By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) - Global Christian broadcaster Trans World Radio has launched Easter season broadcasts to reach millions fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine with “The Story of Jesus.”
“The Story of Jesus” radio play is part of a partnership between TWR and the Jesus Film Project, organizers said. The dramatizations are being heard in both Ukrainian and Russian nightly, leading up to Easter, TWR announced.
TWR said it uses a transmitter to reach countries housing refugees, including portions of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, and Poland that are closest to Ukraine.
The broadcasts, which started shortly after the Russian invasion began, will continue through April 22, said Brandon Neal, the deputy to the director of global services at TWR.
“We were just trying to reach as many as we could,” he added. More than 10 million Ukrainians were uprooted by Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“The Story of Jesus” was already scheduled to be widely broadcast in a series leading up to Easter. But Tom Terry, head of the global broadcast strategy for Jesus Film Project, wanted to reach refugees through radio faster. His Project had already presented the visual Gospel of Luke to billions of people in more than 1,800 languages. It’s an activity of Cru, the name of the Campus Crusade for Christ group in the United States
TWO LANGUAGES
He agreed with TWR to start airing the audio version in the Ukrainian and Russian languages – both spoken in Ukraine – earlier than planned and reach nearby countries. “If there’s anything you need in a war-torn country, it’s hope,” Terry said. “And Jesus offers that.”
Although it’s too soon to evaluate the impact of these particular broadcasts, the two men said they are confident “that God’s Word will not return empty,” citing Bible verse Isaiah 55:11.
“My hope is really that a person or a family will be traveling and that one evening will turn the radio on, and they’ll encounter Jesus,” Neal said. “I imagine a mom and kids sitting there and listening to it while her husband’s back there having to fight.”
It’s a tragic season, but it’s also opportune, Terry added in published remarks. “The bottom line for me is I want people to know and love Jesus. And that often happens through great tragedy.”
Founded in 1954, TWR says it reaches millions of people through more than 300 languages on-air, online, and on the ground in 190 countries.