Life FM Newsletter Archive for 1999-2000

December 2000

Celebrate Christmas

We look forward to the time when we can REALLY celebrate this special time ON AIR!!

It's been a while since our last Newsletter but things are still MOVING ALONG! The bureaucratic wheels turn slowly but be assured things are happening.

Steve continues to work on "Basil" our on air computer. Hundreds of music tracks have been added and "Manuel" our scheduling computer is now able to program music according to the format. Steve has spent MANY hours with Basil and Manuel and hopefully we'll hear those results soon.

We Need to Build a Studio

We have the room (almost, painting has begun) but we're going to start needing equipment. Here's a couple of community type studios - just to give you an idea of where we're heading. We have the computers but we will need mini disc and cd players, a mixer, mics etc....your membership and donations will help.

Membership

Sign up a full membership ($57:20) this month and receive a FREE Christmas tape "God With Us" or "A Christmas Celebration" - valued at $19.95
We need LOTS of members to show the ABA that we mean business about Christian Radio for Gippsland.

PLEASE DO NOT USE THE OLD MEMBERSHIP FORMS - New ones are enclosed. We have had to change the cost of membership in line with GST. If you use the old forms WE have to pay the difference.

We have had our first lifetime member sign up - what a great way to never have to worry about renewing!!!

Sponsorship

If you're in business and you sponsor Life FM NOW we're offering these "step out in faith" extras for the next 2 month

• 30 sec produced spots according to the package you purchase
• your logo on our web page and Newsletter
• FREE Web page set-up from Anchor Web Design - value $70
  
  Contact the office for details (03)5143 0355 - leave a message and we'll get back to you - OR e-mail admin@lifefm.com.au

From the President's Desk

September 2000

Work on our building has started!!

Changes

We are in the process of upgrading our database and so if your details are incorrect or have changed please let us know.

We have also added a membership renewal reminder to our newsletter mailing labels. This has a dual purpose - to remind people when their membership is due and to let us know who will be eligible for "special offers" when they arise.

In an effort to be more efficient and not double up on mail-outs, couples may have been listed on the mailing labels under one name. We are still refining this so please bear with us.

We are investigating a number of Membership incentives. It's very hard to encourage people to give money to something like a radio station when they can't hear it. In this case the faith comes from "doing" and the "hearing" will come later!
Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,
and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

So - many blessings to those who have stepped out in faith to sign up without hearing!

Deputations

Steering Committee reps - Alison, Deb and Heather visited St Peter's by the Lake Anglican Church at Paynesville on the 27th August. There were about 30 people at the service in the lovely setting by the lake and Deb took to their little "pulpit boat" to deliver the good news! We'll have a photo next month. A love offering was taken and we also received another donation - PRAISE THE LORD!

Deputations Coming Up

Peter Richter will speak at Sale Rotary on 11th Sept and we have also been asked to talk at Nowa Nowa.

You're Invited!

St Andrew's Uniting Church in Stratford is hosting a SOUL FOOD CAFE on Saturday 14th October from 7:30pm at the church. Music and food for the soul - something for everyone! This is a fund-raiser for Life FM and NCYC. Everyone is invited to join the fun.

Why not organise a
fundraiser at your church!
Or just encourage others to become members of Life FM

Our "on-air" computer- BASIL- has had a test run!

In July/August, 777FM in Melbourne decided half-way through their test broadcast to change their programming to 100% Christian music. They contacted us to see if we could loan them some music and our Programmer, Steve, thought it would be a great opportunity to give Basil a go. So Basil ran the overnight program on 777 and performed beautifully! Steve is very happy and 777 programmer Wes Jay is also very happy.

Steve has been very busy over the last 12 months loading heaps of music into Basil. These tracks all have to be tempo-ed and checked for suitability - a grinding job and we thank Steve and Jan for the MANY hours they have devoted to this task.

August 2000

Click here to view some of the support letters Life FM has recieved

Thank You

Following our request for support letters to submit to the Australian Broadcasting Authority, we received 31 letters and a petition from the Sale Lutheran Church with 35 signatures. These made the deadline and support our request for a licence substantially.

