RELIGION ON RADIO: CHRISTIAN RADIO MINISTERS RELY ON THE AIRWAVES

God has call letters thanks to people like Doug Apple and Jane Sandvos.

They manage Christian radio stations in the area. To them, it's more a blessing than a job.

Apple manages KMHM, 104.1 FM, a Bollinger County station that plays southern gospel music. Sandvos operates a Jackson, Mo., radio station, KUGT, 1170 AM. The station plays contemporary Christian music.

KMHM sits atop a hill outside Scopus, Mo. It is situated in an unassuming building behind a house just off a gravel road from Route B, a ribbon of aging asphalt that snakes through the Bollinger County hills.

The station has a rural Marble Hill, Mo., address. Its call letters "MHM" refer to Marble Hill, Missouri.

Apple, who lives in Murphysboro. Ill., divides his time between KMHM and sister a Christian radio station in Ava, Ill.

The Ava station has been broadcasting since 1982. KMHM signed on the air in August 1995.

"I feel good about what we do," said Apple. "I am not ashamed about the message."

The goal, he said, is to spread the Christian message.

KMHM broadcasts 24 hours a day with a staff of about 10 people. Only four work full time.

It is licensed as a commercial station, but profit isn't its first priority, Apple said.

"We're stable," he said. "We're not getting rich."

The goal of secular, commercial stations is to make money, Apple said.

"They will put whatever they have to put on the air to get listeners, to make money," he said.

At Christian stations, the format comes first.

"We pick our format and try to get the money to support it," he said.

KMHM will never play rock 'n' roll, he said, and "it will never happen because the message comes first."

Apple estimates the station has about 15,000 listeners in a 40-mile radius that extends into Southern Illinois. The station bills itself as "the home of southern gospetality," a reference to southern hospitality and gospel music.

The station has a handful of disc jockeys and also picks up gospel programming from Nashville, Tenn., via satellite.

It also reads the latest Bollinger County obituaries twice a day. Apple said many Bollinger County residents tune in to get the latest funeral announcements.

"If we make a mistake, we hear about it," he said.

The station's Christian viewpoint is clearly visible, from the Ten Commandments yard signs inside the front door to the cross on the wall. A handwritten sign reads: "When you think life is too hard, remember Jesus, his life, the crucifixion, then take another look at your life."

The station doesn't have a receptionist. Deejays answer the phones and take prayer and song requests.

Kim Brady, who goes by "Sunny" on air, does the station's 6 to 11 morning show.

Brady leaves her Fredericktown, Mo., home at 4:45 a.m. so she can arrive at the station at 5:30 a.m. and prepare to go on air.

"I'm a talker by nature," she said. "I love it."

Brady said people call in with prayer requests. "You're ministering to a lot of people," she said, and she relates to her callers and their concerns. She has been known to cry on the air.

She refers to her listeners as "faithful prayer warriors." Seated behind a microphone, computers and a control board, she reads Bible verses. She also provides Bible trivia, and does weather forecasts, sandwiched around gospel songs.

Brady is on the front lines of Christian radio, a growing industry.

There are Christian stations all across the country, Apple said.

It's reported that 29 percent of all adults listened to Christian teaching or preaching programs in a typical week in 1998. Almost half of born-again Christians listen to Christian radio, with three of four listeners being Protestant.

Apple said families are turning to Christian radio because they view it as an alternative to the nation's moral decay.

The diversity of Christian programming also has attracted listeners.

"It's not just preachers and hymns," he said.

There's even national news reports, but with a Christian spin to it.

Compared to KMHM, KUGT is a small station. The 250-watt station operates from a small, concrete block building. KUGT has operated since 1989.

"We don't have a whole lot of power in wattage," said station manager Jane Sandvos, "but we have a powerful God."

The station operates with a two-person staff. The station is on air 12 hours a day throughout most of the year. During the summer, it operates from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Most of the music and Christian programs come from a radio network via satellite.

A former teacher at Eagle Ridge Christian School, Sandvos, 53, has served as station manager for little more than a year. Wayne Elfrink serves as program and production manager.

Both Sandvos and Elfrink started working for the station in 1992. The station's call letters stand for Keeping Up God's Truth.

The station used to have a larger staff, but three years ago it went to an automated operation, eliminating the need for deejays.

Sandvos said Christian radio has been a "tough sell" in this area, but that is changing with the growth of contemporary Christian music.

"Teen-agers are looking for an alternative to the message of rock 'n' roll," she said.

Like the Bollinger County station, KUGT gets prayer requests, which often are put on the air.

The wheelchair-bound Elfrink said the station isn't out to make a huge profit.

"The focus is to be a ministry," he said.

Prayer is an integral part of the station's mission.

Sandvos has been known to break into regular programming to publicly pray for a person who needs immediate help.

"People know I am here," said Sandvos. "They know I am willing to pray for them."

mbliss@semissourian.com.

335-6611 ext. 123