Pastor Chuck Smith’s The Word for Today radio program now airing in Mandarin Chinese

Cary, NC, March 29, 2007—Listeners in China are now receiving in-depth Bible teaching in Mandarin, the world’s most spoken language. Thanks to a strategic partnership formed recently between international Christian broadcaster Trans World Radio (TWR) and well-known Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Calif., people in Asia are hearing Mandarin broadcasts of Smith’s The Word for Today program. The broadcasts began airing on March 24 from TWR’s powerful shortwave station on the island of Guam. The 30-minute program airs five days a week.

Already, TWR’s transmitting sites in Bonaire and South Africa are airing the English version of The Word for Today broadcast. A Spanish adaptation is slated for transmission later this year.

“Pastor Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel are committed to fulfilling the great commission of Christ which calls us to make disciples of all nations,” says Ralf Stores, TWR’s director of Ministry Partnerships. “We’re excited by The Word for Today’s commitment to providing solid discipleship programming that coincides with TWR’s global strategic plan of taking God’s unchanging message to a changing world.”

The Mandarin Chinese broadcast reaches listeners in the Asia region who are in great need of discipleship training. The Spanish version of The Word for Today is tentatively scheduled to begin in June 2007 and will be aired from TWR’s sites on Bonaire and in Uruguay, and may also be distributed to local FM stations. Additional languages will be considered in the future.

Pastor Chuck Smith’s church, Calvary Chapel, is a non-denominational Christian congregation established in 1965. Smith became known as a leading figure in the “Jesus Movement” of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Calvary Chapel has more than 1,000 congregations in the United States with hundreds more overseas, and runs affiliate ministries such as Bible colleges, Christian camps, retreat centers and pastoral training programs.

The Word for Today English program is being aired on 350 stations worldwide and is available on the Internet. The partnership with TWR will enhance the effectiveness of The Word for Today’s ministry and further the spread of the gospel worldwide.