New radio station devoted to religion

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.)

I.D. Byars gives his granddaughter, Dawn Carter, a few pointers on how to operate radio station WSOJ 102.5 FM. The station went on the air for the first time last Tuesday. (James Clark photo)

I.D. Byars has been starting radio stations for 50 years. Asked how many stations he’s helped form during that span, Byars chuckles when he says, “I don’t have that many fingers and toes.”

But Byars had never started a station entirely to his liking, a station devoted to nothing except religious material. That is until last week when WSOJ made its first broadcast. Warren County’s newest radio station has been on the air 24 hours a day ever since.

“Spreading the gospel and putting the word of God out there is my inspiration,” said Byars, who is part of an all-volunteer, non-profit organization which operates WSOJ 102.5 FM. The call letters stand for “Wonderful Sayings of Jesus.”

WSOJ’s programming consists of acappella music, Bible study and gospel preaching. Sermons range from one minute to 45 minutes in length and new programming material is recorded daily.

The station is affiliated with the Church of Christ. All content is under the oversight of the elders at East End Church of Christ on Sparta Street, which is providing a large portion of the $1,000 a month needed to keep the station operational.

The 24-hour day is broken into four shifts each six hours long. At least one volunteer is on duty during each of those shifts. Other volunteers include Evelyn Byars, Dawn Carter, Troy Carter, Alvie Byars and Douglas Byars.

The station itself is located at I.D.’s home in the Fairview community. From there, a signal is transmitted by phone line to a 180-foot tower near Forest Nursery which then transmits the signal to most of Warren County.

It takes four phone lines and six computers to keep WSOJ transmitting continuously.

In addition to its radio broadcast, there is a simultaneous broadcast on the Internet. The Web site, www.PioneerPreachers.com, has been in operation for three years and has listeners around the world.

“I’ve gotten e-mails from people from 30 or 35 different countries,” said I.D. “And I’ve already gotten calls from people here in town who say they really appreciate it.”

Frank and Imogene Byars are two of those people. Frank suffers from macular degeneration and went blind four years ago. Imogene has glaucoma and can’t read for long.

“We’re just as happy as we can be about this. It’s a godsend for us,” said Imogene. “Instead of having to be at services Sunday morning, we can have our service whenever we want.”

I.D. has a long history of establishing radio stations, especially in this area. In 1953, he installed WSMT in Sparta. In 1955, he put WBMC on the air in McMinnville. The call letters for that station stand for “Byars Music Company.”