A Gospel Lighthouse Shining Into the French Darkness

PHARE FM has the possibility of a national broadcasting license on DAB+ which will give a big impact on France  

God is moving in France, and Nathanaël Chong, the director of PHARE FM, said he is excited to see how the gospel will spread across his country in the coming months and years.

Founded in 1988 and broadcasting for the first time in 1989 from the city of Mulhouse in France close to Germany and Switzerland, PHARE FM -- which means Lighthouse FM -- has spread its gospel wings across France, into Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Now, Chong said, an opportunity has opened for PHARE FM to impact France like never before with the possibility of a national broadcasting license on DAB+.

Chong said:
“From the moment PHARE FM was founded by Pastor Bruno Leonardi, the idea was to have a radio station that gave meaning and direction to French people through the power of the gospel. In the early 2000s, God gave us the vision to reach the whole country, and we have just been waiting for the season, and we are wondering if this is now the season because the government is offering this new national license.

“To make this happen, we will need 1.4 million Euro, and we have to prove that we have enough money by April 25. So, we are relying on our partners to help us raise this money. I don’t use the word donors because for us there is only one donor and that is Almighty God. We have placed this opportunity in God’s hands, and we know if he wants it to happen then the funds will be there.

“It’s a huge opportunity to reach millions of people across France. We have seen God provide in an incredible way over recent months, and each year we finish with just enough to keep going. Even last year when we had cash-flow issues we still applied for 28 new licenses by faith, and God provided the global finances.”

Partnering with TWR, PHARE FM has been broadcasting through FM and DAB+ in towns and cities across France. It most recently acquired licenses for Nancy and Vitré after activating six new DAB+ areas last September. Such is the growth in their work that Chong is seeking to expand the work force and move to a new headquarters within the next two years.

Reaching the lost in France, Chong and his team are acutely aware of the impact of atheism on a nation that to the outside world is still seen largely as a “Christian” country.

Chong said:More than 95 percent of people in France have no faith, and many have no idea about Jesus or the Bible. These are the people we are reaching with our broadcasts. It’s like missionaries a hundred years ago going into far-off countries and bringing the gospel for the first time. For example, I was told of a pastor who when he addressed a Bible study and said they were going to be studying the letter of Paul he heard one new believer ask another, ‘’Dd you get a letter from Paul?’ We give thanks that God is using PHARE FM to shine his light into the darkness in France. We can sense the quiet revival that is coming, and we want to play our part in this.”

For more information about PHARE FM: www.pharefm.com
For international donation: www.pharemedia.org/don/