IBRA Radio - the Swedish Pentecostal movements radio ministry became a reality in 1955. The ministry has grown over the years and today IBRA broadcasts to over 100 countries in 85 languages. In 1949, at the annual Swedish Pentecostal conference, Pastor Lewi Pethrus presented his vision for a Christian radio ministry. At that time, the Swedish government held a monopoly over radio broadcasting in the country and there were no opportunities for the Pentecostals to air their own programs.

On the 29th of July, 1955, IBRA Radio (International Broadcasting Association) aired its first broadcasts from Tangier in North Africa.
Today, more than half the world's population can now listen to the IBRA programs.

Eskil Johansson gives us a glimpse into the past:
WHEN A DOOR CLOSES

In 1948 something happened which resulted in the Pentecostals being shut out from any broadcasting over Swedish Radio. The reason was that during the radio broad cast of a service from Filadelfia Church in Stockholm, it was mentioned that God had healed a person who had been very ill.
In an earlier program, the person in question had been prayed for and nobody within our Government radio monopoly had reacted in a negative way.
Apparently it was permitted to pray for a sick person, but to then come back and claim that God had answered that prayer was going too far, or so was the opinion of the powers that be.
This incident unleashed a religious debate resulting in the Pentecostals being forbidden to participate anymore on Swedish Radio. And this was in spite of the fact that the next broadcast of the service from Filadelfia Church had already been printed in the radio schedule.
So the entire Pentecostal movement was shut out from any participation in radio broadcasting, in spite of having faithfully paid all taxes and radio license fees. Something had to be done and it was then that the idea of an independent Christian radio station was born.

During his visits to America, Pastor Lewi Pethrus had seen the possibilities of using radio in Christian outreach. So he began to work together with other interested parties on his own radio project.

TEST BROADCASTS

In 1949 Pastor Pethrus went public with his idea that the Swedish Pentecostals should acquire their own radio station. When the Swedish experts found out about the plan, they declared with a smile that the project was impossible and would end in a fiasco. There were times when the obstacles indeed seemed insurmountable, but the confidence that God was in control gave the needed courage to press on.

Pentecostal radio - or IBRA Radio as it came to be known later - began its test broadcasts in 1949 over Radio Luxembourg. Reception, however, was poor in Sweden, and this attempt was soon abandoned. Other ideas had to be tested.

FLOATING TRANSMITTERS

One way to solve the problem was to place broadcasting equipment on a ship anchored in international waters. Thirty kilometers from the shore, there were no restrictions or radio monopolies. The project was technically feasible and work proceeded toward making it a reality.

It was soon discovered, however, that broadcasting from a ship would not provide the desired coverage, because it was impossible to install directional antennas on a boat. It would have also been impossible to build a station out at sea to international standards. IBRA Radio was a missions organization and needed the possibility of expansion so as to reach many countries with its message.

Advantages and disadvantages were weighed against each other and, together with the ship project, other possibilities to broadcast from land were investigated. It was decided that if a land based station could be established, it would take first priority. Events later proved that this was the correct decision. When commercial organizations subsequently installed floating transmitters in international waters, they had to deal with enormous difficulties. They were considered pirate radio stations and on top of the many technical problems they had to solve, they also found themselves at odds with the authorities.

The Scandinavian governments enacted a law which forbade what they referred to as pirate radio broadcasting. The companies who sponsored the broadcasts, as well as those who participated in the programs, thereby became law breakers. They were all threatened with arrest if they did not immediately shut down their radio broadcasts.

AN OFFER FROM ANDORRA

While IBRA was doing preliminary work on its ship project, an offer came from a radio station in the tiny country of Andorra. The station's owner was willing to work together with IBRA Radio. The offer was so attractive that it was decided to set a date for test broadcasts.

The programs were produced and sent to the station, but they never reached their destination. New tapes were mailed from Stockholm, but they did not arrive at the station either, and nobody knew where they had ended up. Soon it was discovered that certain religious authorities in Andorra had decided to prevent these Protestant broadcasts from being aired. The simplest and most effective way to torpedo this new ministry was to simply use their connections with the post office to make the tapes silently disappear.

The station's owner, Director Jacques Tremoulet, realizing after a while that his battle against this silent power was in vain, informed IBRA Radio as to what had happened. He then said that he also owned a radio station in Tangier, North Africa, where there was full religious freedom. He added that the station in Tangier could be easily expanded so that IBRA Radio would have all the equipment it desired at its disposal.

