Issue 85 of Cross Rhythms magazine will be the last one that Cross Rhythms will produce for the time being. Why? Cross Rhythms General Manager Jonathan Bellamy explains.

Chris Cole

Community Radio is one of the new jewels in the broadcasting crown in the UK as Ofcom consider applications from right across the country, to roll out this new tier of broadcasting. A statement from Ofcom read: "The RLC (Radio Licensing Committee) viewed this group's (Cross Rhythms) proposals favourably in relation to all of the statutory selection criteria. It has a good track record in securing the funding it needs, has good links and demonstrable support both within the Christian community of the area and within the wider community, and has well-considered social gain objectives reflecting an inclusive approach to the whole community as well as its core Christian target group."

Cross Rhythms City Radio broadcasts as a community station for the whole community of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, with a Christian values ethos. Jonathan Bellamy, Cross Rhythms general manager, said: "This award really affirms our desire to be a service to the whole community. The station is underpinned by Christian values but its content is driven by local issues. In the last three years we have established working partnerships with many community organisations including the police, council, local newspaper, health, employment and education agencies. We support and profile the theatres, local businesses, arts groups, ethnic organisations and many more. We have been invited to support, and play an active role, in city wide initiatives such as Citizen Of The Year Awards, Stoke-on-Trent Music City and CQ5 - The Cultural Quarter Festival. With this brand new five year opportunity we are so excited to be able to build upon the foundations we have laid. We are already in discussion of how we can provide media training for young and disadvantaged people; how we can support drug awareness and education into schools; and how we can raise the profile of local businesses. We really believe we make a valued contribution to the whole community, and we hope that value will increase in the coming years."

The new licence award for Cross Rhythms is more than a confirmation of three years' hard work however. Said Chris Cole: "This is broadcasting history for the Christian community and for Christian media in the UK as it is the first full time FM licence granted to a Christian run group. It is also the culmination of more than 21 years of history in broadcasting our type of Christian radio. Originally we began with a half hour show on an ILR station called Plymouth Sound, in South Devon. This show quickly developed into a one hour programme that was rated one of the most listened to programmes in the region in its time slot. We have always seen that a Christian expression in the media should be able to engage with the wider community whether they attend a church or not. It's been 21 years learning our craft, often being misunderstood and under-resourced, but now we have something very solid for the future. We are already in discussion with other groups across the nation who want us to help them run similar stations for their area. And that's exactly what we plan to do. We even anticipate setting up a training academy in Stoke-on-Trent, the centre of the nation, to teach and equip people how to reproduce this effective model in their own cities!"

Cross Rhythms City Radio can currently be heard on 101.8FM across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is also broadcast nationally on Sky Digital 876 and on www.crossrhythms.co.uk/radio

Cross Rhythms Website - MUSIC & LIFE.
Re-launched With Over 25,000 Pages!

Heather Bellamy

Already established as one of the most popular UK Christian websites, with more than 90,000 visitor sessions every month, the Cross Rhythms website has now been re-launched after more than a year's work in redesign and development of new concepts. Coinciding with the 10th year anniversary since the first Cross Rhythms pages appeared on the internet, Cross Rhythms are continuing to pioneer the boundaries for Christian music content in the UK. Re-launching with more than 25,000 pages the new website now boasts a comprehensive one stop shop for Christian music information; including over 2,700 artist profiles containing articles, reviews and news stories, plus news on gigs, a shop to buy music product and audio samples of Cross Rhythms radio airplay tracks.

Another milestone in the re-launch is the step to make the online subscription music magazine free for all, including over 300 music articles and over 6,000 music reviews. Said Tony Cummings, the founding editor of Cross Rhythms magazine: "The decision to make the online Cross Rhythms magazine available for free on our website underlines our commitment to the Christian music world. Now 10s of thousands of readers will be able to access all the latest articles as we write them. I'm really excited about the expansion of our readership this new service will bring Cross Rhythms. I'm also excited by the fact that we can now greatly expand the quantity of articles and interviews we publish. This means that effectively we will be publishing new articles, reviews and news stories just about every day of the year!"

Referring to the 90,000 visitor sessions every month, website editor Heather Bellamy explained: "It's all about the customer. Cross Rhythms website isn't simply a brochure for everything else we do, it's an online community! We place a high value on listening to our users and have designed our site with this in mind. We want to give people what they want at all different levels. People can receive extensive music info, community with other online users, fun, intimacy with God in our Prayer Rooms, encouragement and teaching in their Christian faith through our Life articles. They can also shop online and even find a job on our Job Board. They can also contact us anytime through our new E-TXT service."

Cross Rhythms brand new Life articles come from respected Christian teachers and columnists such as Mal Fletcher (from media initiative Next Wave International), Open Doors (who support persecuted Christians worldwide), musician Chip K (from thebandwithnoname), The Lawyers Christian Fellowship and many others. With a focus on building people up in their relationship with God, the articles tackle everyday issues.

In addition Cross Rhythms email and online teaching studies will continue to go out to over 2,000 people under a new name of Life Files. Written by national and local youth leaders such as Matt Summerfield of Crusaders, Glyn Barrett of Youth Alive, Clive Urquhart of Kingdom Faith and many, many more, these studies have proven to be a big hit.

Cross Rhythms website content is updated daily and also features live streaming of the Cross Rhythms radio station alongside a new chatroom and forums and a brand new webcam.

SOME FEEDBACK RECEIVED FROM ENTHUSED CROSS RHYTHMS WEBSITE USERS:

"Absolutely stonking ... it has been well worth the wait ... this has got to be one of the best sites on the entire web and certainly the best Christian website of its kind that I have come across..." Les, London

"I am hugely and genuinely impressed by the website. It is easy to navigate and full of interesting material ... I find the CR site very fast." Steven