He was one of the most influential speakers at the Training Seminar for Evangelical Radio Stations in French-speaking Africa, held from January 14 to 18 in Lomé, Togo. Alphonse Teyabe (pronounced Téyabé) from Cameroon is a pastor, researcher, and communications consultant. Author of the book "Church and Media: The Contribution of Evangelical Radio Stations to the Mission," he outlines here the role that the hundred or so evangelical radio stations in French-speaking Africa could play in proclaiming the whole Gospel.

Reprint of Serge Carrel's article published on January 21, 2019, onlafree.info

What do you do in the field of radio in northern Cameroon?

Since 2003, we have been setting up radio stations there. Currently, there are about ten evangelical stations. This region is an isolated area, where there are insufficient means of communication. This underdeveloped area is under the influence of Islam. In this context, radio stations are an effective means of proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel and contributing to the development of this region through the various programs we broadcast.

Based on your experience in northern Cameroon, what is the impact of these evangelical religious radio stations?

These radio stations make a real contribution on a spiritual level, in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. The message we convey transcends cultural barriers and geographical boundaries. Sometimes women are unable to leave their homes for religious reasons. The message reaches them in their homes and they are edified. These women are attached to these radio stations and follow the various programs that bring fulfillment to themselves and their children. So there is a contribution not only on a spiritual level, but also on a "political" level, in relation to city life. We effectively help the state in the management of the city in relation to environmental, health, and educational issues.

In concrete terms?

In 2010, during a cholera epidemic, for example, the government approached us. Seeing our audience and the impact we had on the population—in the far north of Cameroon, Radio Salaaman has a larger audience than the state radio station!—the government asked us to produce programs related to the cholera epidemic. The aim was to raise awareness among all sections of the population about this disease, which had begun to decimate certain villages. Through special programs, we brought in doctors, health officials, and others. Within a few weeks, we were able to completely eradicate the disease from the region.

Would you say that your radio station was the primary instrument in this eradication?

We contributed to this eradication because we put the resources into it. As a result, the government was forced to sign a partnership agreement with our radio station...

When you say "obliged," what do you mean by that?

Given the work we were doing in the field and the impact we were having, government officials had no choice but to work with us to combat this scourge. People are now very aware of this issue and we have not heard of this disease since. We have continued this work in the field of health, notably with an expanded vaccination program against certain diseases such as polio.

So this religious radio station received government funding to carry out these campaigns?

The government has the financial resources to carry out such programs. It has therefore invested in our radio station and contributed to its funding. Other partners are also coming forward: NGOs, mayors seeking support for certain causes, etc. In our program schedule, we have reserved 30 percent of the time for evangelical programs and 70 percent for social and development programs. We believe that the Gospel concerns the whole person: body, soul, and spirit. All these aspects must be taken into account. That is why we reserve 70 percent of our airtime for development programs on education, health, agriculture, and so on.

You also try to reach out to young girls who leave school early... What do you do to encourage them to continue their education?

We noticed that in the far north of Cameroon, girls drop out of school as early as primary school because their parents marry them off at a very young age. This society favors boys over girls. As a result, over 70 percent of the population is illiterate. We really had to intervene, and quickly. We set up radio programs to raise parents' awareness of this problem, as well as advertising spots. Sometimes we sent our staff into the field to meet with people in their homes and encourage parents to send their daughters to school. We also produced specific literacy programs for radio stations.

What was the impact on the population?

Today, we see that more young girls are attending school. Some have even gone to university and found good jobs. There are girls who were glued to their radios. So we brought in educational inspectors to supplement the broadcasts...

Some young girls are therefore sitting at their computers in their homes or huts, following lessons just like at school...
They watch these programs, and once a week we bring them together in a school in partnership with this school to take things a step further. Today, we have girls who have passed their CEP and BEPC exams... One of them has even just passed her baccalaureate thanks to our programs. The idea has caught on, and these programs are even reaching young girls in remote villages. This is having a real impact on the population, and our goal is to contribute to the transformation of society.

Is this distribution of 30 percent evangelical programming and 70 percent development programming a model to be followed by evangelical radio stations in French-speaking Africa?

In my opinion, it is important that we share our experience with other radio stations in French-speaking Africa. We would like to invite all French-speaking evangelical radio stations to come together and implement the model we have just presented. It can have a real impact on the population in terms of community development.

Interview by Serge Carrel

Brief biography of Alphonse Teyabe

Alphonse Teyabe is a pastor, researcher, and communications consultant in Cameroon. He has launched several radio stations in the north of the country and supports several radio and TV stations in French-speaking Africa. Alphonse Teyabe obtained a doctorate in the United States with a thesis published under the title: "Church and Media: The Contribution of Evangelical Radio Stations to Mission" (Maurice, Editions universitaires européennes, 2017, 352 p.).

He is also the secretary general of the Bible Groups for Pupils and Students of Cameroon (GBEEC) and the Alliance of Evangelicals of Cameroon (AEC).

He is married and has four children.