Trans World Radio

Summary

Trans World Radio (TWR) proclaims the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in areas of the world where other forms of Christian wetness may not be possible. TWR also eagerly supports the work of evangelism and Christian nurturing in other countries, working in harmony with Christian missionaries and evangelical churches worldwide. Its media broadcasts the Gospel in more than 225 languages and dialects to more than 160 countries. Programs air from 2,000 worldwide outlets, including 14 major international sites, satellite, Internet, and local AM and FM stations.

Contact Information: [ Back to top ]

Organization Details [ Back to top ]

Purpose [ Back to top ]

Trans World Radio ("TWR") was founded in 1952 by Dr. Paul E Freed, a man with an intense desire to tell others about Jesus Christ. TWR's first programs aired in two languages from a transmitter in Tangier, Morocco, and now they air programs in more than 225 languages and dialects.

Trans World Radio participates in fulfilling the Great Commission utilizing mass media to proclaim the Gospel to as many people as possible, to instruct believers in Biblical principles, and to develop cooperative relationships with other ministries. TWR broadcasts to more than 160 countries via more than 2,000 broadcast outlets. It produces these programs to meet the unique needs of the people living in those regions of the world. Many programs are adapted for other broadcasters - ministries such as Thru the Bible Radio, Insight for Living, the International Mission Board, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. 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 ]

Trans World Radio uses the following to communicate its purpose:

Our primary goal is to be obedient to what is commonly known as "the Great Commission." We've chosen radio as a tool in accomplishing that.

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

Trans World Radio broadcasts to more than 160 countries via more than 2,000 broadcast outlets. It utilizes 40 transmitters from 14 primary sites worldwide and transmits by satellite to three continents. TWR consists of an international staff of more than 2,000 people serving in over 40 countries. TWR receives over 1.5 million letters yearly from listeners in more than 160 countries. TWR cooperates with Christian broadcasters, national program producers, mission organizations, denominations, local churches, and individuals.

Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

Trans World Radio uses the following to express its faith:

WE BELIEVE:
1. In one Holy, Almighty God, eternally existing in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being. (Biblical Reference: Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19, John 1:1-2, II Corinthians 13:14, Philippines 2:6)

2. In the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Old and New Testaments; that they are infallible, inerrant in the original writings, and the final authority for faith and life. (Biblical Reference: II Timothy 3:16, II Peter 1:20-21, Matthew 5:18, John 16:12- 13)

3. That the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, without ceasing to be God, became man by the Holy Spirit and virgin birth; that he lived a sinless life on earth; that he died at Calvary as a satisfactory substitutionary sacrifice for sinners; that his body was buried in and arose from the tomb; that he ascended to Heaven and was glorified as a man at God's right hand; that He is coming again for His own and then to set up His Kingdom. (Biblical Reference: John 1:1, Matthew 1:20-23, II Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 10:12, John 16: 7-11, Matthew 19:28, Matthew 25:31, II Timothy 2:8)

4. That the Holy Spirit is a divine person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgement; that He is that supernatural agent in regeneration by whom all believers are baptized into the body of Christ; that he indwells and seals them until the day of redemption. He is the divine teacher and helper who guides believers into all truth; it is the privilege of all believers to be filled with the spirit. (Biblical Reference: John 16:7-15, 1 Corinthians 12:13, II Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13)

5. That God created man in His own image and in the state of innocence. Through Adam's transgression "sin entered the world, and death through sin;" and consequently, mankind inherited a corrupt nature, being born in sin and under condemnation. As soon as men are capable of moral action, they become actual transgressors in thought, word and deed. (Biblical Reference: Genesis 1:26-27, Romans 5:12, Romans 3:23, I John 1:8, Ephesians 2:3)

6. That salvation is a gift of God brought to men by grace and received only through personal repentance for sin and faith in the person and the finished work and atoning blood of Jesus Christ. (Biblical Reference: Ephesians 1:7, 2:1-10, John 1:12)

7. In the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to everlasting punishment. That the souls of the redeemed are, at death absent from the body and present with the Lord where, in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Biblical Reference: Revelation 20, Acts 24:25, John 5:28-29, Luke 16:19-31, II Corinthians 5:8, I Thessalonians 4:14-17, I John 3:2)

8. That the church universal is a spiritual organism composed of the regenerated who are baptized into that body by the Holy Spirit at the time of the new birth and that the local church, the visible manifestation of the body, has the responsibility to provide for the fellowship and edification of believers and to propagate the Gospel into the world. (Biblical Reference: Acts 2, I Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 5:27, Mark 16:15)

History [ Back to top ]

Trans World Radio was founded on February 11, 1952 to use mass communication to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Burdened for the people of Spain, TWR founder Dr. Paul E Freed realized that radio would be the best tool for reaching those in this spiritually needy land. While visiting Tangier, Morocco, directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain, he discovered an open door for the establishment of a missionary radio station.

