Alan Mason
Goodratings Strategic Services

The Story Is In The Stories

Many of us look at Arbitron as a measure of success, and it is. Like it or not, it’s the best measure of the number of people listening to us. But, there’s another measure we should look at - the stories your listeners tell you.

No other format has such a compelling message as we do. Yet we sometimes allow an inferiority complex to creep in, as the “powers” tell us we’re not doing enough to “take people deeper.” In short, we’re not doing God’s work with all this music and happy talk.

Let me tell you a story. A couple of years ago, as he was preparing to fly to Ireland and help put that country’s first Christian network on-air, Dick Jenkins called Verizon to make sure his cell phone would work over there. As the Verizon person began checking they were talking, and Dick told her what he did and why he was going to Ireland, and so forth. Turns out the phone would work, and Dick would be able to stay in touch.

Fast forward one year, to the music test I was conducting in Chicago. A 30 something woman approached me, and told me the above story. She was not a Christian at the time, and based on the conversation started listening to K-LOVE. Within six months she had committed herself to Christ, and here she was in my music test.

Not taking people deep enough? Not doing God’s work? I beg to differ.

Another story: At a donor event in the San Jose area I met a donor who told me about how he became a donor. He had been a very successful executive in an Internet company, and seemingly a wonderful life with his wife and family. But he got dragged down by drugs and gambling, and eventually found himself without a family, without a home, no money in the bank, and only the clothes on his back, a pistol that used to belong to his father and a broken down car. He found himself so low that he thought about ending it all. Since he was homeless, he was looking for a place to park for the night, so he could sleep, and saw a church. He asked the people at the church if he could park in their back lot that night to sleep...and they told him no.

Now he’s really despondent. He finds an empty space to park, and decides he’s going to end his life at sunrise. To keep himself occupied until sunrise he turns the radio on, and searches down the dial for a station. For some reason, in the place he’s parked not very many stations are coming in, so he settles on one that is clear - K-LOVE. At some point in the night he puts the gun in his mouth, ready to pull the trigger, but something stops him. As he listens through the night he realizes his need for Christ, and how “final” his decision was.

The end of the story is not just that he didn’t kill himself, it’s that he became a Christian, got involved in a church. He leads a small group and teaches in the church. Oh yes, that pistol that was in his mouth? He sold it, and used the money to make his first donation to K-LOVE.

There are two points here. The first is the importance of stories in connecting with people. Rarely do facts and figures connect two people, stories do. They have more impact on other listeners than anything else you can do. But you need to share those stories, in the listeners own words, on the air. The story of your success is in your stories, as well as your ratings. Get them on the air.

The second point has to do with our inferiority complex. We ARE doing God’s work, and I can prove it by pointing to the stories. Anyone who suggests otherwise simply doesn’t know the facts, and more importantly, doesn’t understand how God is using we music stations. Never doubt yourself - God is on your airstaff, and telling His story.

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