CHINA
Good Morning, O
utside the windows of the small high-rise apartment, the predawn surroundings are pitch black. It’s the middle of winter in northern China and bitterly cold. Zhang* leans into her microphone and welcomes her online listeners to the live Internet worship program, called Good Morning, China. One by one, the names of group participants pop up on the chat screen. Some people are listening on their own, while others are gathered in small groups: families at home, youth groups, or clusters of people in their churches. They tune in through their computers or mobile phones every weekday morning. The program is highly interactive. Some listeners queue up to read part of the featured Bible passage, while others submit questions to Pastor Jin as he presents the spiritual talk of the day. “We decided that 5 A.M. is the best time to dedicate to God,” Zhang says. “In big cities like this, it’s easy for people to grow cold
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spiritually, so we want to help them focus on God as they start their day. We have prayer time together and sing-alongs.” In the background of the tiny studio, another young woman is rapidly transcribing the program. By midmorning, a complete transcript will be posted online for those who wish to absorb the messages in written form. The audio recording is also repeated for listeners who can’t quite make the early morning live broadcast. Last but not least, some of the recordings are aired by Adventist World Radio (AWR) as shortwave broadcasts, which can be picked up across China, much of Asia, and beyond.
Expanded Presence
This scene is currently duplicated in three other cities in China, and it represents a huge breakthrough in church outreach. AWR has broadcast to China through shortwave from the first day the station on Guam went on the air on March 6, 1987. But
The average age of radio team members here is 28. They’re persevering despite considerable financial and personal sacrifice. until recently, these programs were produced in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where church workers could operate with much more freedom. “Some restrictions have been partially relaxed in recent years, so we approached AWR about setting up studios within mainland China itself,” says media director John Chen. “We felt that producers who lived in the same communities as their listeners would be able to relate even better to the daily
