As 2024 comes to a close, so too does our 13-part radio series about Christian missionaries in the 21st century. It’s been on-air every Saturday night from October to December on TWR-UK and is called Voice and Hands with Reach Beyond.
In the final three episodes, we’ve heard about Christian radio around the world – crossing the continents. We’ve travelled to Africa, to Southern Europe, Southeast Asia, and to Latin America.
That’s all been part of episodes eleven to thirteen of the series. You can listen again to each one here: https://www.twr.org.uk/show/Voice-and-Hands/
In episode eleven we heard about one Reach Beyond missionary who works with a relatively recent innovation in physiotherapy – known as hippotherapy. It uses horse-riding as a treatment for a range of physical and mental conditions. (It does not involve large hippopotamus beasts). The success in one area of Latin America means workers can offer both medical and spiritual help to isolated families. We highlighted the story of how taking little Emily horse-riding was a blessing both for her and for her mother:
Listen to the full story: https://www.twr.org.uk/show/Voice-and-Hands/
We also heard from Europe, discovering how Reach Beyond is involved in developing Christian media in Croatia – first with radio programmes, then online testimonies, and now through evangelical TV shows. There’s reports of an untapped demand for the Gospel message amongst local communities in this tourist destination – and we heard what kind of impact this is having on individual viewers:
Listen to the full interview here: https://www.twr.org.uk/show/Voice-and-Hands/
In episode twelve, we travelled to a place that described itself as the world’s happiest country – to discover how the voice of Jesus is heard and embraced there:
Listen to the full story: https://www.twr.org.uk/show/Voice-and-Hands/
And we talked to a young woman who ventured to the edge of the Amazon jungle in Ecuador, using her talents as an engineer to serve as the hands of Jesus… giving practical help to villagers.
Listen to the full interview here: https://www.twr.org.uk/show/Voice-and-Hands/
And in the final programme of the series, we considered the dilemmas of missionary work in the 21st century. Christians are clearly instructed in the New Testament to “Go!”
That means, almost inevitably, that some world-wide missionaries are racking up horrendous amounts of Air-Miles. Not so good for the planet – which we’re also told to look after because it’s God’s creation.
So, we set a challenge for one of Reach Beyond UK’s Sustainability Champions – Tim O’Brien – to find a Bible verse to help us reflect on this issue:
Hear Tim’s full interview with Martin Cooper here: https://www.twr.org.uk/show/Voice-and-Hands/
And once a Reach Beyond missionary arrives at their destination, the radio programme discussed how the very idea of mission work has changed – and is continuing to change. These days it’s all about partnerships, enablement, and encouragement.
Listen to both interviews here: https://www.twr.org.uk/show/Voice-and-Hands/
I’m Martin Cooper, and together with Colin Lowther we’ve been tracing the history and heritage of Reach Beyond. https://reachbeyond.org.uk/.
The health and community action – also featured in every episode of this series – has developed more recently; but the radio ministry began almost 100 years ago in a wooden shed in Ecuador. It blossomed into a worldwide service via shortwave that provided programmes in 26 major languages – including Russian, Japanese, and Portuguese as well as 22 indigenous dialects of Latin America.
Today they serve through FM radio, online, and in social media apps. The history of the early mission was the key topic in episode one of our radio series. You can listen again here: https://www.twr.org.uk/show/Voice-and-Hands/
Voice and Hands from Reach Beyond is a 13-part radio series produced by Martin Cooper and Colin Lowther of Reach Beyond in conjunction with TWR-UK in 2024. You can hear it again on TWR-UK on this link: https://www.twr.org.uk/show/Voice-and-Hands/ And there’s full details of the Christian missionary charity, Reach Beyond, here: https://reachbeyond.org.uk/
Pre-fade Listen 
It’s funny how the people lecturing us about the environment are doing so – from private jets.
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