It’s time to talk about Christian radio. With 4,755 educational FM stations on the air and audiences that rival major-market commercial formats in loyalty and engagement, this is a sector built on something most of radio is still chasing: unshakable listener connection.
In March, Radio Ink delivers our first-ever issue dedicated entirely to Christian radio: a format where faith, community, and commerce converge to create one of the industry’s most resilient success stories. From a broadcast veteran leading one of the nation’s largest Christian media groups to the prayer teams answering calls in the middle of the night, here’s what you’ll find inside:
Cover Story: Hope Media Group President Tim Dukes
Tim Dukes didn’t start in Christian radio. He programmed rock stations, managed major-market clusters, and climbed the ranks at Clear Channel and NextMedia. Then he found his calling. Now, as President of WayFM-parent Hope Media Group, one of the largest Christian radio organizations in the country, Dukes is applying decades of commercial broadcast expertise to a mission-driven model that’s expanding through strategic acquisitions and deepening its impact across the US.
Dukes reflects on the transition from secular to sacred, what commercial broadcasters can learn from Christian radio’s listener loyalty, and why he believes the format’s growth is just beginning. Whether you’re running a commercial cluster or considering the nonprofit space, his insights into leadership, mission alignment, and long-term audience strategy will challenge how you think about what makes radio essential.
Christian Radio Champions 2026
Radio Ink‘s inaugural Christian Radio Champions list recognizes the executives, programmers, and on-air talent driving Contemporary Christian Music, worship, talk, Christian hip-hop, and multilingual ministries. Meet the individuals shaping Christian radio’s next chapter, and setting the standard for what deep listener connection actually looks like.
The Angels: Radio’s Unsung Lifeline
You know radio as a lifeline during hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes. But what about the call that comes at 2 a.m. from someone who’s lost hope?
Behind many Christian radio stations is a prayer team – volunteers and staffers who answer phones, listen to pain, and sometimes talk people back from the edge. They are first responders for the private battles that can be just as much about life and death as any public crisis.
Radio Ink goes inside the call centers where radio becomes deeply, urgently personal. For an industry that talks about serving communities, this is what that service looks like on a one-to-one level.
The Pulpit: Radio’s Evangelists on Capitol Hill
On February 24, 2024, then-Presidential hopeful Donald Trump took the stage at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, praising the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. The moment crystallized a paradigm that had long skimmed just beneath the surface: when it comes to moving the needle in Washington, religious broadcasters have a reach and influence few can match.
Through organizations like the NRB and advocacy from major players like Salem Media Group, Christian radio is playing a powerful role in shaping policy on everything from ownership to content regulation. Radio Ink talks with NRB and Salem’s Nic Anderson to explore how Christian broadcasters are making their case in Washington, and why their influence matters for the entire radio industry.
PLUS:
- Exclusive wisdom from Radio Ink President and Publisher Deborah Parenti, Roy Williams, Loyd Ford, John Shomby, Grace Agostino, and more
- People on the Move
- A Blast from the Past at KSBJ
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