HCJB Global Becomes Reach Beyond

Reach Beyond’s Mission Manifesto articulates renewed passion and purpose in fulfilling the 82-year-old ministry’s efforts to reach the unreached

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – HCJB Global announced that the 82-year-old ministry, founded in Quito, Ecuador, is changing its name to Reach Beyond. The new name and the release of the Reach Beyond Mission Manifesto are intended to encourage and challenge Christians worldwide to reach beyond their comfort zones and perceived limitations to share the love of Jesus in places where the gospel has seldom, if ever been heard.

 

The mission is defined by the tagline, “The Voice and Hands of Jesus. Together.” Through its “voice” ministries, the mission works with partners to use radio and modern media to make the gospel accessible in places where it typically isn’t available.

 

The “hands” ministries of the mission provide much-needed healthcare service in places where even common medical help isn’t readily available. Reach Beyond “hands” ministries takes many forms including mobile community healthcare clinics, counseling centers in war torn areas, clean water projects and general hygiene training, all with an emphasis on demonstrating the love of Jesus to recipients of the care.

 

Reach Beyond also values partnership with local Christians, churches and ministry partners as its core way of operating, signified by the word “together” in its tagline.

 

“For more than 80 years our missionaries and partners have boldly been going to places where people have never had the opportunity to experience the love of God,” said Wayne Pederson, President and CEO of Reach Beyond. “But now is the time to accelerate and multiply those efforts. Through the use of modern media and healthcare we work arm in arm with partners to show people that a relationship with Jesus Christ can change their lives forever.”

 

The “Reach Beyond Manifesto” challenges believers to reach beyond borders and their own comfort level in an effort to accomplish the Great Commission. It serves as a declaration for how the renamed Reach Beyond wants to invest its time and efforts in making Christ known to the ends of the earth. It’s also a call — and a challenge — for other Christians to recommit themselves to the same effort.

 

To read and sign the Manifesto, visit www.reachbeyond.org

 

“With all the technology, knowledge and experience available to us today, there is no reason why we can’t make Christ known to everyone on the planet,” said Pederson. “We hope the ‘Reach Beyond Manifesto’ causes all like-minded Christians to renew their commitment to demonstrate God’s love as His ‘voice’ and ‘hands.’”

 

Founded in 1931 as World Radio Missionary Fellowship Inc., Reach Beyond has focused on making disciples of Christ around the world. With ministries in more than 100 countries, Reach Beyond equips partners to air Christian content in more than 120 languages and dialects. The name change also reflects the ministry’s ongoing international focus and commitment to reach areas where less than 2 percent of the population is Christian.

 

“Adaptability has always been a strength of the mission,” said Curt Cole, Executive Vice President of International Ministries. “When the best model was to own a large hospital or broadcast over shortwave radio, the mission leveraged those strengths. Today, technology and the world are changing, and we are adapting. That’s why we place such a high premium on partnerships with local Christians. They know their own culture and needs far better than we do. If the need is for a small, community healthcare clinic or a local FM radio station, we’re committed to equipping the people with all the resources they need to reach their own people in their own culture.”

 

HCJB Global’s “Beyond the Call” radio program, on more than 1,000 stations around the U.S., will now be called “Reach Beyond.”

 

“The new name is much more than a brand change,” Pederson said. “Reach Beyond is a reflection of our ministry DNA. It’s about doing whatever is necessary to reach those who have never heard the name of Jesus. In essence, it’s a call to Christians to reach beyond their comfort zones and challenges them to actively participate in making Christ known among the nations.”

 

The organization hopes the “Reach Beyond Manifesto” will serve as a call to action for Christians to focus their attention and efforts on those areas of the world where Christ has yet to be proclaimed.

“We hear it every generation, but perhaps it’s more true now than ever,” Pederson said. “We are at a pivotal time in our history. We have the means and ability to spread the message of Jesus to everyone who is alive today. We can accomplish this by renewing our commitment and reorganizing our priorities. Reach Beyond wants to be on the forefront of this new gospel era and encourage others to join us in making Christ known in every country, city, village and community around the globe.”

