Although the Guarani radio aspect of our church-planting ministry doesn’t take very much of our time, it may be one of the most effective things we’re doing to reach rural Paraguay for Christ. We pay for airtime on three local secular stations and provide them with recordings from ministries like Transworld Radio, which are sent to us by bus from Asuncion. There are various programs: a five-minute devotional, 15 minutes of Bible reading and explanation, a 15-minute dramatized Bible story for children and a half hour of practical teaching for women, in addition to evangelistic programs in Spanish. The main radio station in Yuty broadcasts three programs at key times during the day when rural farmers as well as town dwellers are likely to be listening: early morning, lunch time, and evening, plus longer programs on Saturday and Sunday. Including the two other stations, one in town and another in a village, God’s Word is being broadcast in Guarani to thousands of people six times a day. And basically all we do is distribute the programs that are sent to us and pay the stations for their air time!

We’re sobered by the reminders that not all are open to God’s Word. On a bus trip home, the driver turned off the radio when our program came on. A lady from a village came to ask prayer for protection from her abusive husband, who didn’t allow her to listen to the Christian programming. A radio DJ used his air time to criticize us and something he’d heard in one of the devotionals. Yet for each of the few negative reactions, we have many more encouraging stories of people whose lives are being changed by what they hear daily on the radio. Thanks to our recorded tag after each program in which we invite people to our house to hear more of God’s Word, we’ve had the privilege of meeting some of these people. Rejoice with us in what God’s doing through the radio in the lives of these Paraguayans:

“The duck boys,” we call the two brothers, as we’ve bought live ducks twice from them. These young men walk two hours into town from their village when their family has something to sell. They worked hard to earn money for a hand-held radio, “so we won’t miss hearing your programs when we come into town,” they told us. Sometimes they come in to read the Bible with us, and once they and their dad, who had accompanied them, even went to an evening Bible study with Dan before making their long, late trip home.

Marcelina listened to the Christian radio programs in secret when her abusive husband was working in the field. Once he left to work in Buenos Aires and she was able to listen to all the programs, she came into town to visit us and told us how important Christian broadcasts in Guarani are to her. We read the Bible and pray together on her occasional trips into town, and she also hears it from one of the young leaders in our church who travels to her village on weekends to evangelize. But she’s learned far more from the daily lessons she hears on the radio.

Maria made the long trip to our house on horseback, over a river, walking, then taking a bus, all to tell us how much the radio programs mean to her and to ask for prayer as she’s the only Christian in her village. Months after this first visit she returned with her husband who wanted to receive Christ. Dan had the honor of reaping the seed that had been sowed by the radio programs, and Reinaldo prayed with him to ask Jesus to forgive his sins and come into his heart.

“How many of you have a Bible in your house?” we asked the children at the kids’ club after singing, “Read your Bible, pray every day and you’ll grow, grow, grow” in Guarani. A scattered few hands went up. “How many of you have a radio?” was the next question. Almost everybody raised their hands. “That’s how you’ll ‘grow, grow, grow,’ kids. You and your parents need to listen to God’s Word on the radio every day.”

We praise God for how He is using your gifts for the Guarani radio ministry to bring rural Paraguayans to Himself and to help them to grow spiritually

The project is to develop Christian radio on comercial FM stations in the Guarani-Joparã language of Paraguay in the area where SIM has church planting ministries. 

It started in 1997 as a Guarani Bible reading program on the local FM stations and now has grown under the administration and staffing of national church leaders to a daily, 2 hour Christian program. Bible messages, the Chronological Bible method in Guarani, testimonies and music are being aired in the town of Caazapa. Expansion is planned for the towns of Yuty and Villarrica.

One person on a radio can reach many people... You could make a difference...