Fall Sharathon for The Journey Set for Sept. 27-29

General Manager Mike Agee (far left) mans the microphones with guest host Jon Hull while Chris Gilbreth operates the board during last fall’s Sharathon. Photo courtesy of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

(Edited by Judy Yong)

“88.3 The Journey Sharathon this is Julie… would you like to make a gift? Welcome to the Journey family. Would you like that to be a one-time or a monthly gift?”

Twice every year 88.3 The Journey, Keene’s local Christian radio station, takes a break from our usual programming to ask our listeners to partner with us to share God through music to north Texas and through the Internet around the world. As a noncommercial station, 88.3 The Journey doesn’t sell commercials. We have business partners, but to keep our focus on the music the amount of underwriting assistance we accept is low. Sharathon is our main source of funding to keep the station financially solvent, and Sept 27-29 is our Fall Sharathon when that happens.

The radio station staff has been preparing for weeks. Listener testimonies have been gathered, spots of support from Christian artists have been added, and the Sharathon music logs entered into the automation. Our conference room is set up as phone center and phone lines are tested. Pledge forms are printed, pens and scripts for the volunteers are waiting by each phone. Meals deliveries are arranged to feed everyone. Our guest hosts arrive to join us from around the country.

And then the fun starts.

The spectacle that is Sharathon is hard to explain if you haven’t experienced it. The purpose may be to raise funds, but the atmosphere is much more like a party. We ask our listeners to volunteer to receive the call-in pledges. They come from the entire Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex including Fort Worth to Glen Rose, Venus to Weatherford and all points in-between. Many have become close friends during their time at Sharathon and the phone center is like a family reunion. Listening to a room full of volunteers having life-changing conversations and praying with callers is amazing.

Radio enables us to share Jesus in this hurting world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  We join people in their homes, cars, businesses, hospital rooms or even jail cells, touching lives wherever they are.

If you would like to impact the community by helping with Sharathon, call me, Wanda Agee at 817-556-4751 or email: wanda@883thejourney.org.

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