The Strong Tower Radio recording of the flagship interview program Strong Tower Radio Today. Pictured bottom left clockwise: Host Jilane Fenner, engineer John Duman, guests Fadia and Chad Kreuzer, and co-host Tom Mejeur.
She learned many new elements of truth she had not heard previously and was impressed to keep listening and to visit her local Seventh-day Adventist church. Within two years, after careful study and the continued conviction of the Holy Spirit, Carmen embraced the everlasting gospel and signified her decision in baptism at the Knoxville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Peoria, Illinois.
Another listener, Myles Trowbridge, discovered STR incidentally when a friend was changing the radio dial and found WIHC 97.9 FM, aired from Newberry in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.). A long-time seeker for God who did not seem to fit in at any church he visited, Myles kept listening. “They will lie to me at some point,” he thought, just as other pastors and teachers whose teachings had not aligned with the Bible. To his amazement, all of the STR programs taught Bible truth, and he began attending the Cornerstone Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sault Ste Marie, Canada. There he met people teaching and living the truth and fully embraced the everlasting gospel, signifying it with baptism. Myles shares, "I finally know the truth. I seek to always do God's will — anything else is foolish. It is my joy to follow Jesus. He changed my life; obeying His Word is central to my life."
These are a few of the testimonies of how God continues to reward the faith of those who are embracing the Three Angels’ messages heard on STR, an independent, supportive radio and TV ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with offices located in Cadillac, Michigan.
Since 2009, God has enlarged this listener-supported ministry from one radio station to twelve radio stations, one TV station and, beginning June 2020, streaming online at StrongTowerRadio.org/streaming. Featured programs include Amazing Facts’ Bible Answers Live, Your Story Hour, programs from Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN), Life Talk Radio, Moody Radio, always uplifting Christian music, and Fresh Manna, an hour timeslot providing a larger audience for Michigan area pastors’ sermons. STR currently produces approximately 20 percent of programs aired.
Strong Tower Radio’s beginnings are rooted primarily in two elements: God’s providential leading and persistent fascination of STR founder and president, David Bolduc, with radio evangelism. David spent some time volunteering with 3ABN which further encouraged his zeal for radio, and he also explored low power FM (LP-FM) radio options. While none of these LP-FM options worked out, through the search process he was led to discover what would become the first STR signal, located in the Cadillac area where his wife’s, Bethany, family lives.
It would be a challenging two-year experience to start the radio ministry, but God used circumstances in their lives to draw them nearer to Him and strengthen their faith for where He was leading. The prior summer, the Bolducs welcomed their second son into the world and all seemed wonderful. Within several months, however, they noticed concerning symptoms with their new son. Numerous visits to neurologists and other specialists led to brain surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital which, through God’s providence, was not only successful but also paid for by various resources! They left the hospital with the $118,000 bill completely paid! Praise God!
David states, “Through it all, we felt the Lord's leading and His blessings. We were drawn into a level of trust, that without our son’s surgery, we would never have known! We were better prepared for this radio ministry as a direct result of our son’s surgery experience.”
During an infrequent Federal Communication Commission (FCC) open window for Non-Commercial Education (NCE) FM band applications (88.1 FM – 91.9FM), David discovered an available radio signal in Cadillac on October 1, 2007. He and his family made two trips from their home in Decatur, Illinois, to Cadillac to further explore the opportunity. They met with local churches to gauge their interest, found much enthusiasm for an FM station, and proceeded to form a board of directors, an LLC with bylaws and then applied for a construction permit with the FCC in just three weeks’ time!
After that initial three-week flurry of activity, it was a long, two-year process before Strong Tower Radio first broadcast on December 10, 2009, on 91.9 FM, WGCP, Cadillac.
David and the STR board were content with that single station, yet God had greater plans and placed unsolicited growth opportunities before them. As God leads, He provides, and God through His faithful people added station after station as the ministry grew with prayer and generous financial support.
Strong Tower Radio continues to follow that growth model, relying on the Holy Spirit’s providential guidance instead of trying to create growth opportunities. During the past eleven years, STR has developed relationships with several media brokers who periodically send leads of stations for sale. Strong Tower Radio then contacts the area pastors to gauge interest, then presents to church boards and, when strong support is expressed, moves forward with fundraising to purchase the station.