It Begins

This is the site of what will be our studio and office - 240 Raymond Street Sale. Our foreman Wayne Myall has been given the "go ahead" so watch this space! The Anglican Diocese of Gippsland has very generously made the upstairs front rooms available and we will also have use of the kitchen.

Many hours in the last month with me in the office sorting out a system for the recording and processing of mail. We have itemised 265 documents and they are on a table, which can be easily referenced. We have been organising the mess that seems to have accumulated over the past 12 months and streamlining in anticipation of the move to Raymond Street.

Unfortunately the GST has had an impact on us too and we've had to increase our fees. New Membership forms have been prepared...so if you haven't joined us yet - PLEASE DO. If you have signed up - give a form to a friend - we need as many members as possible not only to show our support to the Government but memberships and sponsorships provide the finance to keep the station going. We can't do it without YOU! We currently have 95 members - ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

You Can Make A Difference

And I sought for a man...that should...stand in the gap..."Ezekiel 22:30

"Most people are more capable and more important than me. Who am I, anyway, to think that I could make a difference?" Is that how you feel? If it is, just be glad that Henry Ford, Martin Luther King Jr, Abraham Lincoln and the apostle Paul didn't think like you! How many did it take to rescue the man on the Jericho Road? ONE good Samaritan. How many did it take to confront Pharaoh and lead the Exodus? ONE man - Moses. In 1645, ONE vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England. In 1776 ONE vote gave America the English language instead of German. In 1868, ONE vote saved President Andrew Jackson from impeachment. In 1941, ONE vote gave Adolph Hitler control of the Nazi Party! Esther, a Jewish girl who was married to a pagan king, broke a long-standing tradition, marched into ther husband's throne room, spoke her mind, and rescued her nation from a holocaust. ONE woman - only ONE - saved the nation, because she was willing to get personally involved to the point of sacrifice. She said "If I perish, I perish" (Es 4:16) Before you say, "Somebody else should be doing this instead of me," read these words. "I am only ONE, but I'm still ONE. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do." Ask God today, "What can I do in this situation?"

Bob Gass

Deptuations & Visits

Alison and Deb visited Paynesville Uniting Church on 2nd July. There were about 60 people and all seemed very enthusiastic. A love offering was taken after the service and we received $85.00, which was wonderful. We also visited St Peter's Anglican Church at Paynesville on the 2nd and met East Gippsland Mayor, Bill Bolitho.

Went to see Grant Davis, Manager of National Bank re our Merchant Account on the 5th. We now have credit card facility which means you can phone through a donation or even sign up for regular contributions.

Peter McGauran Visits

Federal Arts Minister and Member for Gippsland Peter McGauran was also visited on the 12th July regarding our listing on the Cultural Fund Register. This will provide tax deductibility for donations over $2.00. Mr McGauran was most enthused about our project and said the recommendation also had to be signed by the Federal Treasurer. Mr McGauran later sent a letter of support, which you will find on the website. This was sent as an addendum to our expression of interest to the Australian Broadcasting Authority.

Coming Up

Deb to speak at St Peter's Anglican Church at Paynesville on 27th August.

June 2000

BREAKING NEWS!!

On 29th May the Australian Broadcasting Authority announced that they are canvassing views on radio services in Gippsland. "This is an opportunity for people to have their say about any reception or interference problems with existing services and express their views about what kind of NEW SERVICES should be made available."

This is part of the ABA's planning process - they want YOUR input. The closing date for submissions is Friday 30th June.

PLEASE WRITE TO US BY 23rd JUNE WITH YOUR VIEWS SO WE CAN INCLUDE THEM IN OUR SUBMSSION.

Wellington Shire Council has approved the rooms in Raymond Street for our use, so we're ready to start building our studio and office.

Please fill in this form to help us organise working parties and materials as soon as possible so we can start moving on to the next step of our adventure.

