Expanded Gospel Station Sparks Celebration, Recalls History

By Sharon Tubbs
Fort Wayne Ink Spot

Fort Wayne’s citywide 24-hour Gospel station, Rhythm and Praise 94.1 FM, broadened its audience this month and stirred unity among a diverse group of attendees during a spirited launch ceremony. About 120 community leaders, singers, ministers, and other supporters gathered on September 9, in the lawn outside the station’s headquarters at 1115 W. Rudisill Blvd. Radio hosts Monique Moss and DeShawn Moore emceed the event, which celebrated the station’s move to FM radio, increasing its accessibility throughout the city and beyond.

“It has been a hard road, a good road, to get to this dial,” Moss said during the ceremony. “But, man, it feels good to be here with you all today.”

The station started in 2018 but was only available over the Internet. It later expanded to 90.3 HD2 radio and could also be reached through an FWRP app and Amazon Alexa. But for the first time this month, people listened to Rhythm and Praise on the FM dial. Organizers say the station was created to serve about 40,000 people within the African American community in Fort Wayne. They expect to gain more listeners and further the station’s mission to communicate God’s redemptive love and truth.

An array of speakers, white and African American, talked about the need for the uplifting messages of Gospel music to permeate Fort Wayne, already known as the “city of churches.” People clapped along with live singing groups and shouted “Amen!” during speakers’ remarks. Circuit Court Judge Wendy Davis said she enjoys periodic visits to local Black churches and listening to music engrained in the Gospel tradition. Others including Tina Griffin, first lady of Heaven 2 Earth Baptist Church, said listening to the station gives them a positive boost. Griffin said she has been an avid listener.

Gospel has long had a presence Fort Wayne. Deborah Godwin-Starks owns and operates WQSW 100.5 FM Quasi Inc., although some residents could not access the station clearly in different parts of the city. That station, which launched about a decade ago, was the first all-day Gospel radio station in Fort Wayne, Godwin-Starks said when reached by phone early this week. The station remains in operation, she said.

“What I think is important is that the good news of the kingdom still resonates in Fort Wayne, whether it’s 100.5 FM or 94.1,” Godwin-Starks said. “To God be the glory.”

Also, longtime Gospel disc jockey Dee McKinley now hosts an early Sunday morning show on WBOI, 89.1 FM. McKinley spoke during the Rhythm and Praise launch, throwing her support to the station’s expansion. Moss introduced McKinley, saying, “I stand on her shoulders.”

Said McKinley: “It is so awesome to be able to hear Gospel music twenty-four seven.” She continued, “I thank God so much for Gospel music in the City of Fort Wayne. There cannot be enough Gospel music in the city of Fort Wayne.”

Also during the ceremony, Moss charted the history of Gospel music, including the African American spirituals that slaves sang to stir hope or to secretly plot their escape from plantations to freedom. She spoke of the contemporary beats and sounds of today’s Gospel artists, as well. Rhythm and Praise, which offers a mix of traditional and contemporary Gospel, is a sister station of WBCL, the contemporary Christian music channel at 90.3 FM. Both stations are subsidiaries of Taylor University Broadcasting Inc.