International (MNN) — Nathan Anderson with TransWorld Radio works in an area that is majority non-Christian.
Anderson said the greatest need in this area is Christian leadership development because there are lots of young people turning to Christ. "They have no Bible school, they have nobody who disciples them," Anderson said of the region in which he works.
The challenges that face the task of discipleship are illiteracy, a lack of God's Word in writing, and threats against those who convert to Christianity. "Radio is, in
that region, an excellent tool to try and reach them on a regular basis. And those who cannot reveal their changed faith can listen on their own to the program," Anderson said.
TWR has programs in the area that address leadership topics specifically.
Besides following the command of Christ, another reason for having Christian programs in this non-Christian area is to encourage believers there. To many believer, it is an
encouragement just to know that there are others that think like them.
By doing audience analysis in the area and within the potential audience. It is also important to empower locals to take charge of the programming. "I think one of the very, very important aspects, and again shows how important it is that it is done by people from the region, is we can only do it in a good way if we understand their worldview."
There are many cultures within the region.
There is a unique openness about faith in the region in which Anderson works because it is viewed as a public issue rather than a personal one. Anderson says this has both positive and negative consequences on evangelism. "Obviously, if you're different than the
others, you have a problem. But at the same time, it's very easy in a way to start talking about this, so people like to talk about faith."