During May we contacted all the Christian based schools and colleges in our planned broadcast area with a proposal to launch the Station to the Community and to help them (the schools) with publicity. We received good response and although nothing is set in concrete yet we are expecting to have a non-uniform day / fundraiser/ publicity splash in September. PLEASE PRAY for ALL the schools contacted to be involved as this will be a huge impact not only on our work but also on the community as a whole.

We have applied for an ABN and from there we can apply for tax deductibility status.

Eight new memberships in May - HAVE YOU SIGNED UP YET???

Acting Manager Jan Baker made quite a few good contacts at the Gippsland Business Women's Summit held in Bairnsdale on the 16th & 17th May. The summit was organised by VEDA and Jan chaired the 2 days.

On the 18th, President Deb gave a presentation on Life FM to about 100 people at the Salvation Army in Bairnsdale. The World Day of Prayer Committee organised the inter-church dinner and many more contacts (and hopefully lots of new members) were made. A gold coin offering totalled $135. Many thanks to the Committee for the invitation.

Anniversary

Thank you for your prayers and your faithfulness.

Our Broadcast Engineer, John made a visit from Sydney in late May and conducted more tests. We're aiming to get the best coverage we can so please continue to pray for John as more tests are carried out. We had hoped to be on-air by June 1st but it seems God has other ideas - so we wait.

"They who wait on the Lord will gain new strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Caravan

ARE THERE ANY SIGNWRITERS
WHO WOULD LIKE TO DONATE OR
TRADE THEIR SERVICES FOR SPONSORSHIP??
We will need signage for Raymond St and the van.

May 2000

We're still moving forward although it sometimes seems like it's just by inches (or centimeters!)

LICENCE STATUS

Still waiting on the ABA - Government wheels turning slowly but keep praying! In the meantime we are conducting directional tests on the antennae to ensure that we don't "leak" into areas not covered by our proposal (that's from Traralgon through east Gippsland to Mallacoota - we hope)

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY

for John in Sydney as he makes the arrangemtns on our behalf. Pray also thta the money we need to buy our equipment will be provided. Of course you can put feet to those prayers by sending us a donation! We need $41,000 by the end of May and another $27,000 in July.

STUDIO AND OFFICE

Hopefully, by the time you get this newsletter we will have permission to use our Raymond Street rooms. We are still waiting for Council approval (that snail again). We will be needing some strong arms to paint the rooms and build our stuidos. If "hands on" isn't your ministry perhaps you'd like to sponsor a paintbrush or some timber - any money sent specifically to sponsor the studio establishement will be set aside for that purpose. PLEASE let us know if you can help. We'll have more info as soon as we hear something. Ball 03 5143 0355 of email admin@lifefm.com.au

BASIL UPDATE

Deb spend a couple of days with Steve & Jan and Basil and can report that Steve is doing an excellent job loading all our music and even doing some station identification promos for us. We are developing a training program - more on that later

COMMUNITY LIFE

Acting Station Manager, Jan Baker will Chair the Gippsland Business Women's Summit to be held at Lakes Entrance this month. The two day Summit is being organised by VEDA. This will be our first "public appearance" as a community station which is a great way to introduce Life FM.....

WANTED  : SPONSORS

Even though we are not on air yet we need sponsors. If you have a business or know someone who has, we can offer VERY competitive rates for our pre-broadcasting sponsors. Just call President Deb and we'll get a rep out with the info.

LIFE REPS

We NEED you! With a Life FM rep in every church across the region, we'll be able to keep everyone up-to-date with what's happening with Life - BUT ALSO with what's happening at your church.

MEMBERSHIP - Have you joined yet?

If you haven't, don't delay. If you have THANKS! We need as many members as possible. This not only helps us finance God's work but also helps us to reflect to the Government that THIS Community Radio Station means business and that it is support4ed by the whole community! Get a friend to sign up today!

