It’s called PraiseShare and it’s the time of year when KVNE/KGLY suspends regular programming to encourage listeners to give to the ministry.  It’s the way the stations fund the rest of the year budget.

So, if you’re not used to a noncommercial station and have mostly listened to the ones that play loads and loads of commercials then you are probably wondering “why do you have to do that!? Other stations don’t ask me to donate”  You’re right, the commercials stations don’t ask you to donate because they live on the money the advertisers pay to get their commercials on air.  But, remember, we are a noncommercial station.

Noncommercial stations couldn’t play commercials if we wanted to…and by the way, we don’t want to.  We can use that time that would have gone to commercials (typically 12-15 minutes an hour for a lot of commercials stations) to play more music that honors God, to pray with listeners, to share scripture and to share stories of what God is doing in our lives. Now, that is SO much better than spending the time listening to a commercial to either grow hair or laser remove it!

But even though Praise Share is a fund raiser, it’s so much more than that to me.  If all we did was talk about money and ask people to give I wouldn’t want to do it for one day much less for these next two weeks! But, it’s more about the people than the money.  It’s about the volunteers who come in before the crack of dawn to man the phones for free, talking to people who share their same love of the station.  Many times it sounds like by the time the phone call between the donor and the volunteer is over – the two are old friends!  They share stories and prayer requests and the love of the Lord along with that donation.

It’s about the giving listeners who each have their own story as to why they listen, what brought them to Christian radio in the first place, or how the station’s music and message saved their life, their marriage or their heart! It’s about the people that say since they’ve been giving to the station they feel so much more a part of the work God is doing through the station…like when someone calls in and asks Christ into their life because of what they’ve heard on the air…they feel like they were a part of that!  I love the way the giving listeners refer to the station as “my station, or OUR station” because they feel ownership of the work here!  Wow! that gets me excited!

It’s about the people who in the future will want and need a station like KVNE/KGLY in their life and may never know that those who call these next two weeks to give were the ones to provide this blessing for future generations!

And….it’s about the staff working, tirelessly and happily because they spend every day watching God do miraculous things through the work of the radio station.  They are working more than 12 hour days during Praise Share but they do it like it was a gift to them to get to work it.

That’s why I don’t want you to think this is just another one of those fund raisers!  Because I promise you it is so much more than that – it’s about people, love, God and YOU.

So What’s going on? ….. Honestly?  What’s going on is God’s children are working together to make sure that His name is being lifted up in East Texas.  The money is being raised…but so is the name of Jesus, so are the people listening on the radio, and so are the volunteers and staff in house.