Our Mission
Mission Statement
Our Mission: What We Do
For more than 50 years Words of HOPE has pursued a single, well-defined mission: To proclaim Jesus Christ through broadcasting in the languages of the world's peoples, seeking with our partners in ministry to build the church by winning the uncommitted to faith in Christ and by encouraging Christians in the life of discipleship..
Our Beliefs: What We Affirm
As a ministry in the reformed tradition, we wholeheartedly affirm the great Reformation principles: that we live under the authority of Scripture alone - our only infallible rule of faith and practice; that salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ alone - the only way to eternal life; and that all we are and do is for the glory of the triune God alone - the blessed and only Ruler, from whom and through whom and to whom are all things.
As an evangelical mission agency, we wholeheartedly affirm the missionary principles expressed in the Lausanne Covenant (1974), in particular its statements on evangelism.
To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord he now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and believe. . . . In issuing the gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of discipleship. Jesus still calls all who would follow him to deny themselves, take up their cross, and identify themselves with his new community. The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into his Church and responsible service in the world.
Our Values: What We Hold to be Important
- Radio Broadcasting:
Our principal focus from the beginning has been the use of radio to communicate the gospel. Radio is universally available; it reaches large numbers of people, including those who are illiterate or living in "closed" areas of the world; and as a word-centered medium it is uniquely suitable for conveying the message of the Bible and its implications for all of life.
- Literature:
Print and electronic distribution of Bibles and Christian literature is essential for evangelism and discipleship. We produce messages and Bible study materials in English and distribute them in printed form and by means of the World Wide Web. We enlist the cooperation of partner mission organizations to assist with follow-up literature distribution in other languages.
- International Focus:
93% of all Christian broadcasting is directed to the United States. At Words of HOPE we largely reverse that proportion. Most of our resources are invested in broadcasting to the rest of the world with special emphasis on those people and languages with least access to Christian witness.
- Partnership:
We are committed to working in partnerships with other Christian broadcasters, organizations, churches and individuals. Our goal is to enable international Christians to produce and air biblically focused radio programs in their own languages. Effective international broadcasting and listener follow-up can only be done through networks of partnerships. In many instances these partnerships have had excellent visible results, leading to the establishment of new churches and the growth of existing ones.
- Excellence:
We seek to promote the production of engaging, creative, culturally relevant, biblically balanced Christian programs. We want to produce programs that people - including non-Christian people - want to listen to because they are interesting and informative. We also want every program to introduce listeners to the word of God - both the written word and the Word made flesh.
Our Strategy: How We Do What We Do
We are committed to the positive proclamation and propagation of what C. S. Lewis called Mere Christianity; that is, the large body of truth that all believing Christians hold in common. We will not promote sectarian parties or issues. We will not offer dogmatic and divisive answers to questions on which biblical Christians honestly disagree (e.g. infant baptism, eschatological details, glossalalia). We will not name or criticize specific Christian or non-Christian groups or other religious traditions.
We are committed to serving international Christians throughout the world, working with them to enable them to use broadcasting to communicate the gospel to their own peoples, with the goals of winning individuals to faith in Christ, strengthening believers in the life of discipleship, helping existing churches to grow, and establishing new churches where there were none before. In partnership with other mission agencies, we seek to work with and through indigenous organizations and churches, rather than establishing our own.
Conclusion
We totally and gladly depend upon the gracious sustaining and energizing power of the Holy Spirit to be fruitful in this ministry. We gratefully recognize that the Spirit is choosing to work through us, our partners and supporters. We recognize even more our limitations, inadequacies and failures. At the same time we rejoice with firm hope in the sovereign God who blesses our efforts and causes his word to bear fruit.