DEVOTIONAL

We are no longer able to send out the Word for the Today devotional however this month we have sent out copies of Our Daily Bread and hope that it brings readers joy and helps them in their daily walk. Our Daily Bread has kindly been provided by Radio Bible Ministries

March 2000

Well once again the time is slipping away and there's MUCH news to tell. The BIGGEST news is that we've changed our name from Rhema FM to LIFE FM. This was a unanimous decision by the Steering Committee after much prayer and deliberation. We believe the new name will make us more relevant to the community and thus more accessible. The only thing that has changed is the name.

LIFE FM is a community radio station in Gippsland, for Gippsland and run by Christian Gippsland-ers. Now you can tell your friends to "choose LIFE!"

LICENSE STATUS

Our application for a Temporary Broadcast Licence (TCBL) was lodged with the Australian Broadcasting Authority on 1st March.

Following discussions with ABA representatives we have made slight changes to the antenna system to avoid transmitting with excessive power to an area outside our proposed service area (East Gippsland). The new specs will encompass the area from Traralgon east to Mallacoota, taking in Yarram and the Ninety Mile Beach area.

We will still broadcast from Mt Tassie with a 10kW transmitter with an effective radiated power of 55kW. For the tech-heads, we plan to use an RFS model 902 FM yagi antenna array and mount the antenna system on an existing tower on Mt tassie.

Negotiations for tower rental continue. We have asked for a start date of 1st June - so keep praying!

STUDIO AND OFFICE

We have received notice from Wellington Shire that they have received our building permit application (don't you just loooove red tape!) We have also received an offer of assistance from a Sale man who apparently is a dab-hand at painting and wall papering! - that's a real answer to prayer!

Once the permit is approved we will have to move quickly to get the rooms ready.

SUPPORT LETTERS

Thanks to all who have sent letters of support. I know it's hard to support something you haven't even heard but just a letter saying how much you're LOOKING FORWARD to it would add strength to our application.

We have been praying - BELIEVING THAT GOD IS GOING TO DO A MIGHTY WORK IN GIPPSLAND THROUGH CHRISTIAN RADIO.

Now the time has come to put our money to work for the Kingdom. We will have several one-off expenses and some on-going ones. In order to be ON AIR on 1st June we need to have the equipment. This looks daunting but God has a plan! But that means that we have to put feet to our prayers.

SPONSORS

This is an opportunity for local businesses to take advantage of a special premier sponsorship package. Just give us a call (03) 5143 0355 or e-mail and we'll send a sponsorship rep out with all the details.

MEMBERSHIP

Don't delay - sign up today! Click HERE for membership form

COSTS

Equipment

So, in May LIFE FM Gippsland will need to have $41,000 plus the cost of the program feed. After this the cost of the transmitter will be required in July ($27,000). The electricity cost and rent will be ongoing.

22nd ACB Conference

I have just returned from the Association of Christian Broadcasters conference which was held in Hobart. Steve & Jan (programming) and John & Lyn (technical) also attended so it was a chance for us to get together to plan the next stage of our journey.

The Conference brought together Christian broadcasters from around Australia as well as representatives from program distributors such as Focus on the Family (James Dobson) and Insight for Living (Charles Swindoll).

There were also reps from the music industry and there was an excellent presentation from Hillsong.

We were briefed on GST for non-profit organisations and I am now even more convinced that we're going to need an accountant to steer us through the GST maze.

We learned of an exciting ministry through Trans World Radio called the Next Generation Network. It's aimed at youth but from their perspective. The four year plan is to train young people to take over the program. This is just one of the many programs we will be able to use on LIFE FM Gippsland.

The main message of the Conference was to "be real" and not underestimate the "small things". This came through in a number of the sessions.

The most exciting thing (in my opinion) was that there were representatives from several Government agencies - the Australian Performing Rights Association (APRA), the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA), the Community Broadcasting Fund (CBF) and the Australian Broadcasting Association (ABA).

These sessions were invaluable and we gleaned information that will be most helpful as we apply for a permanent licence when the ABA is ready to allocate them.

