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Christian radio stations strive to build community among listeners
Spirit 105.3, Shine 104.9 were finalists for Station of the Year Awards
By Emma Ledbetter | FāVS News Reporter
One in four radio stations nationwide has a religious focus, with a majority of these being Christian stations, according to a recent Pew Research Center report.
Christian radio broadcasters in Washington view their work as ministering to an unchurched mission field, reaching listeners in the statistically more secular Pacific Northwest.
For Darin Patzer, general manager of Shine 104.9 in Spokane, that mission is both professional and personal.
“My dad was a pastor, my granddad was a pastor, and I like to think I’m a disciple of Christ cleverly disguised as a radio station manager,” Patzer said.
Beyond airing worship music and talk segments, faith-based radio stations place a heavy emphasis on community outreach, church partnerships and uplifting listeners.
“It’s not necessarily the church path of ministry, but it is ministry,” said Channah Hanberg, senior vice president of operations at CRISTA Ministries, which owns Seattle’s Spirit 105.3 and two other Christian radio stations.
Centering Christ in content
Spirit 105.3, a contemporary Christian station in Seattle, plays about 85% music and 15% talk segments.
In 2020, the station shifted toward a more Christ-centered content strategy, Hanberg said. Where previously they would have let the music and lyrics point listeners toward Jesus, hosts now quote Scripture in their talk segments and pray for listeners live on air.
Christian radio is not trying to replace church, Hanberg said. Instead, Spirit 105.3 partners with Seattle-area churches and uses its platform to point listeners toward church.
Community presence
Spokane’s Shine 104.9 aims to unite the local Christian community through uplifting music. Representatives from the station attend events, such as the Bloomsday Run, and host others, such as ShineFest and concerts with Christian artists, to engage listeners beyond the airwaves.
“Whatever you want to call it, it’s a church community that’s not in a church setting,” said Tom Haney, a home lending adviser who has been listening to Shine 104.9 for 15 years.
Nurse practitioner Francesca Stracke started listening to Shine 104.9 when she moved to Spokane for work about four and a half years ago. Attending the station’s events helped her meet other Christians in the area and find community, she said.
Shine 104.9 regularly ranks number one across radio stations of all genres in the Spokane market, Patzer said.
“It’s getting increasingly rare that radio stations are located in and broadcast from their home community,” Patzer said.
Shine 104.9 plays about 90% music. The station also airs talk segments like Focus on the Family and FamilyLife Today, but these make up a small portion of its overall broadcast time.
Both Spirit 105.3 and Shine 104.9 were finalists in the Christian Music Broadcasters Station of the Year Awards — Spirit in Seattle for the major market category and Shine in Spokane for the medium market category.
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