FEBA South Africa celebrates 80 years of miracles!

Article supplied by FEBA South Africa

‘Come and see what God has done’

From small beginnings to a sprawling ministry, FEBA Radio South Africa is a living testimony of God’s unfailing goodness. “God is doing miracles around the world.” When Dr Jurie Vermeulen says these words, they carry the weight of personal experience. As director of FEBA Radio SA and vice-chairman of its parent organisation, Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC), he has seen what the Gospel can do. It is the same awareness that has driven FEBC for 80 years, and FEBA Radio SA for 30, in carrying out their original mission: to bring Christ to the world by media.

What’s past is prologue
It should come as no surprise that FEBA Radio SA has many stories to tell. What began with two UK missionaries has turned into a support office with 12 radio stations in six African countries, more than 100 full-time staff members, and countless volunteers.

The foundations of FEBA SA
In 1996, Russell and Gill Ashley-Smith were sent by FEBA UK to establish a South African office and expand the existing support base – which stood at around 200 at the time. For the first two years, the couple worked from their home, setting up a database and building a network of contacts and partners throughout South Africa. When they moved to other mission fields in 1998, FEBA Radio SA had an office at Melville Methodist Church in Johannesburg, and a local director, Rev Petrus Moolman. In the next 28 years, FEBA would build its own head office in Pretoria – the same offices being used today; change leadership twice, first to director Rev Frik Veldman in 2008 and then Dr Jurie Vermeulen in 2014; and transition from supporting FEBA UK’s work to establishing and maintaining FEBA radio stations in Mozambique, Malawi, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Sudan.

Looking back with gratitude
With a history so colourful, it is tempting to linger over the stories. But although FEBA looks back on its past with tremendous gratitude, its gaze remains firmly fixed on the future. This message formed a central theme at its recent 30th anniversary celebrations.

‘Come and hear, all you who fear God’
On 30 May, the first of two celebratory events took place at NG Lynnwood in Pretoria. FEBA’s staff and board members were joined by 178 supporters to bear witness to the miracles God is doing through the ministry. The second gathering, at NG Bellville-Riebeeck in Cape Town on 6 June, drew 185 supporters on a cold but beautiful winter’s morning. While FEBA’s annual witness meetings in different cities all over South Africa usually offer an overview of the work being done worldwide, the focus this time was firmly on Africa. Those in attendance had the privilege to hear first-hand, “frontline” accounts from three FEBA directors: Godi Rabo (FEBA Niger), Ayata Aimé Palyo (FEBA Chad), and Bright Sonjera (FEBA Mozambique).

Witchcraft, weather, and war
One thing became clear as the three men spoke: South African Christians lead comfortable lives. As Dr Vermeulen put it, “We have no idea what it’s like to live as these people do. We literally cannot comprehend it. Don’t even try. Just pray.” Currently, 32 countries in Africa are experiencing devastating conflict. Famine, drought, floods, abject poverty – the people of Africa are hard-pressed on every side. And yet… the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Light in the darkness in Niger
FEBA Niger’s radio station is known as Radio Light. Director Rabo, speaking in French with translation provided by director Palyo, told the audience how listeners in his country hear and even accept the Gospel, but in secret, to avoid persecution. Young people especially are afraid of being disowned by their parents and cut off from their communities. However, the pull of the Gospel is too strong to resist.
One listener, a man named Mustafa, used to be an alcoholic. When his father died and left him a good inheritance, Mustafa squandered it, and although he was well-educated, his drinking led to unemployment. While listening to Radio Light, he heard about Jesus, who can heal any ailment. He contacted the station, came to faith in Christ, and was healed. Director Rabo then gave him some training in broadcasting, and today, Mustafa works for a national television broadcaster in Niger.

Broadcasting the Gospel in Chad
It is often up to the FEBA teams to help their listeners in need. In Chad, Christians are welcome in the south but persecuted in the north. Women, in particular, are often killed when they decide to follow Christ, lest they should have children and raise them as Christians. One of FEBA Chad’s broadcasters, a young woman, was a Muslim when she started listening to the music on RACE FM, FEBA’s radio station. RACE FM focuses greatly on artists and music, using a blend of secular and Christian material to draw non-believers and introduce them to the Gospel. After listening to Christian music, this young woman put her faith in Christ. When director Palyo learnt that she was stuck in unemployment, he gave her a job at RACE FM, where she now broadcasts the Gospel in Arabic.

Extreme conditions
Before sharing this story at the Cape Town gathering, director Palyo had quickly donned his jacket, despite his initial intention to show off his beautiful, but light, traditional shirt. It was too cold for him, he said laughingly, and no wonder: during this summer, Chad has faced temperatures of up to 55 °C. FEBA’s station has been forced to shut down completely between 12:00 and 15:00 every day to protect the equipment and give the staff a chance to escape the heat. They even had to hose down the solar panels to prevent them from overheating!

Overcoming witchcraft in Mozambique
Mozambique is also no stranger to extreme weather. Earlier this year, broadcasters and listeners lost their homes to extensive flooding across the country, and poor harvests in recent years have caused widespread food shortages. Suffering causes many people in the remote areas to turn to witch doctors for help. “The witch doctors,” said Director Sonjera, “hate what our broadcasters are doing.”
So it happened that one witch doctor started listening to FEBA’s local station with the intent of learning more about the broadcasters, so that he could put curses on them. After a while, however, he visited the station and requested a radio set, as he did not own one. Eventually, the witch doctor turned to Christ and began proclaiming the Gospel to his witchcraft students!

Miracle after miracle
One after another they come – stories of transformation, healing, freedom, salvation. Indeed, there are so many miracles taking place in Africa alone that, as the Apostle John writes in John 21:25, “Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

A call to prayer
Along with the awe and gratitude inspired by the FEBA directors’ testimonies came stories of fear, suffering, and life-threatening danger. The day before the Cape Town gathering, FEBA Sudan’s station manager sent word that shots had been fired around the station, the bullets narrowly missing the building to embed themselves in the walls of the school nearby. Supporters were called to pray for their brothers and sisters in those countries where suffering is the norm. “If you know the Lord,” Dr Vermeulen said, “you have a responsibility to pray.”

Prayer requests
Please join us in praying for our staff and listeners, as well as the spread of the Gospel, in Mozambique, Malawi, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Sudan. Directors Rabo, Palyo, and Sonjera made the following prayer requests:

• That Islamic terrorism would be curbed and that peace would come to their countries.
• That they and their staff, as well as other believers, would receive the strength and wisdom to deal with persecution and open hostility, especially from Muslims.
• That FEBA’s staff and listeners would be protected from the violence perpetrated by jihadists and a new group in Mozambique, the Naparama. Their members recently killed 27-year-old Mariza Jauado Francisco, who had served as a broadcaster with FEBA for eight years. She was on duty at Impact FM when a group of Naparama showed up, demanded money and shot her when she told them the station had only Bibles.

Looking forward in hope
In the Bible, the number 30 marks a turning point. It is the age at which Levites became eligible to serve in the tabernacle. It is the age at which Joseph became vice-regent of Egypt, David became king, Ezekiel became a prophet, and Jesus began His public ministry. In each case, there were 30 years of preparation, followed by a season of service. After 30 years of sowing seeds, FEBA Radio SA looks forward to a busy harvest season

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Date published: 15/07/2026
Feature image: Provided by FEBA South Africa

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