 

For 82 years the passion of Reach Beyond (formerly HCJB Global) (www.reachbeyond.org) has been to make disciples of Christ. Using mass media, healthcare and partnership around the world, HCJB Global has ministries in more than 100 countries. The gospel is aired in more than 120 languages and dialects. Thousands of healthcare patients are meeting Jesus. Local believers are being trained as missionaries, pastors, broadcasters and healthcare providers.

(Press Release)

HCJB Tech Center Celebrates 25

International religious broadcaster HCJB Global will note the 25th anniversary of its Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., on Dec. 15.

More at : http://www.rwonline.com/article/hcjb-tech-center-celebrates-/50848

HCJB Technology Center to Host Special Event for Amateur Radio Operators

(Dec. 9, 2011 - by Harold Goerzen) Amateur radio operators who listened to shortwave broadcasts from Radio Station HCJB, the Voice of the Andes, in Quito, Ecuador, will have an opportunity to make contact with the mission during a special weeklong event beginning Saturday, Dec. 10.

"The purpose of this special event is to reconnect with countless thousands of shortwave radio enthusiasts who listened to those international broadcasts," said David Russell, director of the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., that will host the event. "We have people lined up to operate the station that has been given the special call sign of W9H."
Many amateur radio enthusiasts worldwide attribute their interest in the hobby to an enjoyable experience they had of tuning in to distant broadcasts from Radio Station HCJB's shortwave transmission facility in Ecuador that ended broadcasts in November 2009 after 58 years.
"The special event ham radio station aims to spread goodwill among this group and to inform them of the existence of the Technology Center," added Russell. "It's appropriate that we do this on the eve of major milestones in the life of our organization-the 80th anniversary of HCJB's initial broadcasts and the 25th anniversary of the mission's technical services arm, the HCJB Global Technology Center."
Participants will receive a special QSL (listener confirmation) card and brochure. For more information, visit http://www.arrl.org/Events/view/37794

(Source: HCJB Global )

HCJB's DX Partyline program to be discontinued

Allen Graham announced during 30th April edition of DX Partyline program that the final edition of the program will be broadcasted on 28/29 May 2011, the day this progran celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Here's the announcement recorded off HCA 15340 kHz on 30th Apr 2011 at 1526z  :
http://tinyurl.com/67a5ggu

 

DXPL podcasts are available here :

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dx-partyline-from-hcjb-world/id263468711

 

http://www.hcjb.org/dx_partyline

---

Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE
New Delhi

Radio Station HCJB Program Host/Engineer Clayton Howard Dies At 92

(January 28, 2011 - by Ralph Kurtenbach and Harold Goerzen)

The longtime host of a popular shortwave radio listeners' program, Clayton Howard, died on Thursday, Jan. 27, in Tahlequah, Okla. He was 92. He had served from 1941 to 1984 as an engineer with Radio Station HCJB, an international shortwave station in Quito, Ecuador.

For more than two decades he and his wife, Helen, hosted the "DX Partyline" program. ("DX" is a radio term for distance; DXers are listeners to distant radio stations.)

Clayton was born on Nov. 27, 1918, to missionary parents in Canton, China. His father, Charles Howard, an entomologist and college professor, and his mother, Anne, a biologist and teacher, served at a Christian university and conducted research for the Chinese government to develop a finer grade of silk. When Clayton was 9 years old the family returned to the U.S. where his father developed the biology department at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.

At Wheaton Academy, Clayton loved learning about radio and electronics. In 1939 he graduated from Wheaton College with a physics degree followed by a year of graduate studies in physics at the University of Chicago.

"I heard HCJB on Easter Sunday of 1940 while [the station was] inaugurating a new 10-kilowatt transmitter," Clayton once said in an interview. "I had known there was a missionary shortwave station in South America previously, but knew very little about it until 1940."

Clayton contacted HCJB Global co-founder Reuben Larson who then recruited him to join the technical team at La Voz de Los Andes (the Voice of the Andes) in Quito. College Church in Wheaton later commissioned him as a missionary, and he arrived in Ecuador to begin serving at Radio Station HCJB in 1941.

