The Tide®

Few may know that this Saturday—Sept. 7—is World Beard Day. But 22 brave men who are raising awareness and funds for The Tide ® ( www.thetide.org ) global radio ministry are already fully on board. In fact, they’re more than nine months ahead! The group of guys have been growing their beards—no shaving allowed—since the beginning of 2019 for The Tide ministry’s unique “ Year Beard ” fundraiser. Thus far, more than $15,000 has been raised. Those funds will help purchase more airtime for The Tide ministry’s Gospel radio broadcasts in Asia, Africa and Europe. “A motivating factor is the knowledge that for every dollar given through The Tide’s Year Beard challenge, 20 more people worldwide can hear about Jesus,” said The Tide Development Director Mark Story, who came up with the idea of Year Beard and is growing his beard as well. “As we move into the third quarter of Year Beard, people who may have known nothing about our global radio ministry can learn more as they ask, ‘What’s up ...

Each year, The Tide® provides a wonderful way to make a global impact for Christ while hitting the links. And over the years, several community partners have come together to help make two annual golf outings a success. For 73 years, The Tide ministry has served as a multi-national Gospel organization with partners around the world as well as near its U.S. headquarters of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Since 1946, The Tide ministry has recorded and broadcast Gospel radio programming in the languages people were born to speak. Currently, The Tide ministry offers audio programming in 25 heart languages spoken by millions of people in multiple regions of Albania, Bhutan, India, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, Thailand and Zimbabwe. Local partners sponsor the annual golf tournaments to help continue The Tide’s important work. “Several local organizations with historical ties have strong relationships with The Tide ministry, as we work together as a community to make a global impact,” said The ...

David Curry, head of Open Doors USA, penned an editorial for USA Today last month where he admonished American churches for not being more concerned about the worldwide persecution of their brothers and sisters in Christ. For instance, in May , extremists in Nigeria—where The Tide ® ( www.thetide.org ) global radio ministry has recorded and broadcast Gospel radio programming for more than 10 years—abducted 17 Christians right from their church choir practice. The believers are being ransomed, and the women could be sold into slavery, raped or worse. This was just one of many attacks on Christians in Nigeria, where 3,731 Christians were killed last year, Curry said. “If such violence had occurred in Nashville rather than Nigeria, it would dominate nightly news broadcasts and saturate social media feeds,” he wrote. “American churches would be launching fundraising campaigns for victims’ families and addressing it in their weekly gatherings. In this case, however, the American churc...

Nyong, a listener to The Tide ® ( www.thetide.org ) global radio ministry’s Efik language program in Nigeria, says she now can sleep at night. After meeting with The Tide partners and learning about the saving grace of Jesus Christ, Nyong said she has burned the shrines she once used to worship and make sacrifices. “I don’t have nightmares any longer,” she shared. “God bless you and your ministry.” This is just one of countless testimonies that comes as a result of radio listeners in eight countries on three continents hearing the truth that Jesus is the only one true God—and in the languages they were born to speak. “The Tide ministry’s partner on the ground in Nyong’s village said he preached to this woman and her husband about false gods and idol worship, which are common in Nigeria,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. “They prayed together, destroyed the altar at the home, and the couple is now committed to trusting in the Lord. Even after nearly 75 years in ministry, it is s...

The Tide ® ( www. thetide .org ) global radio ministry works with countless partners on the ground in the eight countries where it records and broadcasts Gospel radio programming. In Nigeria, where The Tide ministry has worked for a decade, a contact who is close with many Christian families says the situation in his country is “very discouraging.” “Thousands of Christians in (whole) communities and villages have been slaughtered and burnt to death,” the contact shared. “ The country is now being portrayed as a Muslim country. The right to freedom of worship is gradually being challenged. Schools are changing the curricula to reflect Islamic content and also in the mode of dressing. The military has been compromised; the subtle plan is to wipe out the major military personnel of southern extract, and thereby weaken the military strength of the south as a strategy for a possible Jihad-like penetration to the Christian states.” The Tide ministry has been broadcast...

Some of my earliest memories of going to church and Vacation Bible School include singing that little children’s song.  “This little light of mine” . We learned to do motions as we sang, holding up one finger that symbolized a little candle and moving it around as we sang. When our girls were young and we’d have devotional times together as a family, it was one of the special and fun songs we sang together. I have some wonderful memories of singing that song together as a family. You may remember singing that song too? There were several verses that included;   This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine! Hide it under a bushel, No, I’m going to let it shine! All around my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine! Won’t let Satan blow it out, No, I’m going to let it shine! Let it shine till Jesus comes, I’m going to let it shine!   It’s a cute little song with a very big lesson that we need to apply to our lives. There are several verses in ...

