Back to God Ministries International

Back to God Ministries International is the electronic media ministry of the Christian Reformed Church.[1][2] Founded in 1939[3] as the weekly radio ministry program "The Back to God Hour",[4][5] in 2015 the organization produces radio programs, TV broadcasts, and Internet websites in 10 languages,[6] including children's dramas, daily devotionals, Bible resources, family resources, and cultural reflections. It operates from the Christian Reformed Church Headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and in Burlington, Ontario.

Back to God Ministries International
FoundedDecember 17, 1939 (1939-12-17)
FounderRevs. Dick Walters, Edward Pekelder, Benjamin Essenburg, and Henry Baker; Messrs. Jacob De Jager and Mark Fakkema, under the direction of the Christian Reformed Church
TypeElectronic Media Ministry
362284261
FocusElectronic Media
Location
Coordinates41.672408°N 87.782206°W / 41.672408; -87.782206
OriginsThe Back to God Hour
Area served
Worldwide
MethodRadio, Television, Internet
OwnerChristian Reformed Church in North America
Key people
Executive Director Rev. Kurt Selles
Revenue
$9,506,199
Employees
29
Websitebacktogod.net
Formerly called
The Back to God Hour
Member ECFA

History

Planning

At the Christian Reformed Synod of 1928, a committee was appointed to investigate the possibilities for radio missions. The committee presented a report for Synod of 1930 detailing plans for broadcasting sermons, but because of financial difficulties created by the stock market crash of 1929 the plan was shelved.[7]

In 1938, Synod received a request from Classis Pella (a regional assembly in Iowa) to develop a denominational broadcast modeled after The Lutheran Hour. Synod then appointed the first permanent Radio Committee.

The Back to God Hour

On Sunday, December 17, 1939, the first broadcast was aired over WJJD, a 20,000-watt station in Chicago.[8] Calvin College Professor Henry Schultze served as the first speaker.[9][10] During the first three seasons, the program was not produced during the summer; beginning in the 1943-44 season, the program was aired every Sunday, year-round.

At this time Dr. Peter Eldersveld joined the organization, first as an introductory announcer and later as a regular host. In 1946 the Church appointed him as a full-time radio minister.[11] In 1950 he launched The Family Altar (later renamed the Today daily devotional), a booklet with daily devotional messages which was promoted through the radio program.

In 1956 the Back to God Hour was syndicated on HCJB, a short-wave broadcasting station in Ecuador, its first continuous international broadcast.[7] In 1958, 13 episodes of the Back to God Hour were filmed for television.[12]

In 1958, the Back to God Hour began broadcasting in the Middle East, with Rev. Bassam Madany as Arabic minister.[13] The Back to God Hour expanded in 1959 to Australia and New Zealand. In 1961, Rev. Juan Boonstra began translating programming into Spanish, and in 1965 he moved to Chicago to record programs for Latin American audiences as the Spanish language minister,[14]

Expansion

After Eldersveld's death in 1965,[15][16] Dr. Joel Nederhood was appointed as his replacement.[17] Over the next few years, the organization expanded its broadcasts into more languages, including Indonesian, French, and Portuguese. Many of the broadcasts were sent out through Trans World Radio (TWR), a Christian radio broadcasting organization with transmitting stations around the world.

In 1974, Chinese[18] and Japanese ministries were set up.[19] In 1976, Back to God built a new International Communications Center in Palos Heights, Illinois, with office space as well as radio and television production facilities.[20] In 1977, Back to God began producing television programs: documentaries, holiday specials, and Faith 20, a 30-minute video version of The Back to God Hour radio program which aired daily across the United States.[21]

In 1980, Russian language broadcasts began under the leadership of Mikhail Morgulis.[22][23] In 1981, WGN America offered a daily morning time slot for Faith 20. Telephone counseling centers were set up in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Toronto.[24] In Brazil, Rev. Ferreira created Disquepaz, a short Portuguese language devotional program delivered by telephone. In 1982, the French language ministry was moved from Paris to Chicago.

By 1990, Dr. Nederhood's duties as Director had expanded, and a separate minister, Rev. David Feddes, took over as host of the English language version of The Back to God Hour. Rev. Feddes left Back to God Ministries in 2008 and became the provost of Christian Leaders Institute.[25]

In January 1996, Nederhood retired and Dr. Calvin Bremer was appointed to replace him as Director of Ministries. Over the next few years, Several other ministers retired and were replaced by younger preachers. Back to God also opened new offices in Moscow in 1995 (relocated to St. Petersburg in 2004,) and in Hong Kong in 2005.

