Far East Broadcasting Company, Inc.

Summary

Far East Broadcasting Company, Inc. ("Voice of Friendship") is a nondenominational ministry founded in 1946 to proclaim the Gospel by radio and mass communications. In so doing, it seeks to cooperate with and support existing missionary efforts and the ministry of the greater body of Christ worldwide. The Board of Directors of Voice of Friendship is comprised of "outsiders" except for the president. The President of Voice of Friendship is a non-voting member of the Board, providing administrative accountability.

This organization is a nonprofit. Contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. It is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Contact Information: [ Back to top ]

Organization Details [ Back to top ]

Purpose [ Back to top ]

Far East Broadcasting Company, Inc. ("Voice of Friendship") is a nondenominational ministry founded in 1946 to proclaim the Gospel by radio and mass communications. In so doing, it seeks to cooperate with and support existing missionary efforts and the ministry of the greater body of Christ worldwide. The Board of Directors of Voice of Friendship is comprised of "outsiders" except for the president. The President of Voice of Friendship is a non-voting member of the Board, providing administrative accountability.

This organization is a nonprofit. Contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. It is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Mission Statement [ Back to top ]

Far East Broadcasting Company ("Voice of Friendship") uses the following to express its mission:

FEBC's mission is to develop radio programming and deliver it to listeners in Asia in such a way that they move toward Jesus Christ and into His Kingdom, that they know Him as Savior, Lord, and King, follow His teaching, and live in obedience to Him as His servants, and as members of a local body of believers.

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

Far East Broadcasting Company's ("Voice of Friendship") accomplishments and programs include some of the following:

RADIO:
Voice of Friendship prepares and broadcasts Christian programming from its offices in California, Saipan and Russia. Voice of Friendship broadcast 380 hours of Christian programming daily in approximately 150 languages, from eleven sites in Asia. Funds were granted to various foreign affiliates to assist in paying for the cost of these programs. Voice of Friendship provided staffing, funding and logistical support for the production of programming in Russian and three Indo-Chinese languages at its Mirada California office.

MISSIONARIES:
Voice of Friendship publicizes and supports 24 missionary families who worked in five countries, providing spiritual and pastoral care, as well as technical support of Voice of Friendship's Radio operations.

Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

Far East Broadcasting Company ("Voice of Friendship") subscribes to the following statement of faith:

The Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

That there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In the deity of Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and that He will personally return in power and glory.

That for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a Godly life.

In the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation. In the spiritual unity of believers in Christ.

History [ Back to top ]

At the close of World War II, when countless soldiers were returning from the conflict in the Pacific, many people were newly aware of the great spiritual needs of Asia. John Broger and Bob Bowman felt called by God to set up a radio ministry in Asia. They envisioned a ministry that would bring the Gospel to the millions in Asia, especially China! Voice of Friendship's very first broadcast in February 1947 was from a station in Shanghai. This was to be short-lived because by early 1948 all mission work in China was becoming very restricted. John Broger searched around Asia for a likely place to locate Voice of Friendship's radio ministry - and decided on the Philippines. The Philippines had much to offer and is ideally located in the South China Sea.

The Philippines was gaining its own independence from the USA, and the young nation was more than willing for Voice of Friendship to establish operations there. The first broadcasts, over local station KZAS (as it was then known) went on air in Manila on June 4, 1948. International broadcasts to China started the following year and have expanded to cover most of Southeast Asia, as well as Russia.

Currently, there are both AM and FM stations in Manila and 10 regional stations throughout the Philippine provinces. And all this in addition to Voice of Friendship's overseas transmission sites at Bocaue and Iba. In 1972 Voice of Friendship established a station on the island of Cheju in S. Korea. This has become the mainstay of Voice of Friendship's broadcasts to China on medium wave, as well as, broadcasts to Japan and Russia. A second medium-wave station was added later; it broadcasts from Inchon just outside of Seoul, the capital.

South Korea has become a very stable nation in the region and Voice of Friendship has been happy to enjoy a good working relationship with the Korean government over the years. Saipan became a Voice of Friendship shortwave site in the early '80s. It houses four shortwave transmitters that broadcast to Russia, China, and parts of Southeast Asia. Today, together with Feba Radio, Voice of Friendship uses radio to share the good news about God's unconditional love, forgiveness and friendship to about 150 language/people groups in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, which represents more than four billion people.

Voice of Friendship's founders were also greatly influenced by the patriarch of the China Inland Mission (today OMF International), James Hudson Taylor, who said more than a hundred years ago that money ill gotten would bring no good to the work of the Lord. Voice of Friendship subscribes to the fundraising policy that is accessible on their web site.

Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

On January 13, 2003 a fire completely destroyed the studios of FEBC radio station in Ulaan Baatar. FEBC is asking for donation to help rebuild this facility.

Philippines: Our biggest and most challenging technical project ever!

Begun in 1990, S.A.V.E. {"Southeast Asia Voice of Evangelism"] is one of the largest technical projects ever undertaken by Far East Broadcasting (FEBC). The objective of the project is to modernize the Bocaue, Philippines Short Wave site, in preparation for the advent of digital broadcasting.

These 1940's era CW (code) units were donated to Far East, to which we added modulators. What is the purpose of this project?

are electrically inefficient
are unreliable
have many replacement parts that are unavailable
do not any longer put out the rated power
and the bottom line is that they do not produce a satisfactory signal or sound for the listener.

What will the new equipment do?
Greatly increase the energy efficiency of the transmitters. The new Continental 100,000 watt transmitters employ dynamic carrier control (DCC), an electrically controlled system that applies power only to the portion of the signal that carries sound.

