Truth 103

If you ever saw the classic It's a Wonderful Life, you may recall one of the more memorable lines given by Henry Travers (character Clarence) that goes something like this. Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?
The final scene gives us another memorable one from the same actor/character. Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.

I got an email the other day that I have been given permission to use. This is one person, but that person is going to send it to lots of people. Think of what happens when you drop a rock into a pond or lake. You no longer see the rock but its impact, in the form of ripples that extend across the water.
So back to that letter I mentioned. It is from a long time listener who listens online at home and commutes from outside the listening area to Bloomington for work. This supporter listens on the FM dial as much as the signal will allow during the commute. So how much does Saving Our Station mean to you and those in our listening community? Read on and see for yourself. (And by-the-way, the facts are straight.)

Cinda, can you look this over and tell me if I've got my facts straight? I'm going to send this to everyone in my address book, and I don't want to misrepresent the TRUTH...

Hello friends, sorry for the spam. I'm filling your inbox today asking for your help to support Christian radio in Bloomington and anywhere in the world over the Internet.

Some of you on this list don't live near Bloomington, and some of you who DO live there might have never heard of Truth103. Truth 103 has been on the air in Bloomington at 103.3 FM since September of 2004. Since they operate on a shoestring budget, their FM signal only covers a radius of about 20 miles (on a good day). They also stream their signal over the Internet at www.truth103.com. I don't know anyone at the station personally, but I've been listening for the last couple of years and I'm very impressed with their purpose, direction, and programming.

They are 100% listener-supported, and are not directly associated with any church or other ministry. Truth103 targets youth with their rock/alternative format. They play a lot of bands that no one else in the area provides that appeal to a 'younger' crowd like Skillet, Pillar, P.O.D., KJ-52, Disciple, and others.

Truth 103 operates on an extremely lean budget of only about $40,000 per YEAR. If you've listened to any other listener-supported radio stations, you'll realize that that's about what some other stations spend in a month!

Truth 103 needs to raise $10,000 in pledges by the end of this month, or they will go off of the air. It would only take 28 people willing to pledge $30 per month to hit that goal. That's less than a dollar per day. Couldn't you do without that extra half-caf latte' or Diet Coke?

What can you do? Check out their web site, listen online or in town (if you're close enough), and think about their ministry. Please forward this information to everyone you know who might possibly be interested. Pray about whether you should get involved. Maybe your pastor or the youth minister at your church could help. Maybe you own a business and could make a pledge. Maybe you're financially in a bind and can't help in that way, but somebody you know could.

If you're not "in" to Christian rock, maybe you care about young people, and the message that kids get from secular media outlets. Have you watched any TV lately? Have you listened to any "shock jocks" on the air lately? Have you muttered to yourself that "somebody oughta do something" about the filth we are constantly bombarded with?

Listening to Christian radio has forever changed my life. Since my radio "got saved", I find it much easier now to do what it says in Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." You'll never hear anything on this station that isn't 100% designed to be praiseworthy.

Maybe you've been in church your whole life, and you prefer the good old gospel style, or the lighter "pop" style of contemporary Christian music. So why should you support a Christian CHR/Rock station? Even if you don't like the style of music, the lyrics of these songs are all about hope, love, standing firm, the incredibly matchless love of God, and just celebrating what it means to be called a child of God. If they impacted only one young person in an entire year, wouldn't that be worth $10,000? If only one high school student decided NOT to shoot people he or she didn't like, wouldn't that be worth it? If only one 13-year-old fatherless child learns that there is unfathomable, unchangeable love free for the asking, wouldn't that be worth it?

Do you honestly think that a 19-year-old college student who has never been in a church would spin the FM dial and tune in to a southern gospel station if they're used to hearing secular heavy metal rock bands? Possibly, but probably not. Maybe your junior high student is struggling with being a Christian, but is convinced that letting Jesus in to their hearts means that they have to give up music that 'moves' them. What will fill the airwaves if Truth 103 goes off the air? There are other good Christian radio stations available in Bloomington, but none of them target the same type of listeners that Truth 103 does. I'm not trying to belittle anything those fine folks are doing, I'm just afraid that the majority of these listeners will probably move on to other secular rock stations.

Kids, young people, or even "old" people like me need to know that regardless of the style of music that they're used to, there is Christian music out there that will appeal to them. It's not about watering down the message, or conforming to the world around us, it's about reaching people in a way that is real and relevant with the life-changing power of the Gospel. Besides the permanent residents of central McLean county, Bloomington/Normal is home to Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan, and Heartland Community College. That's a lot of young people who might not ever hear that God loves them and cares about them without the ministry of Truth 103.

Please pray about if you should get involved, or who else you know who might be able to help. I've made a pledge of financial support to this station. I wouldn't ask you to do anything that I'm not willing to do. Check out their web site, listen to the message they're sending out, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you,