By: Libby Criswell

Next month, the WOAK radio station will celebrate 35 years of being on the air and bringing discipleship to LaGrange and several surrounding communities.

According to Nathan Woltmann, the current director of operations at WOAK, the radio station was originally founded in 1984 by Pastor Ralph Taylor and a team that he assembled.

“They founded it because there was no Christian radio station in the area at the time, especially a large-scale one,” Woltmann explained. “They wanted to be able to reach most of central west Georgia and central east Alabama with a Christian radio station.”

When it first began, WOAK was only able to be on the air for 11 hours a day. Since then, it has grown to broadcast 24 hours a day, and in 2012, people were given the ability to listen online as well.

Though 35 years have passed and some things about the radio station have changed, the radio station’s purpose has remained the same.

“[WOAK’s] motivation is to reach those that are unsaved, those that do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior. That’s our first and foremost goal,” Woltmann said. “Our second goal would then be to disciple them through Christian programming and Christian music that we play on the air.”

Woltmann then went on to say that he believes the radio station’s consistent philosophy and doctrines are what have allowed it to stay on the air for 35 years.

“I think the reason why people continue to listen to us and continue to support us has been the fact that we have stayed consistent and have not compromised on our values and on our stand on the word of God,” he said. “We’re one of the few radio stations in the area that have been up this long. We have definitely impacted the community for many, many years.”

The current focus of the WOAK radio station is to expand its area so that it can reach a larger number of people. It is also working on gaining a bigger social media presence in the LaGrange community.

To celebrate its 35 years of being on the air, WOAK will be hosting an open house on June 21 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be a ribbon cutting and a cookout, and Woltmann hopes that the public will attend this event to honor WOAK’s 35 years of service and to show support for the continuation of its community outreach efforts.

“You get to be a part of a history — part of a heritage that has been in this community for so long,” Woltmann said.