PERRY ATKINSON: A MAN WITH VISION
Perry Atkinson, who
has spent almost 40 years in broadcasting, is a man with a vision: to serve the
Lord utilizing the media as a mission field.
Perry grew up in
Sacramento. After high school, he graduated with his aviation degree from
Sierra Pacific Aviation Academy and a commercial/instrument pilot’s license and
worked his way through Trinity Bible College flying the traffic plane for KARA
radio in Sacramento. He later became general manager of KBFK News/Talk Radio in
Sacramento.
Perry came to the
Lord when he was 16. He was dating his future wife Peggy whose father was a
Pentecostal pastor. One Sunday, Peggy’s dad invited Bob Gass,
a young evangelist from Ireland, to hold a revival meeting at the church. When
Pastor Gass gave the altar call, Perry accepted Jesus
Christ as his Lord. Perry and Peggy have recently celebrated 40 years of
marriage as a Christian couple.
Perry had a dream to
own a radio station and serve the Lord. In 1983, the Atkinsons
purchased KDOV (1350 AM; later changed to 1230 AM). After much prayer, “We
cashed in everything we owned and bought the radio station. It was a 1000 watts
frequency that could only broadcast during the day and barely reached Medford.”
The Lord provided an
opportunity to make another dream come true: in 1988, they purchased another
frequency, 1300 AM (20,000 watts day/5000 watts night). They gave the 1230 AM
frequency to Southern Oregon College with the stipulation that it be used as
part of a broadcasting curriculum to be initiated at the college. Thereafter, they acquired 91.7 FM which is
the current radio frequency in Medford for The Dove Radio.
Perry had another
dream: to start a two-year Bible college in Southern Oregon. In 1989, with the
support of many pastors, Perry formed The Dove Bible Institute (now known as
Pacific Bible College (PBC)). PBC is accredited by the Oregon Department of
Education and offers an associate’s degree in Bible at its own facility in
Medford.
Now another of
Perry’s dreams is coming true: a new Christian television station is about to
be born in Southern Oregon. It’s The Dove TV. Perry says that the “programming
will be distinctively different from other Christian TV networks...We’re going
for the family.” It will broadcast family friendly programs from all over the
world including Christian and non-Christian movies, documentaries, and news and
current events shows. “We’re [also] going to start taking students in here from
Cascade [Cascade Christian High School][and PBC] and train them in
broadcasting. We’ll put together a one year and two year course so [they can]
go back to your church and be a highly trained media person.” He adds, “We are
going to reach the next generation...people that are lost...people that will
never darken a church door...through media. Our vision is large: to reach as
many people as possible with the life changing and eternal message of Jesus
Christ.”
Barry Shaw writes from Applegate Valley, Oregon.