The story of sin and redemption in “The Pilgrim’s Progress” called Roger Kemp to faith in Christ in 1966. Today, he advances that same narrative of the Gospel on platforms across the country through RK Media.
Kemp was nine years old when he professed faith in Christ at a Pilgrim’s Progress-themed summer camp in central California. Several years later, his introduction to some of the most well-known voices in Christian radio shaped Kemp’s commitment to strengthening Christian media to lead more pilgrims to Christ. His work experiences under the influential leadership of Al Sanders, Chuck Swindoll, and Ed Atsinger together formed his vision for RK Media, which now equips its partners to effectively use media to share the Gospel.
Kemp was in middle school when Fullerton Free Church called Chuck Swindoll to the pastorate.
“[I] met our new pastor throwing a football out in the church parking lot to a bunch of us middle school guys,” Kemp said. Neither he nor Swindoll knew it, but the two would form a lasting friendship. It was Swindoll who wrote the letter of recommendation for Kemp’s application to the Moody Bible Institute.
“That friendship started when I was a kid and … developed into one of the more meaningful relationships I’ve had,” Kemp said.
After graduating from the Moody Bible Institute in 1978, Kemp returned to his home state of California where Al Sanders offered him a job at Ambassador Advertising.
“I’ve always looked at that first job in California as my start in Christian radio,” Kemp said. Starting in the shipping department, he was soon copywriting for Sanders and other announcers. “It was there that I learned the ins and outs of what I’m doing today.”
The 1970s was a time of tremendous growth in Christian radio, as organizations like Insight for Living, Focus on the Family, and Grace to You were just getting off the ground. Working at the intersection of influential leaders in an industry buzzing with potential, Kemp learned from some of the strongest voices in Christian broadcasting. He transitioned to a position as Vice President of Broadcasting at Insight for Living in 1991.
“Before I’m anything, I’m a writer,” Kemp said, “and people misunderstand that about me, because my public face would be, you know, the president of a media agency, but the tool that God gave me that I embraced my earliest days is writing.”
In 1998, Kemp became the National Program Director for Salem Media under Atsinger, where he took on the responsibility of managing teaching programs for the high-profile corporate radio network. It was during this season of growth that Kemp decided to start his own company, RK Media. He entered Atsinger’s office with the idea in March 2004 and left with Atsinger’s blessing.
“What was at the heart of that was the conviction that I wanted to use the last part of my career to come alongside nonprofits with the trilogy of experience that I had gained … agency, nonprofit, and corporate network of stations,” Kemp said. Each stage had offered him a unique angle on the media industry, which together enabled him to lead RK Media well.
Husband and father to four, Kemp entered what he describes as a “gutsy season” of life, leaving his corner office at Salem to start his own company with nothing but a laptop, a cell phone, and the spare room of his house. From the beginning, Kemp leaned on the example and relationships of fellow NRB leaders such as Sanders, Swindoll, and Atsinger.
“They all shaped me in different ways,” Kemp said, “and I love each one of those guys dearly, and in different ways.”
On another occasion, Kemp shared with NRB: “In my 46-year career in Christian media, I’ve only had three employers. As it turns out, all three were NRB Hall of Famers. See, this is what NRB is all about. Our colleagues, our mentors, our employers, are men and women of great faith who invest in our lives so that we ‘go and do likewise.’”
Since 2004, RK Media has grown from supporting five partners with no employees to supporting 20 partners with 18 employees across writing, audio, social media, and marketing divisions. The company helps Christian ministries put God’s Word on the air in sustainable and effective ways.
Kemp is fond of saying, “In radio, words are all we have,” and RK Media equips Christians to communicate the Word well.
“I am as excited about the opportunities for Christian media as I ever have been,” Kemp said. He reminds today’s communicators that man cannot take credit for the power of the Gospel, nor can man discredit its power.
Above all, Kemp believes that “as long as man is born with a sin problem and needs a solution, we have a story to tell.”
RK Media has been an NRB member since 2005. Roger Kemp currently serves as a member of the NRB Board of Directors.