Dr. Freed's father, Dr. Ralph Freed, a veteran missionary, sailed with his wife to Tangier to take charge of the operation. Dr. Ralph Freed gave TWR’s first Christian message on "The Voice of Tangier," which was broadcast in Spanish and English over a 2,500-watt transmitter on February 22, 1954. On January 1, 1956, the station expanded to 40 countries in more than 20 languages.

The Moroccan government announced that all radio installations in the country were to be nationalized as of December 31, 1959. Dr. Freed had begun negotiated with Radio Monte Carlo in Monaco on the European continent. In 1960, “The Voice of Tangier” moved across the Strait of Gibraltar to Monte Carlo and changing its name to "Trans World Radio."

TWR broadcasts continued from a transmitter constructed for Nazi propaganda purposes during World War II. Today TWR has transmitters in Monte Carlo, Bonaire, Swaziland, Cyprus, Guam, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, Albania, Russia, Johannesburg, and Poland. On October 16, 1960, TWR began broadcasting from a 100,000-watt transmitter on Mount Agel, high above the Principality of Monaco. These programs, which are in over 20 languages, target listeners in the CIS, Europe, and North Africa.

In August of 1964, Trans World Radio's 500,000-watt AM transmitter broadcast its first message from the island of Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles. With salt flats and sea air, Bonaire provides excellent conductivity for the transmission of radio signals. The 180-acre site, which houses TWR's transmitter building and maintenance shops, broadcasts more than 70 hours of programming each week in four languages to northern South America and the Caribbean.

In August 1973, Swaziland, a small country located in the southeastern part of the continent of Africa, gave TWR permission to establish broadcast facilities there. This location broadcasts more than 260 hours per week of programming in more than 25 languages to sub-Saharan Africa and Pakistan.

In cooperation with Radio Monte Carlo, TWR began daily broadcasts from Cyprus on May 1, 1974 using a 600,000-watt AM transmitter. These broadcasts target an estimated 350 million people in 21 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

On May 12, 1975, the American Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) granted TWR permission to construct facilities on the island of Guam, and on August 22 the station began daily broadcasting. They added two 100,000-watt shortwave transmitters in 1977 and two more in 1981. This facility broadcasts in more than 35 languages to Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Asia Pacific region.

On November 25, 1975, the Sri Lanka government granted permission for TWR to construct a 400,000-watt, AM station. In 1978, TWR-Sri Lanka began its broadcasts to India with over 40 hours of weekly programming in more than 15 languages.

In 1981 TWR established a cooperative relationship with an existing Uruguay radio station called "Radio Rural" ("Radio Capital" as of 1989). This station provides programming to an area referred to as the "Cono Sur" (Southern Cone) of South America. It is a significant supplement to TWR's Bonaire station and gives major coverage to a densely populated area, including northern Argentina and all of Uruguay. The station utilizes a 50,000-watt AM transmitter and broadcasts more than 20 hours per week in two languages.

On August 20, 1992, TWR signed a contract with Radio Tirana in Albania to begin broadcasting to Eastern Europe via AM radio. Named after Albania's capital city, Radio Tirana was used by the Communists to broadcast their propaganda for more than four decades. TWR began broadcasts from Albania on October 1, 1992, in four languages, and now, TWR-Albania broadcasts more than 95 hours per week in over 15 languages.

To reach the northernmost parts of India and the Himalayan countries, TWR met with representatives of the Main Center of Broadcasting Networks in Russia (Radio Moscow), which formerly represented the strong voice of Communism from the Soviet Union to the world. TWR and Radio Moscow reached an agreement to broadcast Christian programming into South Asia, and transmission began on June 1, 1993 to northern India, Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet. Today, TWR transmits more than 50 hours of programming in 30 languages weekly.

Trans World Radio’s transmitting stations numbered ten after the addition of a transmitting station south of Johannesburg, South Africa on December 4, 1994. This station has dramatically expanded TWR’s area of broadcast coverage on the African continent. On March 3, 1997, TWR’s 12th transmitting location at Szczecin, Poland, in northwest Poland near the Baltic Sea, began providing Christian programming to the people of Scandinavia.

Since then, TWR has added a 1-million watt AM transmitter in Central Asia on November 15th, 1996, a 1-million watt AM transmitter in Grigoriopol, Poland, on August 2nd, 1999, a 600,000 watt AM transmitter in St. Petersburg, Russia, on January 3rd, 2000, and a 50,000 shortwave watt transmitter in Brazil, on November 21, 2004.

Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

In addition to numerous overseas opportunities, Trans World Radio has several needs for volunteers. Another way to get involved would be to become one of TWR cooperating broadcasters. If one presently has a radio ministry and a desire to expand into other languages, he or she can contact TWR. TWR will have information on the types of programs TWR is looking for and give a general idea of the cost involved in initiating an international broadcast.

TWR also has other special projects one can get involved with. More information on these projects may be found on their website.

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		200 of 347	37 of 54
Fund Acquisition Decision		277 of 347	44 of 54
Resource Allocation Decision		61 of 347	7 of 54
Asset Utilization Decision		233 of 347	42 of 54

Shining Light [ Back to top ]