Electronic evangelism

Abstract

The radio program, which airs at 3 p.m. weekdays on KKVV-AM 1060, and TV presentation, which airs 9 a.m. Sundays on KFBT, Channel 33, are "not stuffy, not starchy,S"[Pastor Tom Griner] said. "This is homegrown stuff. It's a reflection of who we are."

Griner has hosted his radio show for about four months, and his TV show _ a distillation of the instructional portion of his Sunday service _ for about a year.

Neither Griner nor [Darrell Reyman] alter their preaching styles for the microphone or camera.

Photo, color. Pastor Tom Griner is a co-host of a Christian talk show on

KKVV-AM radio. Craig L. Moran/Review-Journal

Local ministers take to the airwaves to spread their beliefs.

Pastor Tom Griner is the first to agree that the half-hour radio and hourlong TV shows he hosts aren't the slickly produced offerings people raised on Jerry Falwell and Robert Schuller may be accustomed to.

But to Griner, pastor of Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Las Vegas, that's part of their appeal.

The radio program, which airs at 3 p.m. weekdays on KKVV-AM 1060, and TV presentation, which airs 9 a.m. Sundays on KFBT, Channel 33, are "not stuffy, not starchy,S"Griner said. "This is homegrown stuff. It's a reflection of who we are."

Griner is one of a handful of Las Vegas-area ministers who have turned to the electronic airwaves to spread the Gospel. Whatever their productions lack in high-tech gloss, they more than make up for in enthusiasm and sincerity.

While it's not exactly a major trend, the use of radio and TV for religious education and inspiration is no longer restricted to nationally syndicated preachers.

In Southern Nevada, Christian talk station KKVV _ which broadcasts daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. _ is a prime radio forum for area ministers.

"We're pretty much 95 percent talk all day long," said Sharon David Moss, general manager and program director.

About six hours of each day's programming is produced locally in shows that feature religious discussion, commentary and instruction, she said.

"We don't have a lot of money, because we are a small community-based station," she said. "When I came to be general manager and program director four months ago, I decided at the time that the cheapest way to advertise is word of mouth. We decided: Why not get local pastors to do commentary?"

Local pastors understand the community better than any syndicated radio show host could, she said. "So, weUre teaching them how to do radio."

Area ministers appear regularly on "The Pastor's Desk," a discussion show, Moss said, and ministers who wish to take electronic evangelism a bit further can buy air time on KKVV for $90 per hour.

There are no formal criteria for ministers who wish to buy time, Moss said. "But anybody who is not full-gospel _ for lack of a better term _ just doesn't get very much response.

"In fact, we get a lot of calls saying, `We don't like to listen to that.'" Moss added: "None of our programmers is real concerned about begging for money. We don't like it. We think it's in poor taste. If people want to support you, they'll know where to find you."

Griner has hosted his radio show for about four months, and his TV show _ a distillation of the instructional portion of his Sunday service _ for about a year.

Griner believes his local ties help him forge a bond with listeners.

"People say, `Hey, this guy lives here with us.' It's not somebody who is a paid professional coming off of a satellite."

Darrell Reyman, minister at The Church at Las Vegas, has had a live Sunday morning show on KORK-AM 920 for 17 years. The half-hour program, "The Solid Rock Gospel Broadcast," airs at 7 a.m. Sundays.

Because he receives free air time from the station, Reyman's major investment in the broadcast is the extra time it takes.

"Usually it takes an extra day of preparation," he said. "But it's not too much."

The show is mostly music and preaching, Reyman said. "We give people an opportunity to write in if they have questions or comments, and we close by telling them what's going on at the church."

Neither Griner nor Reyman alter their preaching styles for the microphone or camera.

"What you see is what you get," Griner said. "I don't, like, put on a Sunday morning face."

Adjusting from a live to an electronic congregation isn't difficult, Reyman said. He was a Dale Carnegie course instructor for a time, "so I'm not afraid of a microphone. And, I've held a lot of revival meetings."

It's hard to say how many listeners radio preachers have, Moss said, "but when we have a live program that's a call-in, we get an average of 10 calls in an hour. And, for a religious program thatUs only been on four months, that's pretty good."

But the ministers are sure their electronic outreach is having an effect in reaching the churched, the unchurched and the merely curious.

"Spreading the Word and encouraging people to seek the Lord are the main things," Reyman said. "We don't get a lot of letters, but we get people making comments now and then: `Oh, you're the one on the radio.'"

Griner says his radio program receives eight to 10 calls a day, and a like number write because of the TV program.

Some of those callers even come to a Sunday service at the church, he said. "That's a great benefit. It's a form of advertising."

More importantly, he said, the shows are "really putting something in our city that's going to bear good fruit."

"Our desire is not only to minister to those who attend the Vineyard (church), but also to touch the city in a larger arena," Griner said.

"Multimedia is a prime source to be able to do that."