Remembering Christian Radio Pioneer Harold Sala

Image courtesy of Guidelines International Ministries 

The TWR world joins in mourning the loss but celebrating the life of Dr. Harold J. Sala, founder of Guidelines International Ministries and the voice of Guidelines for Living, a five-minute radio program heard on partner stations of TWR, also known as Trans World Radio.

“Dr. Harold through his teachings had a great impact on the lives of many people,” said Annabel Torrealba, TWR’s international director for Latin America and the Caribbean region. “Guidelines for Living is one of the favorite programs of the Latin American audience. His contribution to the expansion of the gospel is unquestionable, and his teachings have remained in the hearts of millions of people whose lives have been transformed."

Sala, 87, died peacefully at his home on Aug. 6, Guidelines International announced. He founded the ministry in 1963, dedicating the organization to spreading the gospel through radio and other media. His Guidelines for Living program, currently broadcast in six languages and on three continents via TWR, was the first and longest-running five-minute program in Christian radio.

His daughter Bonnie Sala, now the president of Guidelines International, told TWR’s Andy Napier in an earlier interview that her father had produced more than 13,000 of the five-minute commentaries. Bonnie Sala’s two-minute program, Reset, also is broadcast via many TWR outlets.

“We are so grateful to be continuing and expanding my father’s legacy,” Bonnie Sala said in a statement to TWR. “His call to all of us was to ‘use your life, your gifts and your resources to share the gospel.’ As he would say, ‘We’re reaching the world one person at a time.’”

Harold Sala told Napier that the timeless truths of the Bible resonate everywhere. 

“Christian programming is not politicized, and so subsequently people will listen because they want the truth,” he said. “And when we bring them the truth of the gospel as well, we are ministering to the inner person. … It reaches into the palace, it reaches into the ghetto, it reaches into the tenement area.”

He traveled and taught in more than 70 countries, including the Philippines, where he ministered extensively, according to the Guidelines statement. He wrote 60 books that helped people practically apply the Bible to every area of life.

“Throughout Dr. Sala’s long ministry, God has used his messages in many languages all over the world,” Brandon Neal, director of Media Services for Guidelines, told TWR. “Our partnership with TWR has been key to enabling Guidelines International Ministries to truly be an international ministry.

“Partnership has always been a core value of Guidelines, and TWR has opened doors to strategic languages and nations, as together we get the gospel to people in a way they can understand it. 

“I can’t help but think of all the people that Dr. Sala is able to meet now, as he is in heaven with Jesus, people who have come to faith through hearing the gospel through media. It’s a comforting thought. That is why we do what we do!”

Sala was a devoted husband to his wife, Darlene Sala, loving father to three children, and grandfather to eight grandchildren and one great-grandson. A celebration of his life and legacy will be livestreamed on Aug. 26 with details available at haroldsala.com. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Guidelines International Ministries to continue Sala's mission of sharing hope in Jesus Christ.