Clayton's marriage to Helen Marie Prestidge on Sept. 12, 1942, was broadcast live from Quito via shortwave "so the folks back home could hear it," according to his son, Chuck Howard. The couple had met in Wheaton, and Helen went to Ecuador after she graduated. It was her father, a Baptist minister, and Rev. Evan Welsh, pastor of College Church, who together prepared the phonograph record with the marriage ceremony, leaving gaps for "I do" from the couple.

Many station employees remembered Clayton as a technician whose special knack was keeping the tape recorders, record turntables and mixing consoles going, according to Chuck, an HCJB Global missionary teacher in Quito. Clayton served primarily in audio work, but he was also involved in everything technical such as transmitters, antennas, studios, power and remote programs. He was also actively involved in the search for a new international transmitting site for the station, eventually selecting Pifo.

A career highlight for Clayton was helping a fellow engineer at the station, Clarence Moore, design and build the world's first cubical quad antenna. Also, in an era in which Ecuador's communication resources were marginal, Clayton actively handled remote broadcasts for the Ecuadorian government. He contributed to the growth of HCJB from a small radio facility to a major international broadcaster, reaching out with the gospel message in many major languages.

Blessed with an excellent bass voice, Clayton loved his involvement with regular live music programs in English and Spanish. He took part in concerts each year to honor the station's host city, Quito. In the mid-1960s Clayton took over as host of "DX Partyline," a semiweekly program for shortwave enthusiasts.

Clayton and Helen also began Andes DX International (ANDEX), a club for shortwave radio listeners, and the ANDEX magazine. The Howards corresponded with people around the world. In addition to shortwave listening tips, they shared "Tips for Real Living," focusing on a meaningful relationship with the Creator. It was their joy to lead many to the Lord Jesus through the programs and follow-up correspondence.

After their final "DX Partyline" program aired in June 1984, Clayton received what Chuck referred to as an unusual tribute from an unlikely source, Radio Moscow, which stated, "The living legend of the Andes has retired!"

Upon retirement, the Howards spent 10 years in Florida, then moved to Go Ye Village, a Christian retirement center in Tahlequah. "When Clayton and Helen came to live at Go Ye Village," said retired HCJB Global missionary Don Schroder, "Clayton set up closed-circuit TV to televise the Sunday chapel services, Bible studies and memorial services. These televised services went into all the homes and apartments of residents in the village."

Clayton was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years on Jan. 3, 2010. Survivors include three children, Chuck Howard of Quito, Leland Howard of Missouri and Ruth Anne Leaf of Illinois (recently retired from missionary service in Japan), as well as 11 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.

He loved to share his enthusiasm for radio, and he enjoyed meeting with radio clubs in the U.S. "On one occasion," Chuck remembered his father telling, "he was met at the door to the club by a lively group of young men, all sporting T-shirts with his picture on the front!"

One such teenaged fan of Clayton and Helen's radio show was Rich McVicar who quipped, "It was one of the very few programs I would actually listen to. The rest of the time, I was constantly tuning the dial for new catches!"

Years later, when McVicar arrived as an HCJB Global missionary in Ecuador, the Howards were there, having been coaxed back to Ecuador for a short visit. "In fact, Clayton and I co-hosted my first four 'DX Partyline' programs," McVicar said. "Becoming the producer of 'DX Partyline' was a dream come true for me, and being introduced to the famous host of my teenage listening days was a uniquely wonderful experience."

Another young listener was John Beck. Upon Clayton's retirement, Beck was the program's new host. "I was scared. I had listened to Clayton and Helen since high school. But he told me not to worry and that he would help me in the transition," Beck said. "I watched him conduct a couple of tapings, introducing me on the second to the audience and then he turned to me and said, 'OK, now it's your program.' I stammered. 'But I thought we would have a transition of at least a couple of months!'" Beck said Clayton's reply was, "Oh no . we leave next week."

"Clayton not only taught me over the air much of what I learned about shortwave radio as a hobby," added Ken MacHarg, who later hosted the same radio program. "He was also the door through which I began doing programming on HCJB."

"Before my wife and I ever went there, he asked me to adapt portions of my book, Tune in the World, for broadcast as a series," MacHarg explained. "I recorded profiles of various international broadcasters who were featured in the book and sent them for use on the program."