We were also encouraged to hear that as far as our programming plans go - we're on the right track. It was very interesting to hear that for the first time the CBAA have invited a rep from the Assoc. of Christian Broadcasters to their Board. This is a GIANT step towards recognition for us as a significant representation of our communities! PRAISE THE LORD!

Funding is also available from the CBF when we finally get a licence!

January 2000

Greetings once again.

Boy! I know why they call Christmas the silly season. It's so easy to get caught up in all the things that go on. BUT what an opportunity to tell people about Jesus! AND how much more will we be able to extend that outreach when OUR Christian Radio Station is on air! How many more homes will invite in the GOOD music of Christmas and the message of HOPE for the New Year!

PRAISE GOD

for the opportunities and challenges He is setting before us. The Steering Committee met before Christmas and .......

We are now in a position to apply for a Temporary Community Broadcast Licence (TCBL). We were told initially that we could broadcast with just 15watts of power. Now that we have completed the engineering specifications and investigated different sites, we believe God is pointing us towards a broadcast spot on Mt tassie. The sums have been done and the result of those number crunching activities is that with a 10Kilowatts transmission from Mt Tassie we could effectively cover most of East Gippsland with an effective radiated power (for those tech heads out there) of 85 kilowatts.

The rooms in Raymond Street Sale, which have been offered to us by the Anglican Diocese, are awaiting a final inspection by the Council's Building Inspector. Peter Wallis and Debbie visited the Mayor and he indicated his support of our project. PRAISE THE LORD!

BASIL (the on-air computer) has had some re-working and is now bigger and better (wouldn't it be nice if we could up-grade our brains the way we do computers!) Steve is working on some demo programs and continuously adding more music and other bits and pieces.

Jan and Steve have written to all program makers who will possibly be supplying us with teaching programs and Debbie has listened to some of these while on holiday. More about programs later.but the Station will play 100% Christian music and use Australian voices where possible. Music and teaching seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. We will eventually have randomly selected Focus Groups from our membership who will be asked to constructively criticise the Station's programs.

As we are fast approaching our "debut" we need to start seeking sponsors for on-air programs (when we start) also for the newsletter and web page. We are developing a SPECIAL PACKAGE for our inaugural sponsors.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO???

We need letters of support so we can show the Australian Broadcasting Authority that we are SERIOUS about what we're doing. Because we're asking for such a jump in power we may be disregarded as "folk without a clue". We need letters from you and your Church and community leaders saying how you believe a Community Radio Station in Gippsland, run by Christian Gippslanders for Gippslanders will benefit our community. We need to show the ABA that we represent the whole community and the Church and that our Station WILL make a difference in offering hope, and a different perspective on community events and local current affairs. PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS to us here at Life FM (P.O. Box 124, Sale 3850) so they can be copied for future use.

PRAY for the speedy clearance by Council for the rooms in Raymond Street. Sometimes the paperwork can be held up for weeks/months. PRAY FOR THE PROCESS TO BE HASTENED. Once the approval is through we will need volunteers to sugar-soap the walls and do some wall papering and general "light maintenance". If you have any particular skills in that area or know anyone who could donate or make available at reasonable cost any "clean up and repair" materials (we'll know soon exactly what we'll need) PLEASE LET US KNOW.

PRAY for Steve and Jan as they continue all the hard work getting Basil up to scratch (no pun intended!) and as they look for material for us to broadcast. Also PRAY for God's protection on the broadcast equipment.

PRAISE GOD for the abundance of teaching material available. PRAY for discernment as decisions are made about which programs we start off with.

If you know anyone who may be a prospective sponsor please let us know so we can contact them. As a Community Station we will not be allowed to advertise BUT we can use Sponsorship Announcements eg: Chester's Cheesy Bits, makers of Australia's tastiest and most popular snacks, is proud to sponsor Life FM Gippsland. We will also offer a web ad on our internet site and we also plan to establish a Gippsland Christian Business Directory. It's all about helping each other!

November 1999

We're Incorporated!

