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

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

Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

network staffed and headquartered in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. 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 in approach. Programming content consists of traditional

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

, including

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

s, choirs, and instrumentalists; Bible teaching and sermons;

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

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, ''Love Worth Finding'' by

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

, ''Gateway to Joy'' by Elisabeth Elliot, and the

Pacific Garden Mission Pacific Garden Mission is a homeless shelter which is located in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side section of Chicago, Illinois, it was founded in 1877 by Colonel George Clarke and his wife, Sarah. Nicknamed "The Old Lighthouse", it is ...

's radio drama, '' Unshackled!''. Reruns of the ''Children's Bible Hour'' and '' Sugar Creek Gang'' radio plays are heard daily on the afternoon ''Captain’s Club'' program. ''

Adventures in Odyssey ''Adventures in Odyssey'' (AIO), or simply ''Odyssey'', is an Evangelical Christian radio drama and Radio comedy, comedy series created and produced by Focus on the Family. Aimed at families with children age 12 and younger, the series first air ...

'', 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 Bob Jones University (BJU) is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. It is known for its Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical cultural and religious posit ...

. Davey entered the field of Christian radio broadcasting when he acquired a bankrupt radio station,

WYFI WYFI (99.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a Religious broadcasting, religious formatted Broadcasting, broadcast radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia. WYFI serves Hampton Roads in Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina. WYFI is owned and ope ...

, in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, 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 Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

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

Stations

BBN owns and operates 58 full-power stations and 86 low-power translators in 32 states and

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, 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 ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

, 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 87 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