Chuck described his father as one who loved Ecuador and its people. Although he was a practical joker at times, his passion for Christ was evident. "He was a humble, rather private man who felt rather awkward in large groups, but in his quiet way, he was a very effective servant of the Lord," Chuck said. "He didn't preach, but he made it possible for others to preach the Word to millions of needy souls around the world."

His life verses were, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6, KJV).

A memorial service is set for Go Ye Village Chapel at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29.

Source: HCJB Global

Ron Trotto commented on your post.
Ron wrote: "very sad news indeed i started listening to clayton howard back in 1973 on the dx party line. he is at peace and with his wife now"

Engineers Install Additional Shortwave Stations in Central African Republic

Source: HCJB Global (written by Jean Muehlfelt)
Imagine living in a country where you can't access the Internet, watch television, read newspapers or even receive mail. Except in Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic (C.A.R.), that's what life is like for most of the country's 4.5 million residents. Their lifeline to the rest of the world? Radio. People in C.AR., a country about the size of Texas, depend on radio broadcasts to keep informed. Almost every village has a radio, and some have more than one. The sets are affordable, costing as little as US$6, usually coming from countries such as Nigeria and Niger. The radios typically have FM, shortwave and medium-wave bands.

Until 2005 there were only six private FM stations and one governmental shortwave station in this country where villagers have a life expectancy of just 44 years. It was then that Integrated Community Development International (ICDI), a partner of HCJB Global, was granted permission to open the country's first privately owned shortwave radio station, Radio ICDI.

In early 2006 the ministry acquired an eight-acre tract of land on the plateau above the town of Boali. A road to the transmitter site was built, and electricity was installed. Equipment was transported in large shipping containers, and eventually one of the 20-foot-long metal containers was converted into a studio and transmitter building.A year later a team from HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., spent three weeks at the broadcast site, installed the first shortwave radio station. They also put in two satellite downlinks that provided access to the Internet and made it possible to receive French-language Christian programming from Trans World Radio, another HCJB Global partner.

Last month HCJB Global engineers returned to C.A.R. to put in two additional regional shortwave radio stations in Boali, similar to the station installed in 2007. One of the new stations will help extend the broadcast hours of the existing ICDI station into the nighttime. Each station only works well during a portion of each day because of how shortwave signals travel through the atmosphere.

The new ICDI radio stations will provide more programming opportunities for broadcasting the gospel across C.A.R. in Sango (the country's trade language), French and various tribal dialects. Additional hours will also increase the opportunity to air more community development programs on AIDS prevention, orphan care, well-water repair programs and many other relevant humanitarian topics.

Curt Bender, manager of broadcast services at HCJB Global in Elkhart, said, "I want to give the Lord recognition for sustaining our team through two difficult installations in the past three years and to praise Him for the success."

For more information visit http://www.icdinternational.org

Strong winds knocks HCJB Australia's East Asia broadcasts off air

Broadcast alert
1st Feb 2010
Strong windstorms at HCJB's broadcast site in Kununurra, WA last weekend damaged two of our antennas and put the East Asia broadcasts off the air. Until the antenna is repaired, programs for China and Japan will not be broadcast. At this stage, repairs could take about three weeks.

(http://www.hcjb.org.au/)

Update on HCJB Global in Haiti

Aftershock Rattles Haiti as HCJB Global/Samaritan's Purse Team Continues Work

Sources: HCJB Global, Baptist Haiti Mission, World Gospel Mission, Associated Press, BBC (written by Ralph Kurtenbach and Harold Goerzen)

A 5.9-strength aftershock early Wednesday, collapsing already-damaged buildings, but the HCJB Global Hands emergency medical team working at the Baptist Haiti Mission (BHM) hospital in Port-au-Prince reported they're all fine.

The seven-member team continues working 12-hour surgical shifts, treating those injured in the Jan. 12 quake that devastated Haiti's capital.

The powerful aftershock, centered about 35 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, sent Haitians screaming into the streets, collapsing buildings, cracking roads and adding to the trauma of a nation stunned by an apocalyptic quake eight days ago. At least one woman, traumatized by the aftershock, died of a heart attack in Port-au-Prince. The jolt matched the strongest of the tremors since the original 7.0-magnitude quake.