Image from UNICEF The Tide ® ( www. thetide .org ) global radio ministry has had a presence in Nigeria for a decade, mainly in the southern part of this populous country where Christianity is more accepted. But nationwide, declaring faith in Jesus Christ is becoming more and more difficult for Nigerians, as Christians are targeted for violence, annihilation and worse. The youngest Nigerian residents are feeling the terrible impact as well. The Tide Director Don Shenk points to a new UNICEF report that found that just 57% of Nigerian children across 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory are enrolled in school—which means 8 million children are out of school. Parents and children alike are terrified of even short trips to school due to kidnappings that are commonplace in Nigeria. In fact, 16-year-old Leah Sharibu has been in Boko Haram captivity since Feb. 19, 2018, when she was taken along with 109 of her female classmates. Five died in captivity and all others we...

After a full six months of not shaving, the beards on the faces of a brave group of men are getting longer, thicker and a little more unruly. But it’s all for a good cause. Fourteen men have committed to be a part of The Tide ® ( www.thetide.org ) global radio ministry’s unique “Year Beard” challenge and vowed not to shave their beards for the entire year of 2019 to raise awareness and funds for the ministry. Thus far, more than $14,000 has been raised to help purchase more airtime for The Tide ministry’s Gospel radio broadcasts in Asia, Africa and Europe. A motivating factor is the knowledge that for every dollar given, 20 more people worldwide can hear about Jesus. “After six months of beard growth, the Year Beard challenge is catching on, as people who knew nothing of our global radio ministry are being told about The Tide ministry as they ask, ‘What’s up with that beard?’” said Director of Development Mark Story, who initiated the project and is also a participant. “Inter...

In 2015, The Tide ministry entered in local partnership with Radio 7 Albania and some local pastors to produce and air Christian radio programs in the Albanian language. These programs, titled ‘Sipas Fjales’ (According to the Word), are being used as church planting tools as pastors make disciples of listeners who respond to the Gospel. The Gospel is clearly being preached and listeners are eagerly responding. During January, February, and March this year our radio pastors in Albania received 412 phone calls, 323 text messages, and 621 WhatsApp contacts from listeners. Additionally, 285 listeners responded through email, and between our two Albanian radio pastors they were able to meet individually with 96 listeners. The effective outreach and discipleship that The Tide ministry has experienced using radio has prompted us to press on in Albania using television to reach a younger audience. Pastor Klodi often meets with listeners at the coffee shop operated by his congregatio...

More than 35 years ago, The Tide ®  global radio ministry began working with a church group to broadcast Christian radio programming in Zimbabwe. Today, that first program in the Ndebele language—which is called “Amagugu Evangeli,” meaning “Precious Gospel” in English—has grown to include two other languages and reaches so many more. And now, even more listeners will be able to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ thanks to a new, upgraded and larger radio studio in Zimbabwe. The Tide Director Don Shenk noted that previous radio work in Zimbabwe was done in a cramped and noisy setting. “But more than two years ago, The Tide ministry began building a new, larger and upgraded recording studio so that this local radio ministry could continue to grow and impact more lives for Christ,” Shenk said. “As more and more in Zimbabwe learn about Jesus and become hungry for the Word, our partners and local pastors will be able to reach even more listeners with Gospel programming in their own la...

Deuteronomy 31:6-8 What does it take to be a man or woman of courage? Does it take a man or woman of position? A man or woman with a title? No, it takes a life completely surrendered over to God and a life given over to His will completely. It takes courage to stand in Him, to stand in love. Courage, what does it mean? · the ability to do something that frightens one. “she called on all her courage to face the ordeal” · strength in the face of pain or grief Facing many hurts, and disappointments in life can at times lead us to be a person who feels as if there is to never be a time of believing that good things are for them. What if we are wrong? There is good just ahead. We have to grab ahold of that promise in His Word that there is good for us. That He has gone before you bidding you to come and to keep going. What if the hurt and disappointments were for our good? We know that God plans or orders our steps. So, if the journey we walk through and know that He has planned ...

On April 4, 2019, a group of 30 gathered with The Tide Ministry at the Chambersburg Brethren in Christ Church to cut a ribbon in celebration of a new recording studio built for The Tide ministry partners in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. In 1983 The Tide began working with a church group in Zimbabwe to produce and air a Ndebele language radio program called “Amagugu Evangeli” which means “Precious Gospel” in English. Since then, the ministry has also assisted in the production of Christian radio programs in the English and Shona languages, and has a vision to share the gospel in more languages throughout the southern Africa region. The completion of this new, larger, modernized facility sets the stage for expanded outreach while also opening the door for income generating recording and production services to help offset the cost of making the Gospel freely accessible to people in their own language. A mission team will travel to Zimbabwe in August to dedicate the new studio in person and wil...

The Tide ®  Ministry Making Strides in Adult Literacy for Radio Listeners in India We’ve been reaching radio listeners with the hope of Christ over the airways for more than seven decades. But now, a new initiative is helping listeners in India with literacy as well.  The Tide  partners on the ground in Odisha state report that the Adult Literacy Project (ALP), led by 15 different teachers in 15 different villages,has impacted 418 students in the first three months of 2019 alone. Likewise, another five teachers in five additional villages in Chhattisgarh state have reached 128 students. “When our radio partners and local pastors in India step away from the microphone in the studio, their work is not finished,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. “After listeners hear Gospel programs in the languages they were born to speak, they write to our staff and volunteers to report how their lives have been changed by Christ. Furthermore, they want additional ways to learn more abo...

