Survey Finds Great Growth in Christian Radio Broadcasting
Statistics from the recently released Barna report showed that nearly half of all adults in the United States - around 46 percent - are tuning in to Christian radio broadcast in a typical month.
"Americans are tuning in!" to Christian radio -- at least according to statistics from the world's largest association of Christian broadcasters and the nation's foremost Christian survey group.
Statistics from the recently released Barna report showed that nearly half of all adults in the United States - around 46 percent - are tuning in to Christian radio broadcast in a typical month. That's 141 million Americans listening to some form of Christian broadcasting at least once a month.
What's more, nearly 28 percent of those on the list are non-Christians.
The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) meanwhile found in a separate study that the number of religious stations grew 14 percent in the past five years as compared with the four percent growth in the overall radio industry.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
NRB President/CEO Dr. Frank Wright calls this growth, "dramatic." The fact that Christian radio stations grew at a 14 percent rate is "a reflection that there is underlying demand." There is an interest among many Americans for the "spiritual," and these latest statistics indicate growth of this interest over the years.
However, according to the Barna survey, the reason for the decline in non-Christian broadcasting may be because the absolute number of nonbelievers who listen to the radio declined. In 1992, 38 percent of the radio audience were unbelievers, but the number dropped to 28 percent, the survey showed.
But to Dr. Wright, the decline in overall radio usage does not reflect a decline in Christian interest. Rather, he said nonbelievers are likely to be tuning into the "explosion" of other broadcasting mediums, such as television and Internet.
"We need to use every means of distribution that we can find. Our focus is on the Gospel message, less the delivery system. We'll always strive to stay abreast of media - so we want to use every available platform," said Wright.
The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an association representing Christian communictors in radio, television, Internet and film.
