HCJB sends scholar to Africa to help grow radio outreach

USA (MNN) — A man who came to the United States fleeing civil war violence in Liberia is going back to Africa to serve with HCJB World Radio.

Dennis Walker will serve as HCJB’s associate regional director for Sub-Saharan Africa region. He was recently elected into the Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges for outstanding merit and accomplishment as a student at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill. He obtained his Ph.D. in education last May.

Now, however, his focus will be on Africa. “Folks know HCJB only for radio. But, interestingly HCJB does mass media, and radio is a part of that, health care and education. So, I will primarily be involved in traveling around Africa in doing training.”

That training will include radio church planting, planting FM or shortwave radio stations so that, “Unreached people groups, who have yet to hear the Gospel, would hear the Gospel through one of our partner radio stations. So, I’ll be training radio practitioners, radio managers and radio programmers.”

Walker’s decision to return to Africa wasn’t an easy one as he faced threats while serving at ELWA in his home country in Liberia. “I was at gunpoint several times and escaped death. You would think it’s only rational for me to be in the U-S, escape death in Liberia during the civil war and say ‘Wow, I’ve reached the promised land.”

However, Walker says this is a calling. “God has called us to our people. And, we believe that we need to go back and help equip our people and empower them to do the ministry to which God has called them.”

Walker has about 70-percent of his support and needs to raise the remainder of his support before his scheduled departure for the headquarters in Ghana later this summer. Pray for funding and for wisdom as they prepare.