In 1997, Faith 20 was discontinued.[26] Bremer began a new program, entitled Primary Focus in 1999.[27] In 2000, Back to God debuted a children's radio program called Kids Corner. Primary Focus ran for 6 years, and was nominated for two local Chicago Emmy Awards. In 2005, Back to God ended Primary Focus as part of its move toward a more Internet-based ministry.[28]

In 2005 Bremer resigned as Director of Ministries after admitting to behaving with poor judgement in a conflict of interest situation,[29] and Rev. Robert Heerspink replaced him as the organization's leader.[30] In 2006, Back to God reorganized the English language ministry, bringing the Today devotional, Back to God Hour, and Kids Corner under the leadership of Rev. Steven Koster. Back to God also entered a partnership with Words of Hope and FEBA to produce a Specialized English broadcast called Spotlight.[31][32]

Back to God Ministries International

In 2008, the organization changed its name from "The Back to God Hour" to "Back to God Ministries International" because its activities had extended beyond overseeing the radio program of the same name.[33][34] Also in 2008, A new daily radio program called Walk the Way, with an associated videoblog, began to air, a new radio program called Under the Radar was launched, and the blog Think Christian was acquired from Gospel Communications International.[35]

In 2009, the English ministry was reorganized as ReFrame Media, unifying all domestic programming into a single ministry.[36] In 2010, the long-running Back to God Hour celebrated its 75th anniversary and was replaced by a new program called Groundwork, which was produced in partnership with Words of Hope.[37] 2010 also saw the launch of Family Fire a family encouragement ministry.[38]

After Heerspink's death in 2011,[39][40] Rev. Kurt Selles, formerly a missionary in China and Taiwan, became the organization's Director in 2012.[41]

In 2015, the Christian Reformed Church Synod announced plans to combine the governing boards of Back to God Ministries International with two other missionary organizations within the church, Christian Reformed World Missions and Christian Reformed Home Missions.[42]

In December 2017, the property at 6555 West College Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois, where Back to God Ministries International was based for more than 40 years, was sold to adjacent Trinity Christian College. The sale marked the relocation of Back to God Ministries International to Grand Rapids, Michigan.[43]

English: ReFrame Media

The English language ministry of Back to God Ministries, ReFrame Media, is under the directorship of Rev. Steven Koster. Some of its current projects are:

  • Today daily devotional - A daily devotional in print and email. Today booklets are published bi-monthly, and is written by pastors in the Christian Reformed Church.
  • Think Christian - A faith and culture blog (acquired from Gospel Communications International in 2008).[35]
  • Family Fire - A marriage and family ministry providing encouragement to Christian households.
  • Kids Corner - A 25-minute weekly children's radio drama starring lizard characters.
  • Groundwork - A 25-minute weekly radio conversational Bible study broadcast in association with Words of Hope.
  • Church Juice - A service for congregations on church communications, public relations, marketing, and website development.

Some of its former projects include

  • Under the Radar - A 60-minute weekly radio program that plays "undiscovered" and "under-appreciated" music. Was spun-off as an independent ministry in 2014.
  • Walk the Way - A weekly 5-minute videoblog hosted by Rev. Jeff Klein. Was transferred to QPlace in 2014.
  • Spotlight - A weekly 15-minute radio program recorded in Specialized English, produced in association with Words of Hope and HCJB Global. ReFrame withdrew from the project in 2014.
  • Primary Focus - a 30-minute TV broadcast of encouraging and inspirational faith stories. Was spun off as the independent "Life Focus" in 2005.
  • Faith20 - A TV devotional program, discontinued in 1997.
  • The Family Altar - the original name of the Today devotional, beginning in 1950.
  • The Back to God Hour - The original preaching program ran from 1939-2010, and was renamed Groundwork.

French

Led by Rev. Paul Mpindi from 1999-2014. Its projects include:

  • Perspective Réformées - ("Reformed Perspective") Daily 15-minute radio program designed to reach those who wish to become Christians.
  • Perspective Réformées pour la femme Chretienne - ("Reformed Perspective for the Christian Woman") - Weekly 15-minute radio program aimed at women.
  • Pain de Vie - ("Bread of Life") The French version of the daily devotional booklet Today
  • Cours Bibliques Par Correspondances - ("Bible Correspondence Courses'")

Spanish

Rev. Guillermo Serrano has been the director of the Spanish language Ministry since 1991. His group provides free technical training for radio station personnel in Latin America in exchange for airtime. Back to God's Spanish projects include:

  • La Hora de la Reforma - ("The Hour of Reformation") A 15-minute weekly radio introduction to biblical teachings.
  • El Club del Arca - ("'The Ark Clubhouse") A 52 episodes bible-oriented children's television show with puppet characters.
  • Reflexión - ("Reflections") a 5-minute daily radio commentary with a Christian perspective.
  • Comunicadores Online - ("Online Communications") a website which offers follow-up resources and communication for station managers and media technicians who attend Back to God Ministries International training workshops.
  • La Vida Ahor ("Life Today") a weekly news magazine video broadcast, DVD and podcast concerned with applying biblical principles to daily life situations.

