TYLER, Texas — A familiar voice on the East Texas airwaves is celebrating 35 years in the radio business. But what makes this milestone even more special is that Mike Harper has spent his entire career at KVNE, a local Christian radio station.
Who doesn't want to start their day with a voice of encouragement? That's part of Harper's ministry each and every weekday morning starting at 6 a.m.
“It's hard to maybe wrap my brain around it entirely, because I'm on the other side of that. I know what it's like to be encouraged, so I can relate on that level,” Harper said. “But I just don't want to mess it up, you know? I want to be a light for people."
That light started to shine back in 1989.
“(When I) became a Christian, and my lovely wife and life partner, Lois, suggested that perhaps we check out this Christian station in Tyler,” Harper said.
At the time, he was living and working in Shreveport, but he had a dream to be in radio, so he decided to volunteer at KVNE.
“I wanted to be on the air, but I thought if I could just help out and turns out they had an opening for a weekend shift. And so we would drive all the way from Shreveport to Tyler every Saturday."
Six months later, Harper got a full-time gig at KVNE.
“Christian radio itself was rather new when we started. There wasn't a whole lot of Christian music options,” Harper said. “But just having a positive message of hope and one that points people to Jesus."
That message resonated with listeners, a lot like Harper's path to Christ might still be inspiring and still relatable all these years later.
Harper became a Christian in his late 20s when he had a background of substance abuse and partying. He remembered someone at his job, General Motors in Shreveport, befriending and telling him about Jesus.
“I had gone to church as a kid, and I knew about Jesus but I didn't know him personally,” Harper said. “And he took a bold step, and he said, I'd like to introduce you to Jesus. And here's the prayer you pray if you really want him in your heart. So we did that on the assembly line at Shreveport at General Motors."
Something changed in him that day, which moved Harper to surround himself with people of faith to encourage and keep him accountable. Turns out some of the best, in his opinion, are walking the halls of KVNE and their other radio stations.
“The people in this building are far beyond anything I've ever witnessed in terms of just character and commitment and leadership and just compassion and passion for the Lord,” Harper said.
One of those people and a familiar voice, Carrie Parsons is co-host of “Mornings with Mike and Carrie.” They make it look and sound easy, but it takes a lot of preparation.
"We take a look at the music that's going to be played today. We kind of guide our breaks around those songs,” Harper said. “If it's going to be kind of a song about the Holy Spirit, then we're going to maybe introduce it with scripture. If it's going to be a song about light shine bright everywhere you go, now that's about the light of Jesus. But we can also have a lighthearted break about that and talk about our cars, or talking about our kids, or talk about our mothers.”
Harper added he’s enjoyed getting to play music from his favorite artists, including Toby Mac and Mac Powell from Christian rock band Third Day.
“We celebrated 35 years at Liberty (Hall), and they gave me a whole night. That's what I'm talking about. This place is so cool,” Harper said. “Who wouldn't want to do this?”
Especially in tough times, Harper feels that responsibility to listeners.
“Yeah, boy, during COVID, and it was tough for everybody, and we were able to keep going,” he said. “And people were just so comforted by the music. They've listened for years, and we've come to know each other, and there's a relationship there."
It’s a relationship that Harper wants to keep strong.
"I don't want to let anybody down. I want to be encouraging. I want to be exemplary. I don't want to be one way on the air and not that way in other places,” he said.
And he's not giving up the mic just yet.
"Just being able to talk to interesting people and meeting some really great Christian artists, pastors, just Christians, people who love the Lord, raising families, crazy people, fun people,” Harper said. “Being able to meet some really interesting people and great opportunities to share your faith, to share your thoughts, to just have fun on the radio. Man who wouldn't want to do that, right?"
When Harper's not behind the mic, he can be found with his wife enjoying the grandparent life. He also loves to play music of his own from behind his drum set. People may have seen and heard him play with the Tuxedo Cats band.
In more good news, Harper and the entire KVNE family just celebrated something pretty special.
They achieved a 12.3 share, making them the top Christian radio station in the country. Jennifer Bailey, vice president of marketing, said the success can be attributed to an increased demand for hope and encouragement during challenging times. The station just expanded into Central Arkansas.
"It's just so fun and exciting. Part of our mission statement is to encourage our community to connect to others and point people to Jesus Christ,” Bailey said. “And so the fact that we get to take this and do that in Little Rock and encourage that community is really exciting."
The Little Rock station also went commercial-free like the stations in East Texas.