The Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) is a listener-supported global

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Christian radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk program ...

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematic ...

staffed and headquartered in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

. It was founded in 1971 by Lowell Davey, who was the network's president until his death in 2017. It remains under family control, with Davey's daughter Barbara Redemann and her husband Carl Redemann leading BBN. BBN's mission statement is "to get the Word of God into the hearts and minds of as many people as possible using the most efficient means" and its motto is "Giving the Winds the Bible Voice". Doctrinally, the programming is conservative

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

in approach. BBN eschews programming geared toward "signs and wonders", "

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

" theology, and " prosperity theology". Programming content consists of traditional

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aroun ...

, including

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

choirs A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, and instrumentalists; Bible teaching and sermons;

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...

times; children's and teens' programs; and family guidance programs.

Programs

Among the notable ministries having long-running programs on the network are: ''Running to Win'' and ''Moody Church Hour'' with

Erwin Lutzer Erwin W. Lutzer (born October 3, 1941) is an evangelical Christian speaker, radio broadcaster, and author. He is the former senior pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago, Illinois (19802016). Career Born in Saskatchewan, Canada, Lutzer became ...

, ''Love Worth Finding'' by

Adrian Rogers Adrian Pierce Rogers (September 12, 1931 – November 15, 2005) was an American Southern Baptist pastor and conservative author. He served three terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention (1979–1980 and 1986–1988). Rogers was born ...

, ''Gateway to Joy'' by Elisabeth Elliot, and the Pacific Garden Mission's radio drama, '' Unshackled!''. Reruns of the '' Children's Bible Hour'' and ''

Sugar Creek Gang Sugar Creek Gang is a series of 36 Christian-themed children's literature books written by Paul Hutchens.Brett, Jennifer (14 November 2004). "Sunny films bring young talent to light", ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', p. JJ1. The original se ...

'' radio plays are heard daily on the afternoon ''Captain’s Club'' program. '' Adventures in Odyssey'', one of the most popular Christian radio shows in the U.S., is aired for teens and preteens.

Founding

The network was founded in 1971 by Lowell Davey (July 22, 1933–February 18, 2017). Hailing from Minnesota, he had previously served in the U.S. Air Force. Upon completing his enlistment, Davey attended Bob Jones University. Davey entered the field of Christian radio broadcasting when he acquired a bankrupt radio station, WYFI, in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia B ...

, on March 28, 1969. The station began broadcasting under his ownership on October 2, 1971, at 5 p.m. BBN was still headquartered in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

, when it bought Charlotte radio station WSOC (AM), which became WYFQ (AM).

Stations

BBN owns and operates 52 full-power stations and 97 low-power translators in 32 states and

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, distributed by satellite. According to the network's website, they also operate AM and FM radio stations in 14 countries of North and South America. BBN also broadcasts around the world full-time via streaming on the Internet in eight languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese,

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

, Korean, Japanese, German, and Russian. ''Stations in italics are not owned by Bible Broadcasting Network, Inc., but broadcast BBN programming.''

Translators

In addition to its full-power stations, BBN is relayed by 97 translators to widen its broadcast area.

References

External links

* {{American broadcast radio American radio networks Christian radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1971 1971 establishments in North Carolina Radio broadcasting companies of the United States