Canadian First Nations radio station brings light to North American audience

PICKLE LAKE, Ont.-CJTL (Christ Jesus the Light) Radio was started in Ontario, Canada in 2005, when an alliance was formed between a group of First Nation believers and Nations One For Christ, a US-based organization headed by Frank Drown. CJTL is licensed under the Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (NEFC) and governed by an all-Native Board of Directors.

CJTL "The Light" went on the air in October 2007 from its studios in Pickle Lake, Ontario, and with a repeater in Thunder Bay, Ontario. People began to hear the gospel and to be encouraged with the hope of Christ through teaching and music 24/7 in Northern communities such as Mishkegogamang, Ontario.

The signal expanded with repeater stations, first into Garden Hill, Manitoba, reaching more than 13,000 First Nations people living in the Island Lake communities, then it grew to Weagamow Lake, Ontario, Oxford House, Manitoba, and even all the way to Bella Coola, British Columbia, near the west coast. In 2019, the station went on in Waskaganish, Quebec, as well as in Norway House, Manitoba, and Sandy Lake, Ontario.

Using satellite technology and FM frequencies to deliver the signal, CJTL can reach any community in Canada, including the Northwest Territories, and can be accessed globally on-line. In many instances it only takes the technicians a few days to get the station on the air after the request has been formalized.

This summer COVID-19 has delayed projects, but it looks like NEFC will be able to complete at least six new repeater stations, with some help from Samaritans' Purse and GalCom International, who have shipped towers and sent crews to help set them up.

The program content reflects the values of First Peoples' culture and weaves the gospel into everyday real life for the people throughout these First Nation communities. The dollar cost to the communities is just under $5000 CDN, making it affordable for smaller communities.

Daily programming includes Aboriginal music and gospel sharing, teaching in Native languages, as well as English, and contemporary Christian music all through the night (and when other time slots are not filled).

During the start of the COVID-19 crisis, CJTL was used to bring important information to remote communities and encouragement through the crisis by many First Nations elders and pastors.

Throughout most summers the crew is on the road, broadcasting live from gospel jamborees and events, connecting these remote areas. It's amazing to hear an event at which one community is praying live on the air for a different community that is suffering. In this way the station brings double value because listeners hear the gospel, but they are also reminded that they are not alone, that others care-and this is so important for these people in isolated regions.

Last year, the Pickle Lake radio station began to be used as an NEFC Pastors' Training and Teaching Center. There were plans to expand in the summer of 2019, adding some marriage and family workshops as well as counseling, but travel restrictions have postponed these programs. The focus remains on bringing gospel programming to the people and the communities through the medium of radio.

CJTL is online at http://www.cjtlradio.ca. Listeners all over Canada and the US can hear it online at: CJTL.apps.optbit.net. Listeners who connect can then save that link to smart device homescreens to conveniently listen any time.