Top Free Christian Internet Radio Stations

With continually developing audio players and methods and more easily obtained (and cheaper) internet broadcasting hardware and software, the internet is a perfect vehicle for Christian ministries of various kinds. Preaching, teaching, talk shows, music, and even complete church services can be found on the internet through internet radio.

You can find every kind of Christian music from rock to country to contemporary to southern gospel on the internet, so if your local Christian station (if you have one) doesn't play the kind of music you enjoy, you can find it on the internet.

Where do you start? The four best "real radio" stations are:

1 - Sonlife Radio - Jimmy Swaggert Ministries (http://www.jsm.org). This radio station presents some great music, mostly in the gospel/country style, but the musicians of the Jimmy Swaggert Ministries are versatile and present contemporary as well as traditional music equally well. In addition to music, they broadcast preaching and teaching from Jimmy Swaggert and other pastors and teachers who work with the ministry. Francis Swaggert, Jimmy's wife, also has an interesting program.

Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but with radio stations around the US (mostly the southern US) as well as the internet, they broadcast 24 hours a day so you can listen wherever you are, whenever you want.

2 - KLOVE (http://www.klove.com/)is a national real radio station that has taken to the internet very well. You can see by their web site that they "get it." They broadcast contemporary, upbeat Christian music with no commercial ads and no talk shows. They do have brief Christian slanted newscasts but mostly, it's just music. Some of the best Christian music deejays work for them.

3 - While the name is Faith Rock Radio (http://www.faithrock.org/) this station plays contemporary Christian music of all types, but mainly artists like Jars of Clay, Shawn McDonald, Matt Kearney and KJ-52.

If you're just a little geeky, you can enjoy the great sound quality by downloading the MP3Pro decoder for WinAmp. This is really good even for dial up connections, at 32Kbps. You don't have to do that, though, if you have Windows Media Player or RealAudio installed, the two choices of most internet radio stations.

4 - All Worship.com (http://www.allworship.com/templates/cusallworship/default.asp?id=26624) is the home site for a radio station only on the internet which provides exactly what it says: Worship music. If you need a spiritual lift, or some background music for your prayer or meditation time, this is it. The music is easy listening and thoughtfully chosen.

Be sure to read their story of how this station came to be.

Besides those four stations, there is Live 365 (http://www.live365.com), which is the starting place for many, many internet radio stations, Christian and not, manned by amateurs and professionals alike. Usually these stations consist of a play list and a little talk, but not much else. If you want just music, go there and type in "Christian" in the search box. You'll be presented with a long list of stations to check out.

There is a subscription service available, so you won't hear the few interruptions, but the free service still provides a lot of entertainment and worship value.

Of the stations listed there, one of the best is Gospel Harmony Mix (http://www.live365.com/stations/latinguy).
An awesome station from Live365, Gospel Harmony Mix broadcasts from DeRidder, Louisiana 24/7, with some of the very best gospel music available.

There's no excuse to do without, or to listen to music that doesn't quite speak to you when you can have your choice of Christian music all day and all night, too. Tune in to the Christian internet! And support your favorite stations, please. That's how they stay online.