(Bonn, 16.02.2022) On a recent trip to the Caribbean, World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Secretary General Bishop Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher visited the island of Bonaire, home to Trans World Radio’s (TWR) regional station for the Americas. From this facility, TWR shares the gospel message with millions of people through the largest radio transmitter in the Western Hemisphere.
Schirrmacher met with the local leadership team as well as the Lieutenant Governor of the island, with whom the ministry enjoys a good relationship. Bonaire is a Dutch “special municipality” located 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela.
“Trans World Radio, as the largest Christian media organization in the world, reminds us that sharing the Good News means to spread it daily in hundreds of languages, and that our large, multi-lingual global family sprang up from adapting the gospel into many local cultures,” Schirrmacher said. “But TWR Bonaire also reminds us that we cannot simply sit there and preach. Instead, we must ensure that the means to do it are backed by the law and enjoy political support. This is why I am very thankful to the local government of Bonaire, which has been gracious and helpful for nearly six decades.”
Founded in 1952 as a nonprofit organization for the mass communication of the Good News of Jesus Christ, TWR has grown into a multinational evangelical Christian media distributor. It uses medium-wave or high-powered AM and shortwave transmitters, local FM radio stations, cable, satellite, Internet, and mobile device technologies. Currently, TWR programs can be heard in 190 countries and in more than 275 languages and dialects.
In 1962, TWR was searching for a location to place a new radio station, along with its existing station in Monte Carlo, so as to reach more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Experts agreed that the Caribbean would be an ideal region, and in 1963, TWR decided to establish a station on Bonaire. In January 2018, TWR installed a new 440-kilowatt transmitter—the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere—doubling its potential listening audience to 100 million people.
After visiting station director Jason Helmholdt and the TWR staff and before meeting with pastors and missionaries of the International Church on Bonaire, Schirrmacher met with the Lieutenant Governor of Bonaire, Edison Enrique Rijna. In that visit, Schirrmacher expressed his appreciation for the government’s ongoing support for TWR’s ministry.
As an international ministry that seeks to unite with evangelical churches and ministries within the region, TWR Bonaire is a member of the Evangelical Association of the Caribbean, WEA’s regional member body. It also enjoys close relationships with national Evangelical Alliances in the areas within the region.
Downloads and Links
- Photo 1: WEA Secretary General Bishop Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher and TWR Director Jason Helmholdt Rijn © Jason Helmholdt
- Photo 2 and photo 3: WEA Secretary General Bishop Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher and Lieutenant Governor of Bonaire, Edison Enrique Rijn © Jason Helmholdt
- Photo 4 The four towers that send radio signals to the Americas reaching an area with a total population of 100 million Rijn © Jason Helmholdt
- Photo 5: Trans World Radio © Jason Helmholdt
- Photo 6: Thomas Schirrmacher in Front of the Governors historic palace Rijn © Jason Helmholdt
- Video: Thomas Schirrmacher interviewing Jason Helmholdt Rijn.
