How the Connections Team at Shine.FM is making differences in the Midwest.
Shine.FM is known around Olivet as a Christian-based radio station, but it is so much more. Along with playing Christian contemporary music, Shine.FM is an entire ministry with the goal of reaching our communities with the message of Christ. The slogan, “Stronger Families. Stronger Communities” truly encapsulates everything that is good about Shine.FM.
… Preaching the gospel and pointing people to Jesus. That’s our number one goal.
– nancy caddigan
One way that Shine.FM works through community outreach is the heavily student-operated Connections Team. Aided by the passion of connections director, Nancy Caddigan, the Connections Team participates in community outreach by traveling in the Chicagoland area and parts of Indiana to different events. At these events, the team is able to make personal connections, and give out materials for free to members in these communities. The team also includes work in the areas of social media, and volunteer coordinating. Through social media, Shine.FM is able to reach those who may not be familiar with the station, and can then minister to those people as well. Volunteer coordinating includes putting together events like concerts where more than just the student workers are needed on the ground.
Caddigan is passionate about her work with the Connections Team, and does a fantastic job with prepping all of the events and being sure that the student workers are in a comfortable environment and headspace to be able to properly work with the people in these communities. She notes that while the absolute goal of Shine.FM is to share the love and joy of Christ, there is a step that generally comes before this: outreach to help the radio station get on everybody’s radar. She notes that there are three levels of listeners, and each level has a different significance and different approaches must be taken to get these listeners into the “top” category. “P1” is known as the highest level, which includes avid listeners who love to donate to the station and love even more to listen every day! Next is “P2”, which includes listeners who may not have Shine.FM as their top station, and very likely are not frequent listeners. Finally, there is “P3”. Generally, the “P3” level is composed of people who have not heard of the station at all. The goal with the people in this category is to boost them up into at least the “P2” category. Since the ultimate goal is to share God’s love through music and ministry, this form of outreach is extremely important! Introducing people to Shine.FM and getting them connected to the station through the mobile app, radio, and/or social media is the best way that they are able to help people come to know Jesus more and more every single day.
Traveling to each event, especially those that may not be a Christ-centered event, can be more beneficial than many may realize. Personal testimonies abound at these events from people who have been avid listeners and feel their lives have truly changed for the better because of it. It is incredible to hear these stories from so many who feel they have been impacted by the ministry of Shine.FM, and for some even the extension that is Olivet. Getting the word out and making these personal connections may feel small in the moment, but lives are being impacted every single day by the smallest actions.
Media can be such an important facet in connecting with communities. Find another example here.
