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Partners or Staff? TWR Workers Are Both

By TWR Staff
Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Global, Middle East, CAMENA, Guam
Service with TWR looks a lot more like partnership than ordinary employment. Support-raising missionaries, direct-hire staff members and volunteers recognize that their own callings from the Lord align with TWR’s calling, so they “partner” with the ministry to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth.
“Christians must be called by God to partner with him in his use of TWR as a tool to further the gospel,” says TWR Chief Personnel Officer Rick Weston. “People feel that tug differently, of course, but there are very few of us that are not completely sure this is where God has us to be serving at this point in our lives.”
Recruitment of TWR staff has been up for several years, bringing in couples and single professionals in a wide range of ages and fields. Does this mean all the vacancies are full and the help-wanted sign has been taken down for now?

“Don’t EVER say we are filled up and don’t need anyone!” Weston retorts. “If you go to TWR.org/serve, you will see 60 roles for people we still need. At least 19 of those are considered critical positions.”

TWR staff in their own words

Allow us to briefly introduce you to three of our faithful colleagues serving in far-flung parts of the world. Read a few of their comments about “partnering” with TWR to reach the world for Christ.

Carol Witthun
  • Office manager, senior accountant at KTWR Guam
  • Grew up in New Hampshire
  • Has served nearly 30 years with TWR in seven countries

Receiving the call
“I felt called into missions as a preteen during a missions conference at my church. … [Several years later] during a missions conference at my church, the primary speaker died of a stroke without warning. I immediately thought of a relay race where a runner completes a lap and passes the baton onto the next runner to continue the race. This man had completed the race and he was ‘passing the baton’ on to me to continue God’s work. God told me take the ‘baton’ and start ‘my lap’ in God’s kingdom work.”

Raising missionary support
“When I initially went to the field in 1991, I had already raised support that was needed to go to Bonaire. I served seven years overseas, then 19 years in the Cary office before returning to overseas service again. I bring that up because before returning to the field in 2017, I had to raise additional funds to be fully supported. It was a great opportunity to see God at work in touching people’s hearts to become ministry partners. I enjoyed the opportunities to share with people what God was doing through TWR’s ministry.”

It takes all kinds
“When you look at Scripture, I'm amazed at the type of people God used for his kingdom work. … For many people in our listening audience (Asia) the only means for them to be discipled in their faith is through listening to our broadcasts. This has been especially true during the global pandemic when people have not been able to meet in their local churches. To keep the transmitters running on Guam, God uses night operators to make sure the programs are going out, engineers to keep all the electrical parts working properly in the transmitters, computer experts to schedule and automate the programming, and finance people to pay the bills so our electricity stays on.”

Partnership on many levels
“I see my partnership with TWR our several levels. On a local level – I partner with my Guam team. When I came to Guam back in 2017, I told the team I was here to serve them. I wanted them to know that I would do whatever it takes to help them in their work, to help them do their jobs better. On a regional level (Asia), I partner with the finance team based in Singapore. I assist them in their day-to-day tasks, in areas of training and supervision of the work being done. On a global level – I want to help the global finance team when I see there is a need. With modern technology, I can be living in Guam, but assisting people in Africa, Europe, and the US. In partnering with the global finance team, I’d like to think that I’m assisting them to do their jobs better – so they can support their regional teams."

Bernard Oosterhoff

  • International director for Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa
  • Married to Mariette, a TWR stewardship director and mother of four
  • Bernard and Mariette are natives of the Netherlands

Receiving the call
“When I was baptized in 2003, God showed me the darkness and heaviness of my sin in a dream and then all the weight was lifted off in the dream by Jesus. Since then, I wanted everyone to know about Jesus. I thought my work in information technology would be finished soon and I would go into missions. God, however, needed to work on me some more. Five years later, I joined TWR full time in the role of director of TWR Netherlands. When I applied for this role, after the interview, I stepped into my car and a song was playing on the radio, ‘God is calling; you answer.’”

Reminding myself of the purpose

“Most of the time the ministry work is fulfilling, but not always. Sometimes I feel far removed from the actual work, which in my mind happens in the studio and in direct interaction with listeners. I must remind myself that what I do is needed to make sure that there is a producer in a studio, with the right equipment, talking to his or her people who do not yet know Christ and are slaves of false religions. … It is also fulfilling when I do something in ministry which I learned in my secular jobs and see how God prepared me for the role today. However, the most fulfilling is meeting a listener. One special occasion was when Mariette and I took a ‘random’ taxi in Delhi [India], and the taxi driver told us that he came to Christ through TWR’s radio program and was going to be baptized that Sunday.”

A family, not a contract
“As a staff member of TWR, I feel part of the TWR family. The different roles I have served in at TWR do not feel like a career to me. It is a different perspective compared to a secular job; it is not based on a contract but based on trust and a common calling. I serve where I am needed to fulfill our common calling to reach the world for Christ through media. From that perspective you can indeed see my work with TWR as a partnership.” Station director, West Africa Transmitting Station (WATS) Married to Fiona, a doctor and mother of two sons Garth and Fiona grew up in South Africa Receiving the call After school, Fiona became an exchange student and went off to Thailand for a year. … When Fiona was away, we still did old-school writing letters between South Africa and Thailand. And it was during that year that Fiona realized that she was going to become a missionary, and I did the same thing. And we both sent letters saying, ‘Listen, I’m not sure where this relationship is going, but I’m thinking of becoming involved in missions,’ and those letters crossed in the sky.” Raising missionary support “I had a mental block about this, and so when we were asked to join [another missions agency], it wasn’t made clear to us that we would have to raise our support, and during the job interview [with the other agency], someone turned to us and said, ‘OK, how are you going to raise your support?’ My ego got the best of me, and I wasn’t prepared to say, ‘Oh, I couldn’t do that.’ So I said, ‘No, we will do that.’ And within a year were actually out in the field because we had raised enough support. It was a God thing.” Fulfillment on the job “The team we have on the ground is great, and I really enjoy working with them. My work is fulfilling and particularly when I read or listen to feedback or I interact with people in the village or see the difference that the WATS work is making, not only from broadcast but from the community aspect, which we are doing and making a difference in people’s lives. There are frustrations – working with government officials and people wanting to extort money. … But my sense of fulfillment comes from listener feedbacks and interacting with people in the field.” The Great Commission is for all believers “I feel that God has given people talents, and those talents need to be used, and I honestly believe that everybody is called to a role to fulfill the Great Commission. The calling is not limited to your street preachers or your pastors. It's everybody, and I honestly believe I was called to use my talents and my gifts. I feel for us it's creating a broadcast center where we can proclaim the good news of Christ across to the world.” Biblical partnership “I think one of the strengths of TWR, actually, is partnerships. It’s on so many different levels – the partnerships created on the ground, across the African continent, with donors, with churches, with missionaries, with other mission organizations.To me, that partnership has been incredible. It doesn't mean there are no hassles, no conflict. There are. To me, it's just a biblical principle of creative partnership and working together.”

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