One of my international ministry leaders posted a report with the headline: “More Message in the Media.” It got me thinking about how we program our stations and what we put in our various media feeds. Maybe it’s something for you to ponder, too.

I love seeing what our many Christian media ministries do with their program time. Some are very creative and quite professional. I have always been an advocate of building a relationship with the audience so you can more effectively deliver the message God has given us… a message of hope, reconciliation, grace, and salvation. Our prayer is that all will see a reflection of our Lord in our lives.

As I read that headline, a scripture came to mind. After some significant events in Jesus’ life and ministry, He was teaching his disciples and other followers the value of putting first things first.

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

Mark 8:36 ESV

Let me turn that phrase a bit. What does it profit us in Christian media if we gain listeners/viewers, but don’t share God’s Truth? What does it profit us if we have beautiful studios and professional presenters if we don’t clearly present the hope of the world, Jesus? We are forfeiting our position as proclaimers of Truth.

Again, there is value in presenting to the audience things that touch their life…health, finances, emotional well-being. But if they don’t hear that God loves them in spite of their sins, that He wants to provide His comfort in spite of the circumstances, then we have not used the tools the Lord has given us to present the Truth He has shared with us.

When I managed our Dallas Christian radio station, we knew the average commute time in our Dallas-Fort Worth area was 23 minutes. We told our announce staff that within those 23 minutes, we needed a strong spiritual touchpoint. News, weather, traffic, and Christian music were all fine. But we wanted to be sure that the listener was confronted with the Gospel as they listened.

My friend Shane Pruitt often talks about getting to the most important things as we serve in ministry. We talk about the Gospel, but don’t always recognize what the purpose of the Gospel is.

“The goal of the Gospel is not to affirm you, celebrate you, and accept you. The goal of the Gospel is to rescue you, transform you, and redirect you.”

Are there people in your area of influence in Christian media who need to be rescued, transformed, and redirected? Let’s be sure we give them the only thing that makes an eternal difference in our world…the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God’s best,