“I am firm in my faith in Jesus Christ!”

Through technology and media, many of us have been able to keep in contact with each other. We’re able to be encouraged in our faith by pastors across the country who have been making their messages available online, and we’re able to keep in contact with our loved ones on platforms like FaceTime or Zoom.

Similarly, because TWR is a media ministry and we already have the technology and infrastructure in place, we are able to speak the hope and truth of Jesus into the hearts and homes of people through digital means, the internet and of course through radio.

This includes those who live in the mountains of Bolivia. Each morning at 4 am, Pastor Diego sits down behind the microphone and speaks to his people, the Quechua, live over a network of FM transmitters. These days, that microphone is in his home as the COVID-19 lockdown prevents him from going into the studio at the RTM-Bolivia office (RTM is the Spanish equivalent of TWR).

The Quechua people are early risers, as many work the land on their small farms or labour in the towns and cities across Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. In Bolivia, the early morning RTM broadcasts in their native tongue are appreciated by many in the Quechua community as they prepare for their day.

After his three-hour live broadcast ends at 7 am, Pastor Diego responds to listeners of the Thru the Bible Quechua ministry. The five-year radio series of Dr. J. Vernon McGee’s exposition of the Bible was translated and produced by Diego who now oversees that ministry in Bolivia. The Thru The Bible Quechua programmes are also distributed to 65 local radio stations across the country so the broadcast is heard in major cities, small villages and among many people scattered on hillsides, mountain valleys and jungle lowlands.

Early one morning, Pastor Diego received a call from a listener which speaks to the importance of the ministry. The caller said, “My name is Roberto and I live in a community located in the northern part of Santa Cruz. In our community, we had a church where we met for services on Sundays and Wednesdays. Until about five years ago, several families gathered to worship each week. Then a group arrived in our community saying that they were evangelicals. They went house to house and told people that they were the only true church and that the teaching in all other churches was wrong. Because of their teaching, some people in our congregation left to join with this group. Others were so discouraged they left the faith and returned to the world. 

“I too was about to stay home and forget about church. That’s when I heard a Bible study through the Thru The Bible Quechua programme on the radio. I remember well when the speaker taught in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, that no religion or people can bring salvation. Only Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world. I understood this message well. Thanks to God and thanks to the Thru The Bible Quechua programme I am firm in my faith in Jesus Christ! 

“Recently, we have re-opened the church and we are beginning to again hold services in the church after several years of it being closed. I like to write down the most important parts of the Thru The Bible Quechua Bible study to share with the congregation – it’s great! Thru The Bible Quechua, keep going!”

As we broadcast our programming across the world, our vision is to reach people for Jesus Christ. I’m not sure we will ever fully realise how many people we are keeping in the faith and equipping to stand firm in Jesus Christ. And we may never know how many people will be in heaven with us because of the ministry of TWR. But I do know this: God is moving among the nations and we are all a part of it!

Join us as we thank God for the many ways the Gospel is being shared around the world. We pray particularly for the work of TWR in Bolivia, and ask that many more would come to know Jesus and be equipped to stand firm in their faith.