God answers prayer years in advance
The Ottumwa Church in Iowa first started the process of launching a radio station 10 years ago by raising $3,000. However, the project fell flat, was eventually abandoned, and the funds were donated to 3ABN. Ten years later the opportunity to have a radio station revealed itself again. God moved in mighty ways to see that this time the station would become a reality.
The largest obstacle to overcome was the $30,000 needed to erect the building, purchase the equipment and cover the labor cost associated with the station. Even though the church members desired to have the station as a witnessing opportunity to the community, the project was facing an uphill road. The small congregation had sacrificed and was able to raise about $5,000; however, that still left us well short of our goal. So we did the only thing we could—pray that God would provide the needed funds.
Little did we know that God had already answered our prayer years earlier! Thanks to the selfless and thoughtful estate planning of a church member, the exact amount we needed of $25,000 was on its way to the Ottumwa Church for the radio station in a matter of days.
KHIJ 106.3 FM is now on the air and rebroadcasting 3ABN Radio, with additional local programming, 24/7. KHIJ stands for Hope In Jesus and covers Ottumwa and Agency, Iowa, which is approximately a 6-10 mile radius around the church.
This article, also published in the May 2015 print edition of OUTLOOK, was written by Joseph Perricellia, pastor of the Ottumwa Church.
