The Future Won’t Be Built by Playing It Safe

When Bob Lubell, the man God called to start our ministry in Chattanooga, launched a Christian radio station (J103/WBDX), it seemed risky. Chattanooga didn’t have one, and there was plenty of uncertainty and moments where it could have easily failed.

But God invited Bob into something that could only really be described in one word: risk.

Why did he do it? Not because it was safe. Not because focus groups all agreed. Not because the funding was guaranteed. He did it because he believed God was calling him to it.

And because of that risk, hundreds of thousands of lives have been impacted.

The truth is, if leaders like Bob hadn’t taken risks decades ago, much of what we now call Christian radio wouldn’t exist. Our entire industry was built on faith, uncertainty, and a willingness to step into something new.

Which raises an important question: Are we still willing to take those kinds of risks today?

Because while we often talk about the risk of change, we don’t talk enough about the risk of staying the same.

As leaders, we often talk about the “risk” of change. But here’s the truth: everything carries risk.

Every drive to work. Every new relationship. Every business decision. Even the status quo.

Yet somehow we’ve convinced ourselves that staying the same is safe. Familiar, yes. Comfortable, sure. But safe? Not always.

When we evaluate risk, we tend to focus on the side that involves change:
– The risk of failure
– The risk of stepping into the unknown
– The risk of having to start over

But do we ever stop to consider the risk of not changing?
– The risk of becoming irrelevant
– The risk of falling behind
– The risk of losing influence to those who adapt

It might feel risky to learn a new skill, launch a new product, or step into a new space, but it’s often far more risky to assume that doing what we’ve always done will continue to work.

I didn’t originally write this for radio. I wrote it for ministries, brands, and organizations in general. The rate of change across almost every industry is wild right now, and radio is not immune.

I would like to very kindly, respectfully, and gently say something that I believe is true: Radio is going to have to change if it wants to maintain the level of influence it has had.

I’ve said this a lot over the last year, “If we had more time, I’d be less blunt,” but the truth is, I don’t think we do.

I love radio. I started in this industry when I was 19 years old. I’ve seen the power of it. I’ve seen communities formed, hope shared, and ministry happen every single day. Radio has an incredible past.

But if it doesn’t change, it may not have the same future.

What does that change look like? It will likely be different for all of us.

For some, it means building podcasts or creating meaningful video content.
For others, it may be events, digital communities, or new ways of discipling audiences.
For some, it may involve AI tools, on-demand content, reaching people far beyond the FM dial, or even being part of a something that stations from all over the country work on together. 

I was asked on a panel last year to describe the biggest trends in media. My answer was simple: on-demand and the fracturing of audiences. Two things traditional radio isn’t naturally built for without meaningful change.

So I would encourage all of us to spend some time thinking and praying about this question: What does meaningful change look like for your ministry? And equally important: What does it look like if we don’t change?

For clarity, I don’t think the conversation should be radio OR. I think it should be radio AND.

Keep putting out a great product on the air, but don’t stop there. Expand the mission. Extend the influence. Meet people where they already are.

If risk helped build radio, I can’t help but wonder what future risk might open up for us now.

Because change is risky.

But staying the same may be the biggest risk of all.

 

Justin Wade
President, Partners for Christian Media