HCJB Global Wraps Up 75-Year Celebrations with Nod to the Future
The year 2006 marked 75 years of ministry as pioneer broadcasting ministry HCJB World Radio became HCJB Global. With the year long theme, "Great Is ThyFaithfulness," echoing the historic first broadcast in Quito, Ecuador, on Dec. 25, 1931, celebrations and honors were spread throughout the year.
Highlights included the dedication of a $1.00 Ecuadorian postal stamp in honor of the ministry on Oct. 26, and an open house celebration Dec. 7-9 with more than 7,000 in attendance at the site of Radio Station HCJB inQuito, Ecuador. A special service hosted by the mission's Quichua Language Service on Dec. 9was attended by 2,000 people representing a number of languages and dialects.
HCJB Global was credited with helping preserve native languages and cultures, receiving special honors from several active indigenous tribes and organizations. Former Ecuadorian President Rodrigo Borja and Quito Mayor Paco Moncayo were among those present for a special celebration held primarily for Ecuadorian government officials.
Congratulations also came from the City of Quito,CONARTEL (the Ecuadorian communications regulatory agency) and theFederation of Evangelical Ecuadorian Indigenous Nations (FEINE) as PresidentMarco Murillo presented the mission with a plaque.The ministry's present and former staff members also celebrated the occasionwith about 1,200 people attending three two-hour receptions in Quito on Dec.15. A special reception was also held at the mission's Hospital Vozandes-Shell in Ecuador's Amazon region on Dec. 16. A "Forever Family" reunion celebration in May drew 120 former staff membersto the HCJB Global Ministry Service Center Colorado Springs, Colorado, and nearly 30 former staff gathered in Quito in September to celebrate various festivities held in conjunction with the mission's 76th Annual Members'Meeting.
The mission also produced a special 100-page coffee table book that is filled with numerous photos and historical accounts to commemorate the organization's 75th anniversary. It is called Vision to Reach the World.Other notable events included a special newspaper supplement about Radio Station HCJB published in the Quito newspaper Hoy, the production of eight Ecuadorian music CDs, and seven special donor events in the U.S., Ecuador,and the U.K. In addition, the anniversary celebration was incorporated into the annual Quito Day Concerts.
As the ministry celebrated its rich heritage, it also took bold steps toward the future. In order to better reflect the worldwide reach and diversity ofministry that it had become in the last 75 years, the mission officiallybecame HCJB Global on Jan. 1, 2007.The media arm of the ministry is now called HCJB Global Voice, and thehealth care outreach is called HCJB Global Hands. The organization's mission is to "empower dynamic media and healthcare ministries that declare anddemonstrate Jesus Christ." The ongoing call is to put "Truth in Motion."
(Source: HCJB Global, Alokesh Gupta)