God’s Pit Crew and PAR representatives met with KSBJ to survey damage in the Houston community, and surprise three reeling staff members with offers to rebuild and replace their homes and furnishings.
An amazing video hit social media and the Dear Christian Radio website today! To view it, visit www.dearchristianradio.com. Here is the backstory:
Positive Alternative Radio (PAR) and #ENCW Project Partner God’s Pit Crew, traveled to Houston, Texas on Tuesday, September 25 to survey damage from Hurricane Harvey and to meet with representatives of 89.3 KSBJ. The station and its staff—which serve the greater Houston area—were among the millions impacted by the historic storm. The purpose of the meeting was two-fold:
• To gauge and plan for support efforts and resource allocation within the KSBJ community;
• To extend an offer to rebuild homes for four KSBJ staff members who lost everything in the hurricane.
Houston is the fourth largest city in the U.S. and home to 2.3 million people. Hurricane Harvey dumped a record rainfall of 50 inches on the city over the course of a week, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate the city prior to the storm’s August 26th arrival. According to early reports from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), more than 450,000 residents are expected to seek government-funded disaster assistance. However, that assistance is only a drop in the bucket for many who were underinsured or uninsured when the Category 4 hurricane made landfall. The #ENCW Project and its Partners have made relief efforts in Texas and Florida a priority for this reason.
Brian Sanders, Executive Vice President for PAR said:
“As brothers and sisters in Christ, it is our responsibility to care for one another. It may take years before Houston and its people fully recover from the effects of Harvey. God’s Pit Crew and other #ENCW Partners are already on the ground helping community members regains what they lost. KSBJ, which was equally impacted, is actively helping their community recover, as well. Even so, we must ask ourselves: ‘Who cares for the caregivers in these moments?’ We believe Christian radio is part of the answer. The #ENCW Project has made it possible for that to happen.”
Randy Johnson, Founder and President of God’s Pit Crew—a crisis response organization that focuses on global disaster relief, building projects, and the distribution of food and essentials supplies—and Derek Withrow, Director of Impact for PAR, flew to Texas Tuesday morning to meet with KSBJ staff. While nearly every KSBJ employee incurred some level of loss, three station employees suffered significant damage not covered by their insurance. As part of the #ENCW Project, God’s Pit Crew has promised to rebuild those three homes and refurnish them with furniture and appliances. Following the initial tour of their homes, Johnson broke the good news to each of the three women, individually. His offer was met with shock, hugs, and tears of gratitude. Johnson presented one of the women—who was left with virtually nothing—a $10,000 check to help her, her husband, and four daughters begin the recovery process.
“We could not be here today, doing what we’ve done, or making these commitments to these families without #ENCW, PAR, and all the Partners involved. I wish everyone who has given, played a part, or raised money on-air, could have spent the day with us,” said Johnson. “Until today, these three families had no idea what they were going to do tomorrow. All of them are so grateful…so thankful, and all of them gave God the praise, which is where it needs to be.”
“The #ENCW Project is about impacting lives for Christ wherever that might be,” Withrow added. “Being here today is a reminder of just how devastating a natural disaster can be and how important it is for those who can, to work together in times of crisis. We are truly stronger together.”
KSBJ’s Director of Community Relations, Suzanne Boase-Honeycutt shared her feelings about the site visits and the work planned for KSBJ staff:
“It has been the most amazing day. It’s very hard to find the words to describe how full my heart is and how much gratitude I feel toward God’s Pit Crew, PAR, and #ENCW. KSBJ was hit so hard by Hurricane Harvey as was all of the greater Houston area—complete devastation. Our hearts are breaking for so many people around Houston. We were impacted as well—our tower and our staff. Several staff lost their homes, but there were three in particular who had no flood insurance. They truly did not know how they would be able to start over. God’s Pit Crew and PAR flew in, visited these ladies homes, and are going to rebuild their homes. The thing that is so beautiful about this is testimony these ladies will have to share about the hands and feet of Jesus; and how these amazing, Godly people have taken the money that has been raised by these Christian radio stations to help restore Houston and these families.”
The #ENCW Project is a coalition of Christian radio stations, industry partners, and service ministries united by a single idea: to impact one billion lives in five years. The #ENCW Project was initially scheduled to be unveiled the first week in September at the Christian Music Broadcasters’ (CMB) Momentum—the industry’s premier annual conference. However, Harvey’s devastating landfall made it imperative that the Project launch a week ahead of schedule with little promotion and only a handful of early adopters.
