In the late 1980’s, there was major construction on Facpi Point just south of the village of Agat. A team had come to Guam to build a shortwave station that would reach into Southeast Asia with the gospel. Because the station antennas are directional, the signal could not be heard on Guam. Allen Steel, who was in charge of building the shortwave station, said in an interview, “As we were building the shortwave station, we had a lot of folks on Guam that said ‘We’d like to hear some programs here.’”

Allen never forgot their request. When the shortwave station was completed, he began to pursue plans for an FM station. After fundraising, planning and building the station, “Joy 92” signed on the air in 1992 at 91.9 FM, covering the island of Guam and the southern part of Rota. Allen said, “We wondered what to call the station. We got the staff together and asked them what they thought about a name for the station. We had the goal of programs of hope and joy and as we were discussing it, one staff member said, “How about Joy?” We rounded up our 91.9 frequency and we had “Joy 92”.

We always dreamed that more islands could hear Joy 92. Finally, in 2010, a license-filing-window opened and a new station was built in Saipan. The new station broadcasts at 89.9 and simulcasts the Guam signal, meaning that listeners in Saipan and Tinian hear the same audio that listeners in Guam hear. The 92 part of Joy 92 became irrelevant with the new station at 89.9 and so our name was changed to "Joy FM".

In 2017, the Guam station built new stations in Kosrae, Ebeye and Majuro. In 2018, another station was added in Pohnpei and, in 2019, Joy FM came on the air in Yap. The Joy was truly spreading. In 2021, we were gifted with an AM station that is a miracle story in itself. A new, first-of-its-kind, 24/7 Christian Story streaming channel/app was added in 2021. We hope to launch a new Kids Story Channel 24/7 stream/app by the end of 2022.

Every step of the way God has blessed and guided. Staff and volunteers have kept the ministry running and growing. Donors have kept the power on and helped pay salaries. All of this for one purpose, to encourage you to have a personal relationship with Jesus and prepare for his soon return!

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*This article originally appeared in the JOY FM newsletter. Reprinted here with permission from author.