Was this perhaps the solution to IBRA's problem? Tangier had an optimal geographical location for international missions broadcasting. Eight different nations were responsible for political security in that international free zone. So the location was ideal and the possibilities for this type of missions outreach met all the requirements. The offer was accepted unanimously by IBRA Radio's board of directors.

IBRA RADIO TANGIER

Tangier immediately became a major focus of the news media in all of Scandinavia. The news that the Swedish Pentecostal movement had fled the country with its radio ministry and intended to set it up in North Africa spread like wildfire. Many Swedes looked at their atlases to find out where Tangier was. Yes, this remarkable city was located right there in the northwestern corner of the African continent, where the salty swells of the Atlantic meet the Mediterranean Sea in the Bay of Gibraltar. The population of 150,000 was made up mostly of foreigners who, nevertheless, blended into the colorful surroundings. People from every corner of the world came together in this international atmosphere. Americans, Frenchmen, Spaniards and Germans - to name just a few Westerners - worked side by side with Arabs, Jews and Indians. Besides the three official languages - Arabic, Spanish and French - many other languages and dialects could be heard. It was not unusual to hear the shoe shiners and street vendors offering thir services in six to eight different languages, including Swedish.

Three post offices - one French, one British and one Spanish - competed for the international mail and about 50 banks serviced a highly cosmopolitan clientele, doing business with people from all parts of the world.

THE DREAM COMES TRUE

Up until 1948 almost anyone could build a radio station in Tangier, and about ten commercial radio stations quickly sprang up in this radio mecca. When IBRA Radio, however, came to Tangier in 1955 it was almost impossible to get the needed permission to build a station, but by investing in an existing station - Radio Africa Tangier - IBRA Radio would have 3 short wave transmitters at its full disposal as well as the part time use of a powerful medium wave transmitter. To get to the area where this new station was being built, you had to follow the coast south of Tangier, until you came to the border of the international zone.

There, on the big sand flats, with the ocean waves crashing in with great force, work was begun on the extensive antenna system. The transmitter building was built on the hill right next to Pirate Hill, so named because long ago pirates would light a fire there in order to lure boats closer to the coast where they were then attacked.

Now Pirate Hill was being changed into a Gospel beacon and it was happening quickly. The whole process was quite amazing for the local Arabs who had not yet learned what stress was. Most of the 50 men who were hired to build the station were shepherds, they were accustomed to spending the whole day in peace and quiet out in the fields with their animals as their only companions. Now they had found out that they could earn money as laborers at the new station. It seemed exciting.

There were some very comical moments when these shepherd sons of the desert suddenly exchanged their shepherd's staff for a shovel, a pick and other tools. These forgotten men were to now help the foreign engineers build a radio station by which one would be able to speak to the entire world. The Arabs could not understand how this could happen. They all agreed that Europeans often acted strangely, but to bury a bunch of copper (ground wires) in the sand was the strangest thing they had ever seen.

Our night watchman, Mohammed, thought it was a shame to waste such fine copper. So when darkness fell and everyone had gone home, he spent the night digging up as much of the copper cable as he could and took it home so he could sell it later to the junk dealers in Tangier, who were glad to buy the metal for a good price. After a while we discovered that the grounding system, which was made up of two kilometers of copper cable, was not working. It was no wonder, since the cable that was being buried during the day was being dug up at night. The only thing we could do was to have a watchman watch over the watchman who replaced Mohammed. So we had to start all over again and lay out new ground wires. But despite this and other unexpected events, the station was built in record time and the dedication could be held on schedule.

A DAY OF CELEBRATION

Many of IBRA Radio's friends had gathered on Pirate's Hill for the celebration of that historic dedication. Among the noted guests who had come from afar were Pastor Lewi Pethrus, Director Karl G. Ottosson and Director Jacques Tremoulet, the three enthusiasts who had made this project a reality. Pastor Lewi Pethrus gave an inspiring dedication speech and declared IBRA Radio Tangier was now in operation.

Seven years of intensive preparation had been met with success. The dream of IBRA Radio - the Swedish Pentecostal movement's own independent Christian radio station - had become a reality.

Today the ministry has grown and IBRA Radio broadcasts to 100 countries in 85 languages.