Plans are moving along well to have a Christian radio station in Burundi. I have been supporting my assistant pastor Rama for almost a year now to be there. He has been the one to get paperwork done and push everything along down there. I have worked with Rama for over 12 years; he is trustworthy, and he will be operating the radio station.
Pastor Rama is working with a local independent Baptist church in Bujumbura, Burundi. They are very conservative, they go soul winning, and they do NOT have drums or dancing in their church, which is a problem with many so-called Baptist churches in Africa. God really worked it out for us to be together.
We are now to the point of needing to build everything, as we have full permission to operate. We have an official letter, in French, that gives us until the end of the year to start broadcasting. It is totally up to us now to get busy.
So, now we come to the issue of financing. We need your help. I have already spent more than $15,000 to get things to this point–mostly on paperwork and Pastor Rama’s support. Here are the next steps we need to take and the costs:
1. Build a Tower ($8,000) – I will build a 36-meter, freestanding tower myself, which will save a lot of money from what it could be. The church owns property for it.
2. Build a Studio ($9,000) – This will be behind the church and will be next to the tower. The area is small, so we need to build a two-level building.
3. Radio Equipment ($30,000) – This will provide a simple, low-cost setup.
I realize that I am asking for a lot, but radio is not cheap. However, it will reach out to over one million people in Burundi and bring the Gospel to so many who have never heard. Thank you for whatever special offering you can make for this project.
In His service,
Gregg Schoof