It may be difficult for Americans to imagine having no access to the media channels that play such a huge role in our culture. But this is exactly the case for many living and working in remote villages in India, where  The Tide ®  has reached listeners with the hope of the Gospel for more than 40 years. “Most of us are familiar with the phrase in the Bible that is used  several times throughout the Gospels : ‘He who has ears, let him hear,’” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. “In India, there are those who truly want to hear the truth of Jesus and learn more about His saving grace, but simply don’t have the opportunity or the means. When a person hears about Christ in the language they were born to speak, it holds so much more meaning. That’s why for more than seven decades, we have strived to record programming in more and more languages around the world, including eight languages in India. But the lack of a radio or media player could be the barrier between a...

Matthew 14:22-33 Life was good! Relationships and ministry opportunities were expanding; they were exciting and fulfilling my hopes and dreams. Unexpectedly, everything changed in a moment which was only the beginning of a new journey, actually a storm! The diagnosis of cancer, followed by brain surgery, left me with the hope of 50 weeks to live. Then the radiation treatments began. First was an intense stereotactic radiation treatment; then six weeks, five days each week of conventional radiation treatments. My hair fell out; my ears and side of my head were bright red as my skin began to burn from the radiation as the treatments continued. Then the chemo treatments began. I was put on a 30-day rotation of chemo meds. Sometimes I was so violently sick that I was gasping for breath as I was vomiting convulsively. I told the doctor that I couldn’t continue and that the chemo was killing me. My life seemed like a storm with waves so high that...

Last month, village leaders in Penkodo, located in India’s Chhattisgarh state, passed a new resolution that specifically condemned Christianity under the guise of protecting local customs and culture. When local Christians were not participating in traditional Adivasi festivals, village leaders became angry and asked these believers to stop practicing their faith—but the Christians refused. In response, Persecution.org reported, the leaders drafted an April 13 ordinance claiming Christianity was harming local traditions and declaring that the “local church should be destroyed and that all Christians should be driven out of the village.” These are the acts of persecution Christians face in India, where The Tide® (http://bit.ly/2DXqDQP) global radio ministry has reached listeners with the hope of the Gospel for more than 40 years. “Besides our reach here in the U.S. that began in 1946, India was the first global location touched by our heart language radio broadcasts,” said The Tide D...

Definition: Zealous is the adjective of zeal and means to be ardently devoted, fervent, and enthusiastic on behalf of someone or something. Zeal is often used in a religious sense, meaning devotion to God or another religious cause, like being a missionary. 1 Kings 19:5-11 (NIV) Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.  The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God ...

Next month, we’re taking a meaningful trip to the nation’s capital!  The Tide ministry is planning a May 14 group bus trip to the National Arboretum and Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. “We are looking forward to this time with our community to not only appreciate the beauty of God’s creation but to also immerse ourselves in a very sad but important time in our history,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. The chartered coach bus will depart from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the U.S. headquarters of The Tide ministry, at 7 a.m. May 14. Participants will be treated to a windshield tour of the Arboretum with an exclusive step-on guide through the gardens. Located 2 miles northeast of the Capitol Building, the National Arboretum is operated by the U.S. Dept of Agriculture. Established by an act of Congress in 1927 and encompassing 446 acres, the Arboretum functions as the city’s botanical center. The bus tour will take travelers along 9 miles of a paved circuit through the g...

I woke up with a pounding headache, took a couple Tylenol pills and went to the speaking engagement. Just a few minutes after getting up to speak that Sunday morning in PA, I had a grand mal seizure in front of the audience. I was transferred to Baltimore, MD for brain surgery. A large egg sized tumor was removed from my brain. I told my wife Rhonda, “Honey, I think it’s going to be cancer! How else would God get praise if it wasn’t cancer?” One night in the recovery room while waiting for the diagnosis, I listened to some worship music that a friend had given to me. As I listened I sensed God’s presence so powerfully. Somehow, I turned to 2 Chron. 20 and read the story. It was God’s powerful word that gave me hope! – “Dwayne: worship the Lord!” 2 Chronicles 20 …fits my story. 1-2 Three nations were coming to destroy the people of God. I was facing a battle that had the potential to destroy me, to take my life. 3-4 They decided in their desperation to seek the Lord in ...

He is risen! That’s more than a simple Easter greeting; it’s a proclamation of a truth that is foundational to the gospel Christians embrace. Unfortunately, there are still many people who haven’t even heard the truth that Jesus shed his blood on the cross for their sins, and they still live in spiritual darkness with no hope. Because of this tragic fact—still true even at a time when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and His ultimate sacrifice for all people—The Tide global gospel radio ministry tells people about Jesus in their own language so that they too may experience a new life of full confidence and assurance in Christ, our living Savior! The Old Testament records the detailed instructions God gave through Moses for the Israelites to enage in celebrations to honor God and keep alive the memory of specific things God had done for them. One of those was the Passover celebration to commemorate the liberty God provided for the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. We essential...