The multi-specialty team, working in conjunction with Samaritan's Purse, a North Carolina-based Christian aid group, arrived Friday, Jan. 15, from Ecuador. While two surgeons, an anesthesiologist, a nurse and two family physicians have worked at the hospital with the BHM staff, water engineer Martin Harrison set up a Water Missions International (WMI) filtration plant that is now chlorinating pond water for use at the hospital compound.

"Supplies are now improving as the WMI unit produces 10,000 gallons of drinking water per day at full output," Harrison said. "We are taking water from a fishpond of all places, passing this through the WMI water filter and filling a cistern beneath the hospital."

Family physician Steve Nelson said the team is giving priority to the most severe cases. "We non-surgical types were out on the floors trying to triage which cases were most likely to get complicated if left longer," he explained. "Sepsis, infected compound fractures and little kids made up our priority list." With more complicated cases, the surgical workers totaled 15 operations in one day, finishing after midnight.

"They are not seeing any simple breaks or fractures," Krys Baker, the hospital administrator, said of the surgical teams. "Many bones are crushed, making surgeries very difficult. They are also seeing a lot of infections. Many people have waited to come to the hospital and as a result they are having to do amputations." Infectious diseases have not shown up yet, according to a BBC report, but tetanus and gangrene are a threat to the injured.

Several days after HCJB Global's team arrived, another 17 physicians and nurses arrived from Samaritan's Purse. Upon staffing a second operating room, the 100-bed hospital can now treat more injured Haitians.

In spite of limitations on fuel, water and Internet connection, the team members' contact with their families in Ecuador has been constant. Missionary Kim Barton said from Shell, Ecuador, that her husband, Paul, "mentioned the aftershock because it woke him up. He was calling to try to find more tetanus [vaccine]." The Bartons serve at HCJB Global's jungle hospital in Shell where Paul is an anesthesiologist and his wife, Kim, is a pediatrician.

Also from the Shell hospital, German surgeon Eckehart Wolff lay on a surgery table to donate his own blood to a patient named Alexis who was suffering from severe internal abdominal bleeding. "The lady was stable this morning; however, sadly, she died this afternoon. She must have been crushed by something in the quake," said Harrison.

There is joy amid such suffering, Nelson said, recounting how family physician Marcos Nelson's patient, a young girl, began to sing even as the physician cleaned her wound. Anesthetized from pain but still conscious, the girl had a wound that revealed something serious enough for her to be placed first on the list for the next morning.

"Then we all heard her start singing," Steve Nelson related, "first in sort of a low voice and later stronger ... and it seemed happier! It was in Creole, so of course none of the Spanish and English speakers could know what she was saying ... but a translator brightened up nearby and said she is singing, 'I am saved, I am saved, I am saved!'"

The aftershock also rattled the nerves of people at partner ministry Radio Lumière, which only suffered minor damage in the original quake, although three of the staff members were killed while they were away from the station.

"Everyone there was OK [following the aftershock]," said Timothy Rickel, vice president of communication at World Gospel Mission (WGM). "Most people are sleeping outdoors anyway."

WGM engineer Paul Shingledecker helped put the station back on the air Sunday, Jan. 17, enabling the Radio Lumière to aid in communications and send out a message of hope to beleaguered Haitians.

"There is no city power, and it will be some time before there will be any," Shingledecker added. "I've seen lines down all over the city, including major high-tension lines. The station is entirely dependent on back-up generators. Some diesel is available, though not a lot yet. But money to buy it is the major factor."

A call to Radio Lumière's satellite service produced wider bandwidth for the station to stream audio on the Internet. "This is a major praise," said Rickel.

An HCJB Global engineer and others working at Radio Lumière when the Jan. 12 quake struck decided to "ride out the earthquake in the building," according to David Russell who heads the HCJB Global Technology Center in Indiana.

Alan Good had traveled to Haiti on Jan. 6 to work on the station's FM, Stereo 92. "He spent two nights there following the quake, awaiting news from his Haitian host family," Russell said. "It turned out that they also escaped injury."

With help from a Mission Aviation Fellowship pilot, Good re-established contact with Russell and was flown back to the U.S. on Sunday.