It's what people crave. They want to hear music of God saying, 'Cast your cares on me. I have the answers.' When people listen to this music, they connect to it.
Ted Gocke calls his radio station's recent move from a second-floor studio on Ringgold Road to a single-level building on Lee Highway a "God story."
"God had to be involved in making all this happen," says Gocke, morning radio host and promotions manager at WLLJ-FM/J103, a contemporary Christian radio station that also airs on 102.7 FM with the call letters WBDX.
Several months ago, Gocke was having lunch with several colleagues, including his boss, General Manager Steve Green, at a restaurant near Hamilton Place when the topic was raised of looking for a new site for the station, which it needed a larger space.
The new location of contemporary Christian radio station J103 on Lee Highway includes a theater, a video room and an up-to-date studio.One of the guys we saw at the restaurant, a good Christian guy, told us he knew about a building just around the corner that was up for sale," Gocke recalls. "He said the man had just put the building on the market. We went over there after lunch.
"They were moving out equipment of the building when I ran into a young man I knew when I was a youth pastor at his church. He told us he knew the owner of the building; he told me the owner was like a spiritual dad to him.
"We went back to the studio, we gave the owner a call and the first thing he said was, 'Oh, my goodness. My wife listens to your station.' So he lowered the price and owner-financed it for us. We started moving in within weeks."
Gocke, who has worked at J103 since it went on air 20 years ago, says the station had been at the 5,100-square-foot Ringgold Road location almost since its beginning; the new building is a roomier 6,800 square feet.
"Though we were using every inch of space in the old facility, the reason for the move is more of a stewardship issue," he says. "In the old facility, we were on the second floor. You had to climb stairs and there was no elevator. People with physical limitations couldn't climb the stairs. FedEx and UPS people like us a lot better since we've moved."
Though J103 offices moved into the new space a couple of months ago, it wasn't until about three weeks ago that the deejays moved into their new studio.
"It was time," Gocke says. "The equipment at the old station had been there since the beginning. There were parts of the (broadcasting) board that aren't even made any longer. We were using a stapler to hold down a button. Now we've got new equipment. It's all part of the God story."
Justin Wade, program director at the station, says the entire staff is happy about the move.
"We are so thankful for what the Lord has blessed us with," he says. "The new facility is a better reflection of the excellence that we strive for. The new place has brought excitement, a sense of thankfulness and a fresh focus on innovation."
The "blessing" continues, Gocke says.
"Another part of this 'God story' is that, when all is said and done, our mortgage payment is less now than our rent was in the other building," he says. "The money is now being put toward the ownership of the building and maybe, in a couple of years, if we have the building paid for, think of what God will let us do with the resources."
The new location previously housed Matrix Installations, a video-conferencing equipment supplier. The building, which was designed to look like a home, also houses a small theater.
"The only thing we've had to do is build three walls to make the building into a radio station," Gocke says. "The theater is the highlight. It's a three-tiered room that seats about 20 with big plush chairs and benches. There's a full stage and a screen with a velvet curtain behind it. There's also a top-of-the-line sound-and-projection system."
Gocke says they'll put the theater to good use, "for example, when Christian artists come in." After he or other deejays interview a Christian artist, he explains, they'll be able to entertain them afterwards in the theater.
"We also want to open the theater to ministries and other nonprofits and groups," he says.
The new space also gives the station room to grow its on-air and online offerings.
"On our Internet station, JRadio.fm, you can download more types of Christian music ranging from urban to hip hop and classic - a throwback to the old days of Christian music that we're now playing on Sunday afternoons," he says. "Right now, if you turn on J103 on Sunday afternoons, you'll hear the classic music. When we get the new formats up and running, you'll be able to hear the typical J103 music all the time and the classic music on a different frequency. We're also planning to offer energetic Christian music for exercising."
Twenty years ago, when J103 first went on the air, it was a radical idea at the time because there wasn't a base for listener support and definitely not a base for commercial support," Gocke says. "All Christian stations at that point rarely made it on listener contributions."
But station president Bob Lubell wanted something different. "God gave Bob a vision of a hybrid station, one that was listener and commercial supported," Gocke says. "There were just a few of those type Christian radio stations in the country back then. But since then, the moment he flipped the switch at the station to go on air, the excitement and buzz has been there.
"There had been a Christian station that had recently gone off the air, and all of a sudden there was a Christian station back on the air. It was a lean time back then, and there were times we weren't sure how we'd survive. One time we had to make severe budget cuts and had to let some staff go. That was really hard. But thankfully, times got better."
One reason for the station's success is the increasing popularity of Christian music, he says.
"People realize Christian music is about their lives. Every day you wake up and you're dealing with something, and the music addresses these issues. You'll never hear me bashing other music formats because I love all music, but Christian music brings people hope and that God's glory will help.
"It's what people crave," Gocke says. "They want to hear music of God saying, 'Cast your cares on me. I have the answers.' When people listen to this music, they connect to it."
Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.