groups.  Even in the late 70’s, FEBC was focused on Short Wave radio as the only channel that was available in most of the areas where we work.  Now the first step in planting a new radio/web/social media ministry is to do an on the ground survey to find out what where the target population goes in terms of media channels for their news, information and entertainment. Using that information we can target a mix of effective channels to use in reaching that group for the gospel.  The goal is to be fruitful and efficient in ministry as we seek to reach people from every tribe and tongue and nation.  Thank you for supporting Chris and I, and FEBC International, as we pursue that goal.