About ERF Plus

ERF Plus

ERF Plus is the radio programme of ERF Medien (formerly Evangeliums-Rundfunk), the evangelical Christian media organisation based in Wetzlar, Hesse. On air since 5 February 1961 — making it one of Germany's longest-running private radio services — it is a Christian specialist programme focused on faith, life guidance and news from society and congregations. Broadcasting under the slogan "Tut einfach gut" (simply does good), it reaches listeners in Germany and Switzerland via DAB+, cable, satellite and livestream, and is financed through donations rather than advertising.

Overview

ERF Plus is classified as evangelical programme radio: its content centres on Christian faith and life help, with devotional programmes, biblical teaching, talk formats on life questions and news from churches and society. The musical component historically included church, choral and classical music, distinguishing it from the Christian pop format that the organisation pursued separately for a time. The station is operated by ERF Medien e.V., with Andreas Odrich as managing director. Unlike commercial stations, ERF Plus carries no advertising; its work is supported by donations from listeners and by the ERF Foundation, established in 2001. The programme is aimed at Christians seeking deepening as well as at people with little previous contact with the Christian faith.

History

The ERF's history begins far from Wetzlar. In Tangier, Morocco, the German missionary Helmut Gärtner came into contact with American missionaries who had been conducting radio mission work; responsible for German Christians in Spain, he agreed to establish a German-speaking department for them, and from 1956 broadcasts from Tangier also went out in German. At Gärtner's instigation, a German branch was founded in Wetzlar in October 1959 under the name "Evangeliums-Rundfunk" (Gospel Broadcasting); the support association was formally established on 19 October 1959 by eight founders including Paul E. Freed, publisher Hermann Schulte and evangelist Anton Schulte, working from the rooms of Schulte's publishing house.

The first broadcast was originally scheduled for summer 1960, using Trans World Radio's transmitter facilities on Mont Agel in Monte Carlo — installations previously built under the Nazi regime. Technical difficulties forced repeated postponements, and on 5 February 1961 ERF finally went on air via TWR Monte Carlo's shortwave transmitter. From 1964 it also broadcast from Monte Carlo to Germany on medium wave. Key figures of the early years were theologian Walter Quiring and journalist Horst Marquardt, who headed the ERF until 1993. In those early decades ERF saw itself as the German branch of Trans World Radio, also producing programmes for German-speaking immigrants in South Africa and Swaziland.

The organisation grew steadily. On 1 April 1996 ERF began using a medium-wave transmitter on 1539 kHz at Mainflingen; participation in the Rhineland-Palatinate cable pilot project marked the beginning of private radio in Germany and brought the first private broadcasts. In 1994 the transmitter was upgraded to a 24-hour programme with the first analogue transponder via the Astra satellite. A year later a second transmitter was leased and a second programme, ERF 2, launched — focused on the mainstream of ERF's Christian pop music, while the main programme ERF 1 remained a classic radio programme with thematic shows and church, choral and classical music. In 2003 the two programmes were merged again and the pop-music concept was dropped without replacement. In 2004 the youth programme "Cross Channel" launched as a twin project of ERF Radio, extending the earlier youth format "e.r.f. Junge Welle" into the CrossChannel.de internet radio for young people, which closed at the end of January 2014.

In 1995 ERF received its first licence for private broadcasting in Hesse, enabling nationwide medium-wave transmission. The ERF launched its own television programme in 1979, later expanded into the 24-hour ERF 1 television channel (2009–2014). Until 31 August 2011 the radio programme was known as ERF Radio; since then it has broadcast as ERF Plus. The organisation maintains a close media partnership with the ProChrist missionary campaign and the evangelical Christian Media Foundation (SCM). Its programme magazine "Antenne" has been published since 1959 — appearing every two months with a circulation of 90,000 — documenting the organisation's continuous presence in German Christian media for over six decades.

Programming

ERF Plus's programme concentrates on faith and life guidance: biblical teaching series, devotionals, counselling formats, interviews and reports from congregational life, complemented by news from society and the churches. The music historically emphasised church, choral and classical repertoire on the main programme, while the 1995–2003 ERF 2 experiment served Christian pop; after the 2003 merger the station returned to its classic profile. The tone is pastoral and encouraging, aimed at accompanying listeners through everyday life questions from a Christian perspective. The "Tut einfach gut" slogan captures the programme's self-understanding as a benevolent daily companion rather than a ratings-driven format.

Coverage & Audience

ERF Plus is receivable via DAB digital radio, cable, satellite and livestream, with a reception area covering Germany and Switzerland. The station's distribution history traces the arc of German broadcasting technology: from shortwave and medium wave out of Monte Carlo and Mainflingen, through the Astra satellite era beginning in 1994, to today's digital platforms. As a donation-funded specialist programme, it does not compete for advertising reach; its audience consists of a loyal community of listeners who support the work financially, a model that has sustained the organisation since 1961.

Ownership

ERF Plus is operated by ERF Medien e.V., the evangelical media organisation headquartered in Wetzlar and formerly known as Evangeliums-Rundfunk. The organisation is supported financially by the ERF Foundation, founded in 2001, and works in close media partnership with ProChrist and the Christian Media Foundation (SCM). ERF Medien's activities extend beyond radio to television (historically), publishing — including the ERF-Verlag founded in 1977, known for children's radio plays and Christian audiobooks — and the long-running "Antenne" programme magazine. The managing director is Andreas Odrich.

Digital Presence

ERF Plus is available as a livestream through erf.de, where the website also offers podcasts, programme information and the media library for catch-up listening. The station's app extends the programme to mobile devices, and social media channels connect the broadcaster with its community of supporters. For an organisation that began with shortwave transmissions from Monte Carlo, the digital transformation has been profound: today's distribution via DAB+, satellite, cable and streaming gives the 1961-founded programme a thoroughly modern technical footing while its content mission — Christian faith and life help — remains unchanged.

Sixty-Five Years on Air

ERF Plus — until 31 August 2011 "ERF Radio" — is the radio programme of ERF Medien (formerly Evangeliums-Rundfunk) in Wetzlar, on air since 5 February 1961. The roots go back further: on 19 October 1959 the German support association "Evangeliums-Rundfunk" was founded in Wetzlar by eight founders including Trans World Radio's Paul E. Freed, publisher Hermann Schulte and evangelist Anton Schulte; from 5 February 1961 quarter- and half-hour Christian programmes in German were broadcast via Trans World Radio from Monte Carlo — at the time ERF saw itself as the German branch of TWR. The listenership in Germany, Switzerland and Austria soon grew into a community of friends. The owner is ERF Medien e. V.; managing director Andreas Odrich.

Tut einfach gut

ERF Plus is an evangelical programme radio focused on faith and life help, with news from society and congregations — the slogan is "Tut einfach gut" ("Simply does good"). The station is received via DAB, cable, satellite and livestream in Germany and Switzerland. The ERF Medien family also includes the ERF Verlag (founded 1977, originally to relieve the overloaded cassette-lending service of radio recordings, later a producer of children's radio plays, audiobooks and music) and — from 1 March 2009 to 1 July 2014 — the TV channel ERF 1. Sister organisations exist in Switzerland (ERF Medien Schweiz, branch since May 1968) and Austria (ERF Österreich, founded September 1981 in St. Pölten).