Other Languages

Other indigenous ministry teams develop broadcasts and other media in the following languages:

  • Russian - Rev. Sergei Sosedkin, since 1996
  • Portuguese - Rev. Hernandes Lopes, since 2006
  • Arabic - Rev. Victor Atallah, since 1979
  • Japanese - Rev. Masao Yamashita, since 1998
  • Chinese - led by Jerry An, succeeding Rev. Jimmy Lin who led the ministry from 1990-2015.
  • Indonesian - led by Rev. Untung Ongkowidjaja in the years 2002-2015.
  • Hindi - led by A.K. Lama since 2014, formerly led by Stephen Paul of Good Books Trust.
gollark: Great!
gollark: Bash is *not* a good programming language! Being a shell, it has its nice sides, like good concurrency control and file descriptor wrangling, but it's just awful otherwise.
gollark: oh bees *why* would you DO this?
gollark: Instead of opus or something, I mean.
gollark: Why MP3, by the way?

References
  1. Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly. Northwestern Publishing House. 2007. p. 300.
  2. The Challenge of Bible Translation: Communicating God's Word to the World. Zondervan. 18 May 2009. pp. 236–. ISBN 978-0-310-32185-9.
  3. Robert Benedetto; Donald K. McKim (6 October 2009). Historical Dictionary of the Reformed Churches. Scarecrow Press. pp. 392–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7023-9.
  4. J. Gordon Melton; Phillip Charles Lucas; Jon R. Stone (January 1997). Prime-time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting. Oryx Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-89774-902-2.
  5. William R. Hutchison (30 November 1990). Between the Times: The Travail of the Protestant Establishment in America, 1900-1960. Cambridge University Press. pp. 86–. ISBN 978-0-521-40601-7.
  6. "Faith in Art". Chrisrianity. by Sarah Lampson
  7. David DeGroot, Worlds Beyond: The story of The Back To God Hour (Palos Heights: The Back to God Hour, 1979), 3-6
  8. Robert Swierenga, Dutch Chicago: a history of Hollanders in the Windy City (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2002), 746
  9. Scott Hoezee, Grace Through Every Generation (Grand Rapids: Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2006), 31)
  10. Henry Stob, Summoning Up Remembrance (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995)
  11. Scott Hoezee; Christopher H. Meehan (1996). Flourishing in the Land: A Hundred-Year History of Christian Reformed Missions in North America. Christian Reformed Home Missions. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-8028-3795-0.
  12. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (16 March 1957). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 12–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  13. Radio Pierces Arab Barriers To Christianity". Orlando Sentinel, September 10, 1988 By Laurie Goering
  14. "Obituaries: Rev. Juan S. Boonstra, voice of 'Back to God Hour'." Chicago Tribune, March 25, 1995, p. 115. .
  15. "Peter Eldersveld". Reformed Perspectives
  16. "Radio Pastor Dies at Age 54." The Baltimore Sun, October 15, 1965, sec. A13.
  17. "Local Minister Leaves to Take National Church Post." The Washington Reporter, January 8, 1966, sec. 8.
  18. "Rev. Isaac I. Jen." Chicago Sun-Times, June 11, 1988, p. 43.
  19. "Six speakers slated for mission meeting." Edmonton Journal, October 9, 1971, p. 37.
  20. VandenBosch, James. "Back to God Hour moves to new headquarters." The Banner, May 21, 1976, 6-7.
  21. "CRC-TV production unit formed." The Banner, April 15, 1977, 3.
  22. Szymczak, P. D. "Ukrainian tries to build a bridge to his homeland." Chicago Tribune, May 1, 1992, p. 6.
  23. Hirsley, Michael. "Russia says U.S. too pushy with religion." The Spokesman-Review, July 30, 1993, p. E3.
  24. "Back to God Hour airs on WGN-TV." The Banner, June 15, 1981, 22.
  25. "Dr. David Feddes - Free Ministry Training - Ordination". 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  26. "Faith 20 finishes its run." The Banner, June 30, 1997, 11.
  27. Postma, Gayla R. "Back to God Hour launches new TV program." The Banner, July 5, 1999, 28.
  28. "Church will switch off Primary Focus TV program". Dec 24, 2005. Toronto Daily Star archives. (subscription required)
  29. "Two Sad Resignations". Christianity Today,
  30. ""CRC NEWS: CRC Appoints Director for Media Ministry"". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
  31. "Noteworthy". Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  32. "BTGH expands english language ministry". Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  33. "CRC NEWS: 'Back to God' Name Goes International
  34. "Worshippers strong on faith, but not church". My San Antonio. by Roy Bragg August 2, 2010
  35. "Gospel Communications online sold". Clayton Hardiman | Muskegon Chronicle
  36. "Finding God Outside Church". Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  37. "CRC, RCA Launch 'Groundwork'". Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  38. "Families on Fire". Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  39. "Obituaries Today: The Rev. Robert Heerspink, 57, of Back to God Ministries International". Mlive.
  40. "In Memoriam: Rev. Robert Heerspink" by Louis M. Tamminga, The Banner, November 18, 2011
  41. "Selles Nominated as Director of Back to God Ministries". The Banner, by Gayla R. Postma May 11, 2012
  42. "CRC Synod Approves Changes To Governance". KIWA Radio. June 19, 2015
  43. "Back to God on the Move, Building Sold to Trinity Christian College". The Banner. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
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