“We had no choice but to act and act quickly,” said Brian Sanders. “Certainly, we wanted more stations on board, educated about the Project, and ready to help, but God knew that we would be strong enough if we simply worked together. It was a powerful opportunity that was met head on by an industry that truly cares about Christ’s mission here and throughout the world.”
Sanders organized an industry-wide conference call on August 28th to coordinate a planned response to Harvey. From there, #ENCW Project Partners began implementing coordinated fundraising and relief efforts that resulted in more than $750,000 in online donations toward God’s Pit Crew’s relief effort. Following Hurricane Irma’s Florida landfall—a second initiative launched, but this time with even more #ENCW Project Partners, which included Convoy of Hope, Samaratian’s Purse and others. The #ENCW Project and its growing list of Partners continue to raise awareness and provide financial support and relief services to those affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Any Christian radio station, network or organization may join the #ENCW Project as a partner. There is no cost and the only commitment is to agree to help impact one billion lives in five years. For more information about the #ENCW Project, visit https://dearchristianradio.com/ or contact Jerry Grimes at jerry@parfm.com.
About PAR
PAR is a non-profit ministry founded in 1985 by Edward Baker’s father, the late Dr. Vernon H. Baker and his mother, Virginia. Today, PAR owns and operates stations and networks in key markets in Virginia, eastern Tennessee, West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. They include WCQR, broadcasting from Johnson City, Tenn.; Walk FM, Ashland, Ky.; Spirit FM, Lynchburg, Va.; Joy FM, Winston-Salem, NC; and Your ‘PER, Fredericksburg, Va. The stations provide adult contemporary and Gospel music, as well as Christian content available across a variety of digital platforms. PAR is a certified 2017 Best Christian Workplaces recipient.
98.5 KTIS strives to point people in the Twin Cities to Jesus on the air, online, and on the street. Through remarkable service projects, 98.5 KTIS listeners are the hands and feet of Jesus to multiply the KTIS impact in our community. The first Friday of each month was 98.5 KTIS Drive-thru Difference Day, as listeners shared God’s love by paying for the order of the person behind them in the drive-thru. Moms overcame health, financial, and family difficulties through 98.5 KTIS’ Heart of a Mom initiative; meeting needs for a kitchen update, fulfilling a missed honeymoon with a cruise to Alaska, securing a reliable vehicle, and more. 98.5 KTIS’ Christmas Blessing resulted in remarkable stories of goodwill in the community, meeting needs by blessing people battling cancer, overcoming miscarriage, and recovering from financial devastation. Collecting thousands of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes filled with toys for kids around the world, the 98.5 KTIS Shoebox Showdown shared the hope of Jesus from the Twin Cities to children around the world. Listeners continued that generosity by working together to collect over 11,000 pencils for boys and girls in the Dominican Republic. 98.5 KTIS listeners ‘Shared the Warmth’ as a local business paid listener heating bills during the cold winter months, and listeners used those funds to bless their favorite Twin Cities nonprofits. 98.5 KTIS’ Ministry of the Month connected listener passions and talents to local ministries, highlighting the good being done in our community by these organizations on-air and online.
Through intentional, community focused service initiatives, Spirit 92.9 partners with listeners and businesses to help make their community better, together. The station’s first “Community Spirit” project in 2022 focused on showing God’s love to children entering foster care in the area after the ministry learned that there were more children than ever before in the system. During a weeklong collection drive, Spirit 92.9 listeners and business partners generously helped provide a new pair of pajamas and a stuffed animal for over 1,100 kids. Hoping to lead by example through serving, the Spirit 92.9 team helped prepare over 800 free meals for individuals and families in need for Easter, prepared and served a meal at the local homeless shelter, and helped clean up trash at an abandoned property near their studios. Hundreds of women in the community were served and uplifted in January at the station’s first Ladies’ Night Out-an opportunity to worship, laugh, receive support and prayer. In the fall, listeners and business partners joined together to help three local organizations provide free homemade, holiday meals to those in need. This ‘More Than A Meal’ on-air and online fundraiser helped feed over 3,000 in Central Minnesota. At the end of the year, Spirit 92.9’s “Share The Joy” promotion offered listeners the opportunity to nominate someone to receive a financial blessing. Single mothers, elderly homeowners, and the family of a father badly injured and hospitalized out of state were among the 12 people granted a $500-$1000 gift.
