February 26, 1945 Co-Worker Letter - Herbert W Armstrong - Adds Radio Station XEG

 

OUR Co-Workers' BULLETIN


VOL. VI Number 2 February 26, 1945


Published every little while to keep our Co-Workers informed of the progress, the problems, and the future plans for carrying on God's work in these closing days of this age; ---broadcasting "The WORLD TOMORROW;" publishing The PLAIN TRUTH magazine and other Gospel literature. HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG, Box 111, Eugene Oregon



AND NOW . . . A 150,000-WATT SUPER-POWER STATION!

I have just received a long-distance telephone call from Texas, offering us the opportunity to send our Message out over another Mexican station, just recently increased to 150,000 watts!

This is such a vital opportunity that I must send out another BULLETIN at once to submit the proposition to all you Co- Workers, and I ask you to consider this carefully, prayerfully!

Last Fall, the opportunity came to go on XELO, the 100,000-watt station across the border from El Paso, Texas, at Juarez, Mexico. We were offered the best time of the week--8:PM, Mountain time, at 800 on the dial. This was at the time the most powerful station either in or at the border of the United States ---twice the power of our largest American stations. By sheer FAITH I grasped this opportunity although it meant increasing the expenses of our entire work by 50%! Few of our Co-workers knew what a burden of responsibility I was assuming, in order to send the last Message of this Age to additional hundreds of thousands of souls. We have had a tight squeeze, financially, but God has blessed this large undertaking and made it possible for us to stay on this great station. It has DOUBLED our mail, which means it has doubled the number of people reached with God's Message--- DOUBLED our vast radio audience---DOUBLED our power for good.

Now in the meantime, another great Mexican station, XEG, 1050 on the dial, has increased its power from its former 50,000 watts---equal to the great super-power stations of our largest cities in the United States---to THREE TIMES THAT POWER, now 150,000 watts! This station, now even more powerful than XELO, uses a directional antenna, beaming its full 150,000 watts direction North and North-East, in the direction of Chicago and Detroit. By this process, it comes in, within the territory upon which it is specially beamed, with even MORE than its actual power of 150,000 watts.

This means that it comes in like a local station in those most-populous middle-western states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, and Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Louisiana. It will add many thousands of new listeners, too, in states farther east, or west, of this section--- such as Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, etc.,---all very populous states,---beside Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and even in the Mountain states.

Now we know, from our mail, exactly which states each station reaches best. XELO, for instance, gives us our heaviest audience in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Colorado, North and South Dakota. It also brings a heavy mail, populations considered, from all Mountain states, and even all three Coast states, as well as the entire Middle-West. However, because XELO is so far west---opposite El Paso, Texas,--it does not deliver very good reception in the East, and it is good only in spots thru states like Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, etc., where XEG has its heaviest audience. The result is, these two stations would not duplicate very much in listeners, but XEG would bring us an entire NEW audience of approximately ONE MILLION ADDITIONAL LISTENERS, through these very populous and important states.

I believe it will carry the Message to at least a 50% LARGER audience than XELO gives us, and that station brought us such a vast audience that it equals all the listeners over WOAI, KMTR, KXL, KVI, KRNT, and KNET combined! These two Mexican stations do have TREMENDOUS audiences throughout the United States! Millions are listening to them---and these are the two leading, outstanding Mexican stations on the border having large American audiences.

XEG is located at Monterey, Mexico, south of San Antonio. It is far East of XELO, and near the very center of the continent.

The very BEST and most expensive time of the whole week ---the time when most people are listening---is between 7:PM and 10:PM. The only time we were able to buy on station WOAI, for instance, was 11:PM, Central time. That, I fully realize, is very late. Most of those who would listen have gone to bed. Radio men estimate we would reach four times as many people at this earlier time. Consequently, we have to pay four times as much for a half hour at this earlier, more-listened-to time. IF we were able to obtain such a good time on WOAI, we should have to pay at least four times what we do. Now I have been offered the very good time of 9:30 to 10, Central time, on XEG. I asked for one hour earlier, 8:30 to 9, and was told this very probably could be arranged. The rate will be just the same as we pay for our half hour on XELO.

Now this is VERY EXPENSIVE TIME. It is the BEST time, when more people are listening than any time during the week. These are very powerful stations. They do have---as our experience with XELO has proved---VERY large audiences. Whereas our mail indicates we now have between a million and a million and a quarter people in our vast radio audience EVERY SUNDAY, if I am able now to add also this 150,000-watt XEG, I am confident it will mean an audience of between TWO MILLION and TWO AND A HALF MILLION precious souls hearing the Gospel Message---and God's LAST WARNING to this people for this age---EVERY WEEK! Can you realize what a tremendous power that is? Just one great super-power station such as these, during the best hours of Sunday evening, will give us an audience fully as large as fifty or seventy-five small local stations scattered over the country combined, and at only a fraction of the expense. It is by far the MOST INEXPENSIVE WAY TO REACH VAST AUDIENCES OF PEOPLE!