Gippsland Christian Broadcasters Inc. came into being on the 28th September - so now we're "all legal"!

We'll be trading as Rhema FM Gippsland and now we can start our Membership drive! Print out the Membership form, which you'll find by pressing the Members button.

Membership is just $52 per year - that's only $1.00 per week! (Concession also available). Through memberships, gifts and sponsorships we can bring Christian Radio to Gippsland!

People all over Gippsland are excited about the prospect of Christian Radio. Deb has been busy this month speaking at the World Community Day service in Stratford, and the Anglican Parish Dinner in Sale. Lots of ladies also indicated their interest at the CWCI camp on Raymond Island. The word is spreading.

Please pray for John as he continues to investigate and negotiate a site for our transmitter. Please also pray for direction as to where we should set up our broadcast studio. We have had only one door partially close regarding the Raymond Street rooms. It will cost a lot of money to renovate. There has been another offer of a house in a residential area of Sale - but we'll have to investigate zoning restrictions. Please pray for wisdom for those making the decisions.

The Adventures of Basil

Basil is not a herb. Nor is he a lunatic hotel keeper. Rather Basil is a broadcast computer. Basil the Broadcast Computer was born in Geelong in the shadow of Kardinia Park (or is that the Shell-shocked Stadium?) Basil likes going on holidays. Just the other week Basil went all the way to Bathurst where he met a nice man called Garry Anderson of Rhema FM Bathurst. Garry filled Basil's head with all sorts of learning and music. Basil is now so clever that he could probably broadcast all by himself if he has to. He does need some human help. Basil is looking forward to coming to live in Gippsland and help broadcast nice music.

Rom 10:14 "But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them?"

Report on First Public Meeting - September 1999

Rhema Gippsland had its first public meeting last night (Mon 13/9/99) in St Anne's Chapel at the Gippsland Grammar Senior School in Sale. Invitations were sent to all churches east of Traralgon and 65 people showed up! What a blessing. We also had 20 apologies. There are lots of meetings on at the moment with the Victorian elections so close so we are rapt with the numbers!

The idea of the presentation was to outline the work being done around the world in Christian Radio and then bring it closer to home. Steve and Jan Baker assisted in the presentation. Jan is acting as Station Manager while we're in the setting up process. As President of Gippsland Christian Broadcasters and the person God has called to task, I gave my (radio) testimony and brought folk up-to-date with where God has been leading me.

There was a broad cross section of denominations represented which was great and at the end of the presentation, Steve invited people to come forward and pray for me (they all gathered around - it was very humbling!)

My home church prayer team has been so faithful and their prayers were well and truly answered last night. The ladies from my church (Stratford Uniting) provided a lovely supper and much networking was done afterwards. We have many offers of assistance, from cleaning windows to technical know-how, and we were blessed with unsolicited donations of $455! We're still waiting on our incorporation "official bits", but God is moving way faster than our bureaucrats!

I had some signs and a banner made and the team (including our secretary, prayer convenor and computer whiz) all looked great in their Rhema Gippsland shirts.

We have a bundle of requests for membership (when we get the Incorp stuff through), offers of help and many ways, and requests for deputations to various churches which were represented last night.

So...that's our latest news - I've attached a photo you may be able to use.

Blessings...

Deb Rhema FM Gippsland

Public Meeting - August 1999

We invite you to learn about an exciting new project for Christians in the Gippsland region. The birth of our very own Christian Radio Station which we hope will provide you and your congregation with a positive up-lifting and faith building mix of 100% Christian music and programs.

God has challenged Debbie with the vision of setting up a Station in this area and invites people from all Christian denominations to share in the vision with her, to further serve Jesus Christ through this effective evangelistic tool.

Christian Radio has already made an impact on the lives of millions in Australia and around the world.

Please come along to a public meeting on Monday the 13th September 1999, 7-30pm in the Chapel at the Gippsland Grammar School Senior Campus, McGhee Street, Sale.

If you have any questions prior to the meeting please Contact US.

Hoping to see you there.