A fetish surrounded by remains of worshipers' offerings.

The Yoruba man had never heard anything like it! He had tuned his radio to the station in nearby Ouesse town, and the Christian song he heard literally turned his life around. He destroyed his amulets (charms for protection against evil curses) and fetishes (objects worshipped for their magical powers) and became a follower of Jesus. He joined several others in his village who did the same. They built a small shelter of poles and bush grass and began to meet regularly to worship Jesus Christ.

Tested by Fire

But the Yoruba people in this area have worshiped fetishes for centuries, and the caretakers of the dominant fetish felt the need to protect it from this dishonor. So they burned the church structure to the ground. The fire tested the faith of the new believers, but did not destroy it. Instead, with fresh courage they built a new, fireproof structure.

The nearby town of Savalou is home to many fetish shrines and convents. The mountain behind the town is a place of pilgrimage for a sect that combines some Christian ideas with mystical beliefs and immoral practices. The few believers in the local church find it hard to stand against the influence of this sect, and the Christian broadcasts over the local radio station encourage them and also help them reach their fetish-worshiping neighbors for Christ. Programs in Fon, Fulani, and Yoruba go out from this station.

Churches Are Springing up

We heard these stories during recent surveys of our Christian radio broadcasts in 14 languages on 20 stations throughout Benin and Togo. Our strategy is to buy air time on local community-owned and commercial FM stations. Everywhere the message of Christ is broadcast, churches are springing up.

Many are still waiting for trained leaders. In a very remote town we found a group of more than 80 adults and 120 children who worship together on Sundays. The elders of the group are responsible for preaching and teaching, and they also oversee three emerging churches in neighboring villages. People in two more distant villages have asked them to come and help them start churches, but they had to decline. In this situation, radio becomes even more essential. Every evening the people can listen to a 15-minute program of Bible studies, evangelistic preaching, or teaching on marriage and the family.

In the town of Tchetti, Pastor François and his wife Françoise work together to produce broadcasts in the Ifé language. Pastor François travels through the surrounding villages to fan the flames of faith ignited by the radio programs, and already ten churches have been planted, some of them across the border in Togo. The Tchetti region is multi-cultural, containing people who speak other languages. So we have signed a new contract with that station to broadcast programs in Fon and Fulani in addition to Ifé.

Due to lack of funds, we have had to reduce the number of broadcasts on the national radio station in Parakou, even though the station graciously reduced the cost for some of the programs. We are looking to the Lord to provide for the ongoing costs of broadcasting the Gospel to the people of Benin—both the fixed cost of producing the programs and the broadcast cost on the various stations. The average cost per 15-minute broadcast is about 15 euro or US$20.

Give