ALL RIGHT! Now by ALL MEANS we should take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. It would be UNTHINKABLE to just pass up such a glorious opportunity which God has opened to us for His Work! And yet, frankly, I am simply not in position to take advantage of this marvelous offer, unless you dear Co-Workers will respond AT ONCE to the call, and make it possible. I had outlined plans for the growth of the work this year. Those plans included going on station WJJD, the nations most powerful independent station, in Chicago, within another four to six weeks, starting out with a DAILY broadcast for the first two months; then later adding the super-power WHAS, Louisville, and KWKH, Shreveport, and a strong New York station later thru the year. None of these will cost as much as this BEST Sunday evening time on the 150,000-watt XEG, and of course none would reach as many people. XEG costs more than I feel it would be safe for me to undertake to shoulder, even on FAITH, at this time without some extra assurance of a reasonably substantial increase in tithes and offerings received with which to pay the bills, especially since I am still shouldering the heavy burden of increased expense of XELO.

Now we cannot consider dropping any present station in order to go on XEG, because we have developed ESTABLISHED AUDIENCES on all these stations, who simply DEPEND on our program, and thousands are under conviction, coming to conversion and salvation. Moreover, we would have to drop at least THREE of these established stations to save enough money to go on XEG, and that is unthinkable. So, after careful study and prayer, I see there is just one way we can take advantage of this marvelous opportunity. There is a time to plunge on FAITH, trusting God alone. I felt God made it plain to me, last Fall, that the time had come to do that---that it was God's will---that He would back me in it. I went ahead, and He did. But, again, there is a time when we can attempt too much and it becomes TEMPTING THE LORD, instead of sound and wise FAITH. Frankly, I feel this is too large a financial obligation for me to undertake without some further assurance from our Co-Workers---and I don't want to mis-apply faith and just "tempt the Lord." I have prayed for wisdom. I know God would never have opened this wonderful opportunity, if He had not wanted us to take advantage of it. I KNOW He wants His Message to go out to more and more people. But after praying earnestly for wisdom, I feel God directs me to PUT THE PROPOSITION FRANKLY BEFORE OUR FAMILY OF CO-WORKERS, and ask you to EACH ONE make just a little further sacrifice, and INCREASE the amount of weekly or monthly offering, or tithes, that you have been sending for God's work, so we may send God's precious Message to this additional million souls!

I feel God would have you, dear Co-Workers, share this added responsibility with me, before I undertake it. It means another 25% or 30% increase in our expenses, which I cannot meet unless there is a corresponding increase in INCOME.

Now OTHERS want this time. Time is at a premium on all radio stations. Everybody is trying to buy time. Radio stations do not have to make effort to sell time---they are too busy turning down many who want to buy time they do not have to sell. More and more, radio stations are refusing to accept religious broadcasts. It is only thru a personal friendship with influential radio- station representatives, and the fact they LIKE OUR PROGRAM above all religious programs, that this exceptional offer came, and this radio man spent the money for a long-distance call clear across the United States to offer it to me.

But WE MUST ACT AT ONCE. He wants my answer in TEN DAYS---which means BY RETURN MAIL, after you receive this!

Listen! Almighty God in His PROPHECIES reveals, thru scores of prophecies---whole chapters and whole BOOKS of prophecy---the astounding, yet PLAIN truth that OUR NATION IS TO BE INVADED AND CONQUERED IN THIS SERIES OF WORLD-WARS STARTED IN 1914, UNLESS THIS PEOPLE REPENTS OF ITS SINS, AND TURNS TO THE ETERNAL GOD! Thousands, now, are beginning to SEE this. But I know of NO ONE ELSE who is WARNING the nation of it---DO YOU? Do you realize that WHOLE BOOKS, and CHAPTERS of God's precious Word were inspired, written, and preserved these thousands of years IN VAIN, unless we are to SHOUT THIS WARNING, NOW? And also THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM is now to go out to this and ALL nations, as a witness, just before the end of the Age! WE DARE NOT fail our God in the Mission to which He has called us!

Now I feel sure many of you can easily DOUBLE the offering you have been sending for God's Work. Some cannot. But some can, and those who can will have to send in substantial increases to make up for those who only send small amounts. God does not ask any of us to give what we have not got---His method is giving in proportion to ability---but it is only when those of larger ABILITY sacrifice proportionately, and a place substantial sums in God's work that His work can go forth in real POWER! Now we also have started a SPECIAL FUND---started very small, but growing---for the PURCHASE of radio equipment in Mexico offered for sale to us, with which we can establish and own OUR OWN STATION OF 250,000 watts, the most powerful in the Western Hemisphere, if not the most powerful on earth! That would give us all the time we need, EVERY DAY, for the most powerful and far-reaching evangelistic campaign of all earth's history. It takes $125,000 to buy and set up this station. If you can, place at our disposal a large portion or all of this amount, for IT IS GOD'S WILL! His warning MUST GO FORTH! So remember that fund, too---and DON'T FORGET our regular expenses now are close to $1000 per week in this great work of God! Keep your tithes and generous offerings coming REGULARLY. We must NOT FAIL! Now for the adding XEG, I do not ask for a binding pledge. I just ask you to state what you will try to send each week or month, as God makes possible, and you may be released from further responsibility in this at any time, for any reason. On that basis, please fill out, and mail: HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG:

Depending on God I will try to send each ( ) week ( ) month, an extra, additional offering of $________ per ( ) week ( ) month.
Sign name and address below:

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Send answer AIR-MAIL. Send with regular offering if possible in enclosed self-addressed envelope.