For more than four decades, Insight for Living Ministries has been teaching the truths of Scripture and presenting a message of genuine hope and encouragement through its broadcast, touching millions of lives.
When Chuck Swindoll was first presented with the opportunity to be on the radio in 1979, it seemed like too much for him and his wife to handle as he was preaching five services every Sunday and pastoring the church throughout the week.
“I remember telling Cynthia, ‘We have the opportunity to be on the radio. If we say yes, one thing is true: you’ll have to lead it. I’ve got the message, but you’ve got the brains and the vision for it. Frankly, I think it’s too much to add to our lives. Really, it seems impossible,’” Swindoll recalled.
After Swindoll left for a weekend of white water rafting with his older son, who had just graduated from high school, his wife sat in tears on the sofa, praying, “Lord, what in the world are we to do?”
Soon after, the Swindolls received a letter in the mail from a friend in Texas, which read: “I am compelled to write you this letter and say that I have been feeling that Satan is wrestling with you trying to get you out of the ministry. I want you to know that I am fervently praying that he won’t win this battle.”
When Swindoll returned from his trip, his wife told him her story and said, “I really believe with all my heart that the Lord is telling us that we are to do this!”
“So, in July of 1979, with our heads spinning and our knees knocking, we started this ministry . . . and we’ve never looked back,” Swindoll said. “We’ve been in it, every day, 100 percent, for 40 consecutive years!”
“Thankfully, the Lord has obviously been in it too,” he added in an email to supporters.
Since the ministry’s first broadcast in July 1979, the Bible teaching of Swindoll has been a welcome voice wherever listeners want to engage with the Bible.
Today, Swindoll’s teaching is on the air in every major Christian radio market in all 50 states and through more than 2,100 outlets worldwide in numerous foreign languages – including Arabic, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, and Spanish – and it is also available to an exploding online and podcast audience.
The ministry has also been committed to walking alongside its listeners by providing support and prayerful encouragement via biblically trained pastoral counselors, Searching the Scriptures studies, Touching the Heart gift books, MP3s, and much more.
“They (the Swindolls) believe, as we all do in this ministry, that people’s lives are changed by living according to God’s plan as revealed in the Bible,” noted Tom Hayes, Insight for Living’s Executive Vice President and Chief International Officer, in reporting on one of the ministry’s newest projects.
In 2015, Insight for Living launched its Vision195 project as part of its effort to reach all 195 countries (recognized by the U.S. State Department as independent countries) “so that lives will be transformed as individuals hear the gospel, receive God’s amazing grace, and learn to become spiritually self-sustaining disciples.”
Through Vision 195, Insight for Living’s international-language ministries offer broadcasts on more than 1,000 stations, language-specific Web sites, as well as provide many printed publications.
“One of the strengths of our international ministries is that our pastors live, work, and minister in many of these 195 countries, so Chuck’s heart for preaching and teaching God’s Word and offering the hope of the gospel can be expressed locally,” the ministry reported. “This allows these pastors to lead local churches, mentor young pastors, and provide counseling in person.”
In 2000, Swindoll was inducted into the NRB Hall of Fame – NRB’s most prestigious award, presented to an individual NRB member for invaluable contribution to the field of Christian communications, exhibition of the highest standards, and evidence of faithfulness in Christ. The NRB Hall of Fame stands as a witness for current communicators, a showcase of warriors for Christ who live exemplary lives of valor and compassion, blazing trails and leaving paths for succeeding generations to follow.
Swindoll’s ministry has also been the recipient of NRB’s International Impact Award, Program of the Year Award, and Religious Broadcaster of the Year Award.
Insight for Living has been a member of NRB since 1982.
