A inside scoop on the connections team at Shine.FM
By: Mollie Peery
“I believe we’re all there for a reason and we all want to be there, which makes the whole experience amazing,” says Cami Yanez, a junior studying Multimedia Communications at Olivet Nazarene University.
Yanez is avidly a part of the Shine.FM family and she participates in their connections team-a team that goes out to events and concerts to market their ministry at the Shine.FM radio station.
“I first heard about the connections team through volunteering at a Newsboys concert,” said Yanez.
She talks about how the exciting and fun environment with the people there led her to apply for the job over the summer.
Yanez has been to many different activities from concerts to events in small local towns, she has enjoyed it all. One of the unexpected joys of being a part of the connections group was that she was able to utilize her bilingual skills in order to help some of the people who came to their connections tents during events.
“I think something that was unexpected that I found to love was using my bilingualism with people to another newsboys concert. Actually, there were a lot of people there with a lot of backgrounds and there were a lot of Spanish-speaking people that came up to the table.”
Shine connections teams also advocate for Brilla, which is a Spanish-speaking radio station that follows the same Christ-centered mantra.
She loves that she’s able to sit and talk and hear people’s stories. Yanez notes that there is usually never a dull moment as there is almost always opportunities to talk to people about Shine and make those personal connections.
“We’re a Christian radio station and even non-Christian listeners are interested.” She talks about how they pull in more listeners through their giveaways and prizes to concerts and such, but mainly it’s through connection and conversation.
“Communicating and connecting with people-that really brings in new listeners,” she says.
There isn’t a negative team aspect either. Yanez talks about how everyone on the team has meshed well and that the entire environment has been amazing.
“There’s never been an issue between people because we’re just wanting to be with people.” She talks about how there hasn’t been a bad experience that she’s dealt with thus far and she has enjoyed being with every single one of the members on the connections team.
The Shine.FM connections team has continually brought in listeners. They have worked hard behind the scenes of the fast growing Christian radio station and have allowed an open portal for those who want to listen to good, modern Christian music. The connections team have shown through their outreach and their drive for Christ that ministering to other people through music and through conversation will bring people together.
“We all want to be there to spread God’s love. Open our eyes to see how music can impact people. I’ve never really experienced that before,” Yanez says.
