VCY America, Inc. is a traditional,

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

ministry based in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. The VCY America Radio Network maintains a format of

Christian talk and teaching 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, ...

, as well as 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 ...

through its broadcast outlets.

History

Originally known as "Milwaukee Youth For Christ", and later, "Greater Milwaukee Youth For Christ", it left the national YFC organization in 1973 and became known as the ''Wisconsin Voice of Christian Youth'' (WVCY) until 1995, when it changed to its present name. Its

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

stations in Milwaukee, WVCY-FM and

WVCY-TV WVCY-TV (channel 30) is a Religious broadcasting, religious independent television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, owned by locally based VCY America, Inc. The station's studios are located on West Vliet Street in Milwaukee. Thro ...

, share a

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

which refers to the ministry's original name.

Radio network

The ministry operates 41 VCY America-owned

radio stations Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a lan ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. It also broadcasts over 27 low-power

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

s. VCY America radio also provides programming such as ''Crosstalk'', ''Worldview Weekend'', and ''Music 'til Dawn'' to stations throughout the country via satellite. Additionally, VCY has a Christian bookstore in

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin Wauwatosa ( ; colloquially Tosa) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wauwatosa is a suburb located immediately west of Milwaukee and is part of the Milwa ...

which is promoted on air and ships throughout the United States as an additional source of revenue. VCY has attempted to expand into the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, and the

Coachella Valley The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...

through the lease and attempted purchase of a group of three stations in a

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

cy action: KFRH, KREV and KRCK-FM. In early 2022, the original owner sued successfully to nullify the bankruptcy action against them, and the bankruptcy

debtor in possession A debtor in possession or DIP in United States bankruptcy law is a person or corporation who has filed a bankruptcy petition, but remains in possession of property upon which a creditor has a lien or similar security interest. A debtor becomes t ...

and trustee was forced to return to the stations to them and nullify the VCY America leases. In October 2023, VCY America participated in a bankruptcy auction for these stations and was the winning bidder for KFRH, KRCK-FM, and two translators in the Palm Springs area for $2,445,952.88. KFRH in

North Las Vegas, Nevada North Las Vegas is a suburban city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 262,527, with an estimated population of 280,543 in 2022. The city was incorporated on May 1, 1946 ...

's call sign was changed to KVPH and it began airing VCY America's programming on March 18, 2024. In December 2022 VCY America announced it would purchase WFAS-FM in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

from

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

, pending final approval from the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

. Renamed WVBN, the acquisition, completed on February 6, 2023, gave VCY America its first broadcast outlet on the East Coast. VCY America added to its Northeastern expansion in August 2023 with its purchase of WJBR-FM in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, from

Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Bea ...

. VCY took control of the station October 6, changing its call sign to WVCW; the move brings its programming into the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

market.

Programming

VCY America's radio programming includes Christian talk and teaching programming, among them: * ''Crosstalk'', hosted by Jim Schneider, with past Vic Eliason-hosted episodes also aired * ''Worldview Weekend'' with Brannon Howse * ''Grace to You'' with John MacArthur * ''In Touch'' with

Charles Stanley Charles Frazier Stanley Jr. (September 25, 1932 – April 18, 2023) was an American Southern Baptist pastor and writer. He was senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta for 49 years and took on ''emeritus'' status in 2020. He founded a ...

* ''Love Worth Finding'' with

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 ...

* ''Revive Our Hearts'' with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth * ''The Alternative with Tony Evans'' * '' Liberty Counsel's Faith and Freedom Report'' * ''Thru the Bible'' with J. Vernon McGee * ''Joni and Friends'' with Joni Eareckson Tada * '' Unshackled!'' * Moody Radio's ''Stories of Great Christians''VCY America Central Time Schedule
VCY America. Retrieved July 4, 2019. * '' Brinkman Adventures'' VCY America also airs a variety of vocal and instrumental traditional Christian music, as well as children's programming such as '' Ranger Bill''. Notably, the network (including WVCY-TV) eschews any programs featuring

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

, and has dropped programming which has switched to it in any form, including as theme music.

Television

The ministry also owns WVCY-TV (Channel 30) in Milwaukee, which holds a commercial license but is completely viewer supported. As of January 2018, it is carried under a channel share agreement with commercial station WITI, owned by

Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (stylized as FOX TV STATIONS; also known as FTS) is a group of television stations in the United States owned-and-operated by Fox Corporation. It owns LiveNOW from Fox, Fox Local, and Fox Soul. It also oversees ...

. It vacated its former independent frequency in the FCC's spectrum repack auction, the proceeds of which ($76.3 million, plus donations and bookstore purchases since) have been utilized to expand VCY's radio network. WVCY-TV is also carried in the Wausau

television market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

via translator W26EE-D, licensed to Wittenburg. In 1994, WVCY-TV rejected an offer to be purchased by CBS and become the network's new Milwaukee affiliate, following WITI's defection to Fox as part of the

1994–1996 United States broadcast television realignment Between 1994 and 1996, a wide-ranging realignment of television Network affiliate, network affiliations took place in the United States as the result of a multimillion-dollar deal between the Fox Broadcasting Company and New World Communications, ...

Other efforts

The ministry also operates a summer camp, near

Hillsboro, Wisconsin Hillsboro is a city in Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,397 at the 2020 Census. The city is located within the Town of Hillsboro. Geography Hillsboro is located at (43.652843, -90.34133), along the West Branch of ...

, called, "Trail Ridge Camp"Trail Ridge Camp
Trail Ridge Camp. Retrieved July 4, 2019. as well as its religious bookstore, with a physical location in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee, and it
online presence

Leadership

The ministry is run by a team formerly headed by the late Vic Eliason, a former Youth for Christ worker,

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

Christian minister and a recipient of an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

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 ...

, in 2001. Jim Schneider is the current Executive Director.Jim Schneider, Executive Director
, VCY America. Retrieved April 22, 2021.

List of stations

Notes:

References

External links

* {{American broadcast radio American radio networks Christian radio stations in the United States Radio broadcasting companies of the United States VCY America stations Christian mass media companies 1954 establishments in Wisconsin