KFUO Radio celebrates 100 years of sharing the Gospel

On Oct. 12, Andy Bates (center), KFUO associate executive director and co-host of “The Coffee Hour,” and Mary Schmidt, KFUO development manager, open a time capsule that was packed in 1927. At left is Gary Duncan, KFUO executive director. (LCMS/Frank Kohn)

By Roy S. Askins

On Saturday, Oct. 12, at The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) International Center (IC) in St. Louis, around 200 attendees of KFUO’s 100th anniversary celebration service sang out, “Spread the Reign of God the Lord” (LSB 830). The hymn opened the service of celebration for the 100 years that KFUO Radio, the official radio station of the LCMS, has broadcast the Gospel over the airwaves of St. Louis, making it the oldest continuously broadcasting Christian radio station in the world.

LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison preached for the service, reminding attendees that “the Word of God works hope.”

“God’s words are His works,” Harrison said, quoting Martin Luther. Spreading God’s Word has been the work of KFUO for the last 100 years. “The power is in the Word. The Word saves our souls; that’s its main purpose,” Harrison declared.

After the service, KFUO’s executive director, Gary Duncan, invited guests to enjoy a meal, some cake and the opening of a time capsule. KFUO recovered the time capsule — which was packed in 1927 and made part of the KFUO building on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL) — when the building was demolished a few years after KFUO moved to the IC in 2013.

In front of the assembled guests, Duncan — along with Mary Schmidt, KFUO development manager, and Andrew Bates, KFUO associate executive director — revealed a variety of items, including a copy of a 1927 issue of The Lutheran Witness (LW) with an article titled “Radioactivity in the Church.” It announced the completion of two transmission towers at CSL.

The capsule also contained an issue of Der Lutheraner (the German-language magazine of the LCMS), a Bible, a hymnal and various tracts and pamphlets, as well as a copy of the station license bearing the name of then-U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover.

In a museum created just for the event, attendees could view KFUO photos and memorabilia and watch a historical documentary about KFUO.

The Rev. Doug Griebenaw, mission advocate for KFUO, greets a visitor to the 100th anniversary celebration. Griebenaw served as liturgist during the service. (LCMS/Frank Kohn)

Golden age of radio

A brief history of KFUO written by Duncan for the worship folder summarized KFUO’s beginnings: “The idea to share the gospel over the airwaves was a dream born of the deep love of evangelism held by Reverends J. H. C. Fritz, Richard Kretzschmar, and Walter A. Maier of Concordia Seminary in February of 1923. With the support of the Lutheran Laymen’s League, the Saint Louis Lutheran Publicity Association, the Walther League, and the students of Concordia Seminary, that dream became a reality and KFUO Radio was dedicated to the service of the Triune God on December 14, 1924.”

KFUO’s early days were the golden age of radio. Within the first three years, the station had broadcast 847 programs and added 27,228 individuals to its mailing list. In 1928, KFUO began airing daily radio programs that eventually included Bible studies, children’s programs, church services and more.

Blessings and challenges

Along with great blessings, KFUO has had its share of challenges. “God never promised a smooth path in life; that was true for KFUO too,” said the Rev. Dr. Paul Devantier, former executive director of KFUO, in the 100th anniversary documentary.

During the 1990s, KFUO spent nearly a decade and over $2 million fighting FCC regulations that would have restricted the religious freedoms of every Christian radio station in the U.S. The case eventually landed in the United States Supreme Court, which decided in favor of KFUO.

This “major religious victory for all religious radio stations … marked the survival of two Synod radio stations, the licenses alone worth millions of dollars,” Devantier wrote in an LW article detailing the history of the lawsuit. In the end, fighting the lawsuit ensured that KFUO could continue to proclaim the Gospel to St. Louis and, eventually, around the world through satellite and podcasts.

The Gospel for St. Louis …

Dr. Gerald Perschbacher, former editor of The Lutheran Layman, noted in a separate interview that from the beginning, KFUO’s central work was the proclamation of Christ: “The biggest thing that KFUO ever did was to share God. … It was by Word and Sacrament. It was by proclamation. It was in Christ. It was through the Holy Spirit. It was the will of God the Father.”

