| City of license | Freehold Township, New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | New York |
| Slogan | God Speaks, Are you Listening? |
| Frequency | 89.7 MHz |
| First air date | June 27, 2003 |
| Format | Religious |
| ERP | 5,000 watts |
| HAAT | 52.0 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 20485 |
| Owner | Bridgelight, L.L.C. |
| Webcast | listen live |
| Website | bridgefm.org |
WRDR (89.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Religious format. Licensed to Freehold Township, New Jersey, it serves the New York area. The station is currently owned by Bridgelight, L.L.C..
The station offers a wide variety of programming including contemporary Praise and Worship music, Charismatic preaching and teaching, brief Christian features, instructional Christian programming, Church services, and Children's programs. The station stresses the positive Christian message while maintaining fundamental Biblical principles. The station also emphasises contemporary presentations. Programs include Somebody Loves You with Raul Ries, Back to the Bible, A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, The Word for Today with Chuck Smith, American Center for Law & Justice with Jay Sekulow, In Touch with Charles Stanley, Focus on the Family, Adventures in Odyssey, and so much more.
Music includes Rich Mullins, Maranatha Singers, Steve Curtis Chapman, Don Moen, Ron Kennolly, Vinyard Christian Music, Hosanna! Music, Steve Green, Scott Wesley Brown, Sandi Patty, Chuck Gerard, Pete Carlson, David Meece and others. The station leans away from Contemporary Christian Music that sounds too much like mainstream pop. The music played has obvious Christian lyrics and the message is the main thing behind the music played.
In addition, WRDR simulcasts on several low power FM stations, 98.7 in the northeastern part of the Hudson Valley in New York, 94.3 Rockland County, New York, WJUX-LP 103.1 in Bergen County, New Jersey, and WJUX 99.7 in Monticello, New York, and W255BY 98.9 in Poughkeepsie, New York.
The mission of The Bridge is to reach the Metro NY/NJ area with the life-changing message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through sound Bible-teaching and inspiring praise and worship music, The Bridge seeks to equip believers throughout the Christian community and thereby impact our region through an effective Christian witness.
The vision for this station began when a few local Calvary Chapel pastors prayed for more practical and applicable Bible teaching to be available over the airwaves to meet the spiritual needs of millions in the Metro NY/NJ area. They felt that though talk radio and music were well represented by the existing Christian stations of WMCA, WWDJ and Star 99.1, there was a vast amount of excellent bible teachers equipping believers with practical and easy to listen to bible teaching that the northeast had not been exposed to. Believing the simple teaching of the Word of God is life changing they jumped at the chance to acquire an available station in Howell, New Jersey and then soon added the WJUX station that fed a few translators in the metro NY/NJ area.
Calvary Chapel Old Bridge's board approved providing the funding and along with Cornerstone Calvary Chapel's help were able to form Bridgelight Media LLC and purchase WRDR in Howell, New Jersey. The station renamed, The Bridge, went on the air for the first time on June 27, 2003. Shortly before sign-on, they were able to purchase the financially and legally troubled easily listening music outlet WJUX known as "Jukebox Radio" which added another full power radio station on 99.7 FM and two translators on 103.1 and 94.3, increasing the potential coverage to over 6.5 million people, and enabling them to reach a good part of New York City. The former Jukebox Radio stations joined the Bridge in the Fall of 2004.
They now have 89.7 FM in Monmouth County, NJ; 103.1 FM in Northern New Jersey and New York City; 99.7 FM in Sullivan County, New York; 94.3 FM in Pomona, New York; 98.9 FM in Poughkeepsie, New York. and 91.9 FM In southern MIddlesex County. 89.7 also reaches a small part of northern Ocean County, but suffers interference from WNJN broadcasting on 89.7 which covers most of the county.
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