August 13, 2011 – Tegucigalpa, Honduras…Libna Stevens/IAD Staff
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Honduras recently obtained new radio stations that are now carrying hope to nearly half a million people in areas not touched by the church.
Estéreo Advenimiento 89.5 FM which focuses on Choluteca in the south of Honduras and Adventist Hope 106.5 FM which focuses on Roatán and three surrounding islands in the Bay islands region, became the newest additions to a church bursting with more than 237,000 members. The first radio station to be run by the church, Galastero 96.9 FM, began broadcasting to La Ceiba in the Atlantic Honduras region a year ago.
“For us this is a great step,” said Arnulfo Angila, communication director for the church in Honduras. “Through these new radio stations we are able to preach the gospel to people and areas where we had not been able to reach.”
For nearly three decades, Estéreo Fe, a radio station managed by laypeople in Tegucigalpa, had been the only Adventist station in Honduras until Galastero 96.9 FM came along, according to Angila.
It’s been an arduous task, said Angila, but one that top local church leaders are working hard to invest in. A vote was taken earlier this year by church administrators to work towards obtaining one radio station per regional office in the country before the current quinquennium ends in 2015.
“By God’s grace we can say that it is very possible that before the end of the year we can have a radio station for each of our local church fields,” said Angila. “So far with Estéreo Fe, we are reaching 900,000 listeners with all running 20 hours every day except for Estereo Fe, which runs 24 hours a day, each carrying its own programming.”
With an estimated population of more than 7 million, church leaders continue planning on reaching more people with the truth, said Angila. Plans are underway to purchase another radio station in San Pedro Sula, one the most populated cities in Honduras with more than one million people.
“Negotiations are well advanced and we hope to soon purchase the station and purchase another one in the central region of the country, to continue spreading the gospel,” Angila added.
The church in Honduras oversees 416 churches, dozens of schools, a hospital, and ministers to more than 237,000 church members.
