Desrene L. Vernon

Adventist World Radio is on the Air: a Case Study of Tanzania: the Reactions of Local Listeners to International Religious Broadcasts Desrene L. Vernon

The partnership between religion and the media extends to the historical origins of the printing press and remains vital to expansion efforts of various religious organizations including the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA). Adventist World Radio (AWR) was established as a missionary arm of the SDA Church and has an extensive worldwide network including AWR-Africa, AWR-Asia, and AWR-Europe. To date, the Tanzania Union Mission, along with several other African Unions has been experiencing rapid church growth, yet no study appears to have been conducted to determine the contributions made by religious radio broadcasts. A historical systematic methodology was used to analyze a variety of sources including listener correspondences, radio station contracts, memos, reports, committee minutes, brochures, broadcast schedules, news articles and other archival material. The study utilized the Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003) and the Systematic Stage Model of Rambo (1993) to examine the conversion process as mediated through religious radio broadcasts. This book offers much insight for assessments of international religious broadcasters and their impact on local listeners.