June 17, 2008

After nearly 70 years as The Back to God Hour, the electronic media ministry of the Christian Reformed Church in North America has changed its name to reflect the growing diversity in the ways it brings the gospel message to people around the world.

Synod 2008, the CRC's annual general assembly, this week approved changing the name to Back to God Ministries International, a name that "communicates more clearly the international and multi-media scope of the ministry."

Rev. Robert Heerspink, director of the Back to God media ministry, says that the Web site, logo, letterhead, signs and other public aspects of the organization have been or will be changing soon.

Heerspink said that donors and other supporters of the ministry can continue to use the old name until all of the paperwork is completed to formalize the change.

The Back to God Hour started its ministry as a one-hour radio program in the Chicago area.

"Many people know about the Back to God Hour radio program," Heerspink said, "but are surprised to learn we are much more than that. The identification of the entire ministry with a single English radio broadcast has, at times, impeded our ability to communicate our full mission and vision."

Starting in the 1950s, the ministry began using print, television and later the Internet. Following its first Arabic broadcast in 1958, international outreach "has grown into nine languages reaching people in more than 190 counties," the organization says.

Today, Back to God Ministries International (BTGMI) is a wide-ranging ministry that includes radio, television, Internet, video, and other forms of outreach and evangelism to urban and remote areas of Indonesia, to communities across China, to countries in Latin America, and to countries in the Middle East.

Besides English, BTGMI offers the message of Jesus Christ in a variety of languages, including Arabic, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Korean and Spanish. The ministry is based in Palos Heights, Ill., but has production studios and follow-up centers in Cyprus, Egypt, Brazil and Lebanon.

"Our mission has long been to use media to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world and to make disciples of all people," Heerspink said.

He said it was important to keep "Back to God" in the name because that affirms continuity with the agency's historic mission of calling people everywhere back to God, and assisting believers worldwide to grow in a life centered in Christ.

Adding "International" expresses the global impact of the ministry and sends the message that staff and partners worldwide that are fully included in the agency's ministry.

Back to God Ministries International is a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. For more information, contact Rev. Robert Heerspink at 616-224-5876 or heerspib@crcna.org or visit http://www.btgh.org/ or http://www.crcna.org/.

Christian Reformed Church