KVNE Radio

2721 East Erwin
Post Office Box 8525
Tyler, Texas 75711
Office: 903-593-5863
Fax: 903-593-2663

Broadcasting on 89.5FM, every day, is KVNE ‘the voice of encouragement’ – a local Christian radio station based in Tyler. It is a non-profit organization and raises money from donations and sponsorship from local businesses rather than airing commercials. The aim of KVNE is to encourage local Christians through music, plus promote Christian events and local ministry initiatives in the area.

KVNE has a great breakfast show, featuring a family friendly couple called Mike and Carrie who keep you smiling with their jokes, phone-ins and topical discussions plus contemporary Christian music. I love ‘What the survey says’ and my kids love to listen to ‘Kid’s karaoke’ on a Thursday when kids phone in and sing their favorite song on air! It’s not as cheesy as it sounds – actually, it’s quite cute. They often have guests on the show and as East Texas has a fair share of Christian musicians – Paul Baloche and Chris Tomlin to name a few – there is quite a local flavor. KVNE is very community focused – they collect backpacks for underprivileged kids in Tyler and valentines for patients in the local hospitals. Better still is their concern with the poor worldwide. Each Christmas they promote Operation Christmas Child – a project to send shoeboxes of Christmas gifts to poor children overseas and they also support Mercy Ships and other mission organizations working in the developing world.

What is not so good about KVNE? In a word, the repetition! The music comes from The Scroll Christian bookstore and in my opinion, they don’t give this radio station nearly enough variety. I guess for The Scroll it’s partly about getting airplay to sell their latest CDs (clever marketing) but we get tired of hearing the same old tunes, occasionally remixed, day after day. I wish KVNE would not limit itself in this way and play music from other places in the world – Hillsongs Australia, Vineyard Canada and some of the excellent contemporary bands coming out of England have so much to offer. Christians are hungry for new Spirit-filled worship songs. Stuff that has been reproduced from the original raw stuff by an American artist seems to lose something. KVNE is not insular in its outlook in general so why should it have such a restrictive playlist?

The very, very worse time of year is Christmas. I know I am not alone in turning off the radio for the entire month of December! The repetition is completely unbearable and even for an evangelical Christian who thinks the world of Christmas, there is only so many times and ways you can listen to a limited repertoire of carols and Christmas songs without feeling sick! Luckily my friends and I discovered Pandora.com in December this year – it saved the day for us!

‘Praise Share’ week (in March) is also to be avoided. During this week – the radio presenters tout for donations and there are some unconvincing and in my opinion, undignified, ploys to increase donations by ringing a bell and saying that a mystery benefactor will double any donations given over the next hour. I feel sure that the people of East Texas value KVNE enough not to have this awful week of fundraising and I wish they would just trust the Lord to provide the finances they need through long-term regular giving.

Enough negative things said. There is a lot of good stuff about KVNE. I do enjoy Mike and Carrie. The news in the morning is a bonus, I like the weather updates and enjoy the Focus on the Family spot. Tune in sometime from Jan – November, you’ll probably like it, and as they tell us in their tag line – it is safe for the whole family to listen to.