By God’s grace, prior to this article’s publication, two new stations will be added to STR that cover the greater Kalamazoo and Battle Creek areas. These stations came to STR through a media broker, yet God brings some opportunities in the most amazing ways. One day a few years ago, STR received a call from a man asking, “Would you like to buy a station?” Intrigued, David explored further. The caller owned a station in north central Michigan and happened to hear STR when the regular 91.9 FM station in his area went off air for two days. This enabled STR’s signal to travel much further and this man liked what he heard! Wanting to downsize to LP-FM, he offered to sell his full-power FM station to STR for a modest price. After positive meetings with the local churches, STR moved forward with the purchase and WBHL 90.7 FM was added to the broadcast family. It has been a very fruitful venture as dozens of souls have given their hearts to Jesus in baptism because of listening to WBHL.
It appears that 2021 will be a growth year for Strong Tower Radio, as opportunities continue to emerge or “land at the doorstep.” Along with the new stations mentioned, there was an FCC auction this July which provided another growth window. The Lord impressed church families of the western U.P. to contribute funds toward STR participating in this auction. According to God’s will, He’ll deliver the construction permit for a 100kW signal at Houghton, Michigan, into STR’s stewardship before August.
Another opportunity is the 2021 NCE window. This is the first NCE window to open since 2007 when STR was born! Metro areas are saturated, but more opportunity exists for rural areas, especially in the U.P. This may be the year that STR covers Michigan’s entire Upper Peninsula with the everlasting gospel 24/7/365.
There are several newly emerging opportunities in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula of which STR presently cannot share any details.
Satan clearly despises these developments and testimonies, and he wars against STR continually. Yet, as the apostle Paul boldly states, We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices1 and any effective warfare will be fought in God’s armor alone.2
How can you help? Please pray for Strong Tower Radio for continued protection from enemy attacks. Pray for STR supporters, listeners, and that the Holy Spirit will give greater power to the broadcasts. Pray that many, not a few, but hundreds, even thousands, will be convicted annually by the messages they hear on STR and move forward in faith. Please pray for the members of the churches where listeners will visit, that the members will be ready to receive them, nurture them, both in doctrine and example. Please pray for STR’s growth opportunities, that God’s people will respond with great faith and continuous financial support.
When visiting the Cadillac area, please make time to visit Strong Tower Radio’s office and recording studios, and hear the amazing testimony of how God provided such a miracle facility! Please call 231-468-2087, go to the STR studios at 7669 South 45 Road, Cadillac, MI 49601, or visit STR’s website at STR.FM.
12 Cor 2:11
2Eph. 6:12-18
Of the five conferences in the Lake Union, Indiana has the largest number of conference- and church-supported media ministries.
Terre Haute Church operates a high-powered radio station and airs programs in a large region of southwestern Indiana. One can drive on I-70 and pick up the signal for several miles on the interstate as far north as Rockville, Illinois. The church pays the monthly expenses to air 3ABN programming, thanks to faithful donors from other churches in Indiana and Illinois.
Mike Shinn runs the station and says there are regular listeners in the penitentiary who have come to rely on the messages. “We had a lightning strike here and the station was off the air for a while. We got a call from prisoners asking why he couldn’t hear the station,” he said.
The other low-power stations, New Castle, Shelbyville and Kokomo, broadcast out of their churches and reach a 7- to 8-mile radius out into the community. Their members maintain the equipment and raise money to pay for their expenses.
In addition to the radio stations, a television station WHMB Channel 40, is operated and funded by the Cicero Church. Pastor Aaron Clark of the Cicero Church and Conference president, Vic Van Schaik, host a thirty-minute interactive Bible study program on various topics. Airing three times per week, it potentially reaches 1.5 million homes across Indiana. The Conference also helps to support It Is Written programming airing on WHMB.
“We wish we could see even more media ministries started as this medium reaches a lot of people for a relatively low amount of money,” said Van Schaik.
If you’re in Indiana, you can listen to the program/stations:
Kam Ferguson is Development Director of Strong Tower Radio.
