“. . . gospel clarity is the antidote to the rampant confusion.”
Dean Inserra, The Unsaved Christian/Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel
The Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey saw almost 15,000 respondents from three different formats – Music stations, Music/Teaching stations, and All-Teaching stations and programs.
One of the challenges we face and opportunities we have, unlike a church which is focused on one particular denomination, is that our radio stations and programs are multi-denominational. They are heard by people from many denominations. In our nationwide Finney Media Why Listen® Survey, we asked about denomination affiliation. Among respondents from Hybrid (Music & Teaching) stations and all-Teaching stations and programs, here are the Top Five Denominations:
Hybrid
| 1. Non-denominational/Bible/Community | 34% |
| 2. Baptist | 30% |
| 3. Pentecostal/Charismatic | 8% |
| 4. Reformed | 5% |
| 5. Presbyterian | 5% |
All-Teaching
| 1. Baptist | 46% |
| 2. Non-denominational/Bible/Community | 27% |
| 3. Pentecostal/Charismatic | 7% |
| 4. Lutheran | 4% |
| 5. Methodist | 4% |
The first two denominations total 60 percent to 70 percent. The other 30 percent to 40 percent are led by Pentecostals and include mainline Protestant. Many denominations with different ways of worship and different words they use in their worship and ways they communicate with each other.
For us to reach them and perhaps many who haven’t even given us a listen yet, in particular among Bible-believing mainline denominations, we’ll need to focus on using words and concepts that many or most understand.
A Word Illustration
Should we share testimonies – stories of how God has worked in people’s lives – on our stations and programs? Most definitely. Do listeners from mainline Protestant churches use the word testimony to describe their God Story? It’s likely they think that “testimony” is what happens in a courtroom. If we want more listeners from Bible-believing mainline churches to listen, using the words “testimony” is a challenge.
If we’re going to be clear in our communication, we’ll need to consider what our multi-denominational listener – people of all nations . . . and denominations – understand. Clarity and understanding of the Truth is at stake.
Coming in January: The Top Five Topics Hybrid and Teaching Listeners want to hear.
