The Back to God Hour (BTGH) is the worldwide electronic media ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. Through radio, television, the Internet, telephone, and print materials the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ reaches people living in areas where the gospel and missionaries are prohibited.
What’s New
Your support of the Back to God Hour has made it possible for millions of people in 150 countries to hear and respond to the gospel. Here’s what happened this year in the BTGH’s various language ministries:
Chinese: Rev. Jimmy Lin’s latest trip to China highlighted the need to reach out to neglected and at-risk children in that country. The Chinese-language ministry team is initiating a new radio program to introduce Chinese children to Jesus Christ.
French: Listener responses to French-language broadcasts in Africa and the Caribbean have nearly tripled in the past year. Hundreds of people in Central Africa graduated from the Back to God Hour’s French-language Bible correspondence course this past year.
Portuguese: More than 4,000 people respond each month to a short television program that airs three times a week before the sports news on a national network. This year the BTGH distributed 400,000 special Christmas editions of Cada Dia (Today). Subsequently, nearly 4,000 people asked to receive the devotional booklets monthly.
Indonesian: Through a series of events that only God could have orchestrated, the Back to God Hour dedicated new ministry offices for the Indonesian-language ministry. The building is the nerve center of a ministry that reaches throughout Indonesia’s Muslim-dominated culture, sharing the gospel through radio, Internet, and devotional materials for children, teens, and adults.
English: Significant changes have occurred in the English-language ministry. While North Americans can turn their dial to multiple Christian broadcasts, people living in English-speaking countries around the world have fewer choices. BTGH broadcasts in the Philippines, Nigeria, and many other countries are receiving enormous response. Costs are significantly less to broadcast internationally, and contacts with follow-up centers have multiplied rapidly.
Websites: www.btgh.org, www.backtogod.net
United States: 800-879-6555 or 708-371-8700
Canada: 800-730-3490 or 905-336-2920
E-mail: btgh@crcna.org
Resources Publications:
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Today daily devotional available in seven languages.
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Sermons and meditations available in nine languages in print and on the web.
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Listen and Be Still: a compilation of Today devotionals written by favorite authors.
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Let Them Hear: a quarterly newsletter with stories of lives changed through the ministry of the BTGH; also available at www.btgh.org.
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Children’s devotions, Bible studies, family activities, and “fun stuff” in English online at www.kids-corner.org.
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2005-2006 ministry focus on Indonesia: brochures, posters, bulletin covers, and inserts for a variety of mission-emphasis events.
CDs:
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Collections of “Kids Corner” stories to help children grow in their faith and life.
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Sermons and meditations available in several languages.
DVD/Videos:
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The Prince of Peace: the Christmas story in 3-D animation (30 min.). Available in English, Arabic, Spanish, and Portuguese.
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The First Easter: an animated retelling of the resurrection story (30 min.).
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Award-winning episodes of Primary Focus.
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So They May Hear and Sixty-five Years of Media Ministry: DVD or video celebrating how God has changed lives through 65 years of BTGH ministry.
Quick Facts
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Each month more than 125,000 people from all over the world respond to BTGH broadcasts, and that number continues to grow.
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50,000 BTGH programs, tapes, and CDs are distributed worldwide each year.
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Nearly 600,000 copies of devotional booklets are published bimonthly in English, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.
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Follow-up materials and assistance are available in all languages.