From entertaining the airwaves on KFRC-FM in San Francisco, to dancing away the late 90s on WKTU-FM in New York City, to encouraging and uplifting Atlanta on WFSH-The Fish every afternoon, Beth Bacall’s three decades on the air have had a lot to say. In 2003, she embraced CMB and the CCM sphere when she started working at Star 99.1 FM in NY/NJ. Since 2005, she has served on the Momentum Leadership Team while also offering mentorship to CMB’s Women in Radio community. Beth is a champion for others, taking a sincere stance of integrity and leading by example with her on air work, community engagement, and show prep. As a top talent coach, she equips multidisciplinary broadcasters and artists to embrace their authentic self, grow awareness, share stories effectively, and create meaningful Christ-centered content with all audiences. Beth specializes in moments that matter and is a driving force behind The Fish Christmas Wish Program and Fish Acts of Love. Working on all aspects of creating promotional, reward-based content, including research and execution, Beth is a dot connector that the Lord uses to bring joy and experiences into the lives of others. Even after these promotional seasons, she’s always looking for the next opportunity to be a blessing.
For over four decades, Rick Dunham has been at the forefront of marketing and fundraising for Christian nonprofits. In 2002, he founded Dunham+Company, which has become a global leader in providing multi-channel strategies across some of the world’s most influential sectors. Through radio and television, local churches and overseas missions, medical relief and philanthropic initiatives, Dunham+Company is multiplying the reach of the Gospel. The company currently serves nearly 100 clients in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand – whose collective effort is reaching nearly every corner of the globe. Rick is the author of Secure: Discovering True Financial Freedom and If God Will Provide, Why Do We Have to Ask for Money? He serves as a member of the board of The Giving Institute and is a former chair of the Giving USA Foundation, which publishes the most widely respected annual report on giving in the U.S. He has been published and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post and more. From devotionals to blogs, webinars to books, Rick’s personal faith in Jesus and his Biblical training are the driving conviction of his communication.
Over the decades, Jacobs Media has become known for advising broadcasters on strategic planning and digital transformation, championing forward thinking of the in-car audio experience, developing its innovative Techsurveys, and driving research initiatives with some of the most influential companies in media. In partnership with Radio Ink, the Jacobs duo created the DASH Conferences in 2013-15, bringing together leadership from both automotive and radio broadcasting industries. Working with CMB, Jacobs Media launched the first of its annual tech surveys for Christian music radio in 2014. Working in collaboration with the NAB’s Connected Car Committee, they developed the original “Best Practices” report in 2017. Fred Jacobs, a 2018 Radio Hall of Fame inductee, is credited with the creation of the Classic Rock radio format in the mid-80’s. Paul Jacobs specializes in revenue generation for Jacobs Media’s clients including heading up jācapps – the industry’s first, and now largest, mobile application development company with more than 1,300 apps worldwide. In 2022, Fred and Paul were recipients of the National Radio Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Broadcasters. They were the first duo to receive the award as well as the first consultants.
Jim Leightenheimer has passionately pursued the mission of teaching, mentoring, and preparing college students to serve Christ in radio since 1982. A 30-year radio veteran, Jim implemented and developed a student radio station that started as an AM carrier current, transitioned to a low power FM, and is currently streaming as Resound Radio. Under his leadership, student radio has served to jump-start the careers of many current leaders in Christian radio stations and networks across the United States. His students, both past and present, credit Jim for being the catalyst in building their love for radio. Throughout his career, Jim has enlisted graduates and other professionals to serve as mentors to his student radio staff. He has introduced scores of students to CMB by bringing them to Momentum and, more recently, CMB University. Jim currently serves on the board of directors at WCVO (104.9 The River) in Columbus and continues to be a resource not only for his current students, but for those who are living out his legacy in radio.
Joe Paulo has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hope Media Group since 2018. With an extensive background in media and leadership, he began at KSBJ (now Hope Media Group) as Vice-President of Operations in 2017 after serving at Educational Media Foundation (K-LOVE/Air1) as the Director of Donor Stewardship and Communications. Prior to that, he led a division of Columbia International University as Director of Broadcasting until 2014, overseeing the growth of successful radio stations in Charlotte, NC and Columbia, SC. Joe has also provided volunteer leadership at the board of directors and advisory levels for other nonprofits such as Youth Commission International, CMB, and Crime Stoppers of Houston. In addition to speaking on leadership, fundraising and media, Joe and Kelly, his wife, have spoken at marriage and parenting events to share their passion for marriage, parenting and adoption.