Improve the quality of the broadcast sound. The newer transmitters will allow us to take full advantage of the audio equipment that "shapes" the sound in a way that delivers that portion of the signal that is most easily heard by the listener.

Uses antennas that can focus the signals more precisely on the intended listening zone, and which can quadruple the strength of the signal to the listener, over the present antennas. The TCI antennas employed are "slewable", i.e., directional.

Prepare the way for digitalization of the transmissions which will increase the output power another four times without increasing electrical input, and provide the listener with near-CD quality sound!

Why invest in Short Wave?
Despite original predictions to the contrary, international short wave remains an extremely popular broadcasting medium in parts of the world where millions of people have access to little else in their own language, especially in the vast, undeveloped, island and rural areas.

Short wave (and high power AM where possible) remain the only unregulated major media for broadcasting across international borders. In other words, while governments can control the use of satellites because of political and religious fears, or forbid the widespread distribution of decoders for the same reason, they can't get control of the hundreds of millions of AM and SW radio sets that are in use around the world. In fact, in many large developing countries, SW is used by the government internally.

What are the project's major components?
1. Transmitters
Addition of four energy-efficient 100,000 watt transmitters with digital transmission capability.

2. Antennas
Construction of four high-gain, "steerable" antennas which will concentrate the signals more precisely in the intended target area.

3. New Transmitter Building
Construction of a new building to house the additional transmitters. The newer building will be located nearer the new antennas, reducing transmission line loss.

Progress:
Major Project Items in Service:
Four TCI 611 high-gain slewable antennas $3.5 million
Continental 100 kW DCC transmitter #1 $750,000


Major Project Items Needed:
Continental 100 kW DCC transmitter #2 $850,000
Continental 100 kW DCC transmitter #3 $850,000
Continental 100 kW DCC transmitter #4 $850,000
New transmitter building and shop to house new transmitters $1.7 million

Can you help us with this project?
Please contact Far East Broadcasting:

Far East Broadcasting Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 1
La Mirada, CA 90637-0001 USA
Email : febc@febc.org
Fax : (562) 943-0160
Phone: (562) 947-4651

Project Cambodia FM

The present coalition government welcomes Christian enterprises where they can help restore morale and bring stability to this country still recovering from the vicious regime of Pol Pot. In 1993, Far East Broadcasting re-opened its studio/office in Pnom Penh and began producing programs once again from the heart of the country it currently reaches by short wave from Manila. In 1998, we applied for, and received a permit to operate a radio station. After various bureaucratic complications, we were able to start serious work on an FM station in November of 1999.

The FEBCambodia Phnom Penh staff presently produce broadcasts that are sent on to FEBC-Philippines, for transmission to Cambodia by FEBC's short wave site at Bocaue, Philippines. What is the purpose of this project?

To extend the influence of Christian radio in Cambodia by establishing and operating a 5,000 watt (ERP 25,000 watts) FM station in the capital city, Phnom Penh.

What will the new radio station accomplish?

Greatly extend listenership of Christian broadcasts. Reach approximately 4 million people in Phnom Penh and surrounding towns with local Christian broadcasting. While short wave broadcasts from the Philippines are listened to widely in the countryside, FM is the most popular local radio medium in the major cities.

Bring us closer to the audience, and the audience closer to us. In our experience, local broadcasting creates a sense of community ownership where Christians can involve themselves in the life of the station, and the station can become a servant of the local Church.

To establish FEBC as a trusted Christian voice, so that in the future additional outlets may be approved, to reach other areas of the country with local stations.

Why not use AM?
Presently, only the Cambodian Government uses AM. However, it is expected that in the near future AM will be opened up to private organizations with power of up to 50,000 watts. Such transmitters would reach considerable distances, and perhaps even include across-border broadcasts. This is one reason we hope to get on the air soon and establish ourselves as a trusted Christian voice.

What are the project's major components?
1. Studio Site.
We are presently renting space in town. A piece of property has already been purchased for our own studio, and has undergone some preliminary development. But the studio/office complex has yet to be built on this site.

2. New Studio/Office Building
While the electronic equipment they use is adequate to produce good quality recordings, the staff presently do their broadcasts in temporary studios located in a rented residential facilitiy in Phnom Penh. The programs are then sent on to Manila where they are transmitted on short wave to Cambodia.

3. Transmitter and antenna site.
The property has already been located and is in the process of being purchased. It lies about five miles to the west of the city of Phnom Penh. This property has to be big enough to hold a small transmitter building, and a 300 foot tower with AM and FM capability.

4. Transmitter and Tower
The transmitter will be 10,000 watts, and the guyed tower at least 350 feet tall.

Progress:
Major Project Items in Service / Provided For:
Studio/office property $30,000
Transmitter/antenna site $260,000


Major Project Items Needed:
Studio/office building $350,000
5,000 watt FM Transmitter $60,000
350 foot tower (installed) $63,000
10-bay FM antenna (including connections) $31,000
Two 60 KVA Generators $36,000
Improvements to property $43,000


Can you help us with this project?

Please contact Far East Broadcasting network:

Far East Broadcasting Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 1
La Mirada, Ca 90637-0001 USA
Email : febc@febc.org
Fax : (562) 943-0160
Phone: (562) 947-4651

Research Analysis

Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]

MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]

Ranking Category	Rating	Overall Rank	Foreign Missions Sector
Overall Efficiency Rating		342 of 348	54 of 54
Fund Acquisition Decision		342 of 348	54 of 54
Resource Allocation Decision		of 348	47 of 54
Asset Utilization Decision		of 348	47 of 54