Life stories are fascinating and Passion for Sport provides a platform for people to have their say. Whether in an interview with a sports personality or in a round table discussion on moral and ethical issues arising in sport, individuals can put their opinions across to an audience of sports fans who listen to our programmes.
I have always worked in media, TV, radio and the internet, and Passion for Sport allows me to combine my engineering gifts with my desire to see others have a relationship with Jesus. When I started working there were only three TV channels in the UK and hardly any Christian radio stations. The Christian message is worth hearing and is life changing so we need to be using all available media to get that message out.
An increasing number of people get their information and form their beliefs from what they read, hear and watch on the internet. People can now choose when and how they listen and watch. It’s mass communication but at the same time very personal. What’s even more exciting is that the communication can now be a two way conversation.
We have traditionally broadcast our programmes across a network of radio stations around the world. We still do but additionally we now have Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and YouTube channels where our audiences can chose when they want to listen and can respond to us if they have something they’d like to say.
Jesus was a great communicator. He identified with his listeners by talking to them about their issues - fishing, taxes, sickness, relationships - and we need to communicate in a relevant way to our society just as Jesus did. Sport and Christian values overlap (Determination, positive thinking, belief, hard work, commitment, playing by the rules) and these provide great opportunities for Passion for Sport to promote a Christ-centred world view.
Our two weekly programmes Planet Sport and Planet Sport Football Africa expand on many of these issues and with years of experience our presenters produce programmes that are relevant and of a high quality. My job is to make sure that the programmes get heard reliably to as wide an audience as possible as we strive to introduce sports fans to Jesus through media.
By Peter Ellis (Operations Manager)