On 26th January 1988 Sonshine radio first began broadcasting full-time in Perth, and for the past 35 years, the organisation has been wholeheartedly working to achieve its mission of engaging the people of WA with the positive message of hope in Jesus. For 25 years the key, and only, platform used to share hope was FM radio, but over the last 10 years the growing digital platforms, social media, podcasts and our website have also been used to engage people with that same message.

Hear the story from our CEO, Bevan Jones.

More than just great family radio

The organisation has been moving steadily into being a “media ministry” not just a “radio ministry”, as the numbers engaged by digital and other platforms are nearing that of the FM broadcast and will continue to grow. People now engage and interact in so many more spaces, and CEO Bevan Jones says that’s led to some exciting changes as the organisation prepares for the road ahead.

“We’ve always been called Sonshine, right from our 1984 test broadcast, but over the last 10 years, we’ve highlighted our FM broadcast as 98five to deliberately grow our radio listening audience. As we move forward we’ve realized that 98five is simply our frequency on FM.

As we grow to now broadcast on digital radio, through our new Sonshine App, a brand new website, podcasting and social media we’ll now be referring to the organisation as Sonshine. With a new, modern look and feel across all the touchpoints we use to engage with our community.”

Major Growth

A major growth area has been Sonshine’s connectedness within the community of Perth and WA. The organisation has become a key “connector” for many communities, including churches, not-for-profits, community groups, businesses and individuals. A number of initiatives and events have been developed where many of these different community groups come together for a common goal or purpose.

For churches, Sonshine is the ‘neutral space’ where all denominations can come together. For businesses, Sonshine connects them with a demographic that is important to them and also to our wider community. For community service and not-for-profit organisations, Sonshine is able to galvanise its community to have a positive impact on the people they serve. For those who engage with the ministry on air and via the many digital platforms it’s a space where they can connect with faith, family and community.

For those already partnering with us, we look forward to the journey we will share with you. We will continue to develop our resources and capabilities to grow our reach and community connections in the years to come. We also look forward to partnering with new people and organisations as we reach our big, audacious goal of bringing hope to every home in WA.

It’s a new look, familiar name, same vision, same mission – but using multiple media platforms to tell people there’s a God who loves them and a local Church family to belong to.