KFUO’s proclamation of the Gospel has touched the lives of many in St. Louis. Jan Ahrens, who attended the Oct. 12 celebration, told the story of how her grandparents became Lutheran through listening to KFUO broadcasts. In 1927, while Ahrens’ grandmother was bedridden for a time after the birth of Ahrens’ mother, she “started listening to KFUO.”

Eventually, Ahrens’ grandmother became a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in St. Louis, leading to Ahrens being a lifelong Lutheran. “I was born in a Lutheran hospital, by a Lutheran mother; I went to a Lutheran grade school, and I’ve been a member of a Lutheran church forever,” she said.

Area pastors note the benefit of being within KFUO’s broadcast range. The Rev. Timothy Appel, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Ill., and host of KFUO’s “Sharper Iron” podcast, said that “it’s a regular occurrence that my members will come and tell me things they heard on KFUO. … It’s a great blessing to be able to discuss God’s Word that they’ve heard on KFUO … as a part of congregational ministry.”

Faithful proclamation of the Gospel remains the heart and soul of KFUO’s mission and work. “KFUO’s most significant contribution is that it’s been faithful to God’s Word,” said the Rev. Walter Otten, retired LCMS pastor from Chicago. The Rev. Dr. Michael Kumm, former interim director of KFUO (2010–2012), echoed this sentiment: “It’s not so much that we’re using programs to grow the church, but it’s the actual Word of Christ that is growing the church, and it’s being delivered via KFUO.”

… And beyond

In the anniversary documentary, Duncan highlighted KFUO’s commitment to being “on the cutting edge of technology” since the beginning. From broadcasting to syndicated programs to podcasting, KFUO has sought to use every technology at its disposal in its mission to proclaim the Gospel.

“KFUO is still in its infancy when it comes to opportunities,” said Perschbacher. “I firmly believe that. … And as long as supporters are there and the Spirit is triggering them to keep it going and the wherewithal is there for us to do broadcasting, how can we not do it?”

Joanie Harwell, a former KFUO employee, wants to see KFUO broadcast in multiple languages. She remembered when a couple of Brazilian seminarians once helped KFUO record programs in Portuguese and then sent the recordings for broadcast in Brazil. “If we could somehow broadcast in multiple languages,” Harwell said, “that would just be my dream.”

KFUO hopes to take steps toward multi-lingual programming in the near future. Bates and his cohost on KFUO’s “The Coffee Hour,” Sarah Gulseth, recently hosted a bilingual radio program with the Rev. Ricardo Granado, LCMS Michigan District missionary for Hispanic Ministries. During the program, the Rev. Stephen Heimer, manager of LCMS All Nations Ministry, translated, while Granado shared his journey to becoming a Lutheran pastor.

“I think we have a marvelous opportunity to continue to expand KFUO’s ministry, not only here in the United States, but around the world,” said the Rev. Kevin Robson, LCMS chief mission officer. “The technology that we’re afforded these days to proclaim the Gospel clearly in all different languages, in close collaboration with our church partners around the world, means that we have a magnificent future ahead of us until Jesus comes again.”

John Fiene, a college freshman who is serving KFUO as an intern, helps Matthew Appel record an announcement for broadcast. (LCMS/Frank Kohn)

‘The Gospel voice’ for everyone

With 18 programs currently being offered through livestreaming, on-demand podcasts or both, KFUO is pressing forward with sharing the proclamation of the Gospel and the news of the church — through current programs that include “The Coffee Hour,” a podcast that shares stories of the church’s work on a wide variety of topics; Bible studies such as “Sharper Iron,” “Thy Strong Word” and “Wrestling with the Basics”; and podcasts for targeted audiences, such as “The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge” and LCMS Youth Ministry’s “End Goals” podcast, which helps youth leaders learn how to care for LCMS youth. In all of KFUO’s current programming, listeners hear of Christ and Him crucified for the sins of the world.

“It’s simply remarkable … in the confusion and cacophonous voices of current media,” Harrison said, “that you have a clear, ringing voice of the Gospel and all its articles holding forth in KFUO. This message goes … to every corner of the earth. And people hear and believe in Christ and … seek out Lutheran churches.”

For Harrison, such work isn’t incidental to the LCMS’s work; KFUO’s work “is integral to our mission,” he said.

This article summarizes some content from the September issue of The Lutheran Witness.

Posted Nov. 27, 2024