Loren Covarrubias, pastor of Mount Zion Church in Independence Township, is reaching out to more than 10 million new listeners through ownership of a radio and television station in Lima, Peru.
‘We feel that we want to impact the nations of the world, so this gives us an opportunity to not just reach Lima, but we’ll be developing Spanish programming that will reach all of Latin Americas,? said Covarrubias. ‘So our goal is, once we get established in Lima, to get on the satellite so we can be available to Latin America and also on a satellite to be shown here in the United States to reach to the Hispanic community here.?
When Covarrubias started in ministry almost 30 years ago at Mount Zion, he was told to ‘go to the nations,? said Rich Nowik, one of Mount Zion’s ministers.
In July 2006, Ruben Hilario, pastor of the hispanic congregation at Mt. Zion, traveled home to Peru to visit his family. While in Peru, Hilario met Pedro Ferreira, a businessman and president of Grupo Pacifico, an organization of Christian newspapers, radio and television stations.
‘Pedro was very impressed with Rueben and just his spiritual growth, so Ruben suggested that Pedro meet Pastor Loren,? said Nowik.
Ferreira wanted to retire and had been praying for five years who to give his station to, Nowik said. After meeting with Covarrubias, Pedro decided to give it to him.
‘He had been running the station for over 10 years, working in radio for 44 years, but not too much in television so when he saw what our cable was doing, he wanted us to get involved in it right away,? said Hilario.
The church is taping shows locally, translating them into Spanish and sending them to the station to be broadcast.
‘When you’ve got that much time invested into something, you want to make sure whomever you give it to, is going to continue your tradition, your legacy, if you will,? said Nowik. ‘And that is our desire to advance the Kingdom (of God) through the foundation that Pedro laid.?
Mount Zion is not new to television, said Nowik.
The church broadcasts through satellite, locally, nationally, and internationally through Christian television broadcasters such as DayStar and INSP.
‘We always knew this was where we were going, just waiting to see how God was going to bring the increase. Never even thinking it would be a station,? he said. ‘We’re always thinking about being a programmer on a station not owning a station that needs programming, so God came through way beyond we ever thought.?
Nowik said owning a station will allow Mount Zion to bring their ‘full message? to the Peruvian people.
‘When you’re a programmer, you are just buying your one little slot. We now have an opportunity to be more than just buying a slot,? he said. ‘We’re talking about producing five to seven half-hour programs per week versus one half-hour program.?
They can also select their own programming.
‘The big thing there is using programming that promotes maturity in the body of Christ. That’s really the message of Mt. Zion,? said Nowik. ‘Actually reflecting Christ, the fruit of the spirit, so that’s very important to us that we would bring that to the table and take it to a nation like Peru.?
With many of the people of Peru being in poverty, Nowik said owning the station allows them to ‘challenge? some of the mindsets Peruvian people have embraced.
‘In Latin American, these people have almost been trained to accept poverty. One of the things that we definitely want to take to Lima and hopefully to all of Latin America is some mindsets that the Kingdom of God does not line up with a poverty concept,? he said. ‘Not as if we are going to preach capitalism because we are going to preach Christ, but we want the Peruvian people to know that they have to come up. There is almost like a communist socialist mindset in the people and it impacts their faith, it impacts the way they believe, or the way they see God.?
Their goal is high-quality, local programming, he said.
‘Our hope would be to really develop a Christian station that could legitimately be seen all across Latin America. How that will happen or when that will happen, God only knows,? said Nowik. ‘We received this station when we weren’t looking for it. It just kind of came, so (God) is not short of resources or the abilities to open up doors.?
Currently, Hilario is communicating through e-mail and pamphlets to Peru once a month to make sure everything is working smoothly. They will fly to Peru the second week of February to finalize the paperwork. For more information on Mount Zion, visit www.mtzion.org.