About
How it Started
From our founder and President, Doug Martin: In 1985 my wife and I drove from Albuquerque, NM to Tucson, AZ in the dead of winter during a snowstorm. We had never been to Tucson and had no clue where we would live once we arrived. My boss told me that a “state of the art” modular office space awaited us in Tucson. When we arrived I drove to the radio station and was greeted with a broken down, pest-infested trailer that leaked when it rained. The radio station was barely hanging by a thread with a sales staff that waited for the phone to ring, books that were horribly in the red, and a weak AM signal.
I was young and enthusiastic with a strong belief that God was going to do something special. In 1987 Good News Communications absorbed Abundant Life; with the help of my partners, George Mehl and Tom Regina, we rose out of the ashes.
Good News Ministries exists to empower ideas that change our community. Our faith is central to all that we do and why we continue to exist and serve the community.
How We Got Here
Over the years we have had so many incredible opportunities. Our FM signal, KGMS, became the local radio station for Christian Rock and that meant we promoted lots of concerts to attract young people. We also ran a newspaper and local TV station. At our height, we operated 7 radio stations throughout Southern Arizona.
For many decades radio was king. Advances in technology have changed the way people consume news, music, and information which has had a dramatic impact on the world of radio. Though radio continues to be a powerful medium, I believe we are living in an exciting time. I want to be on the front edge of influence that is moving us forward instead of looking back.
In 2018, we sold the majority of our stations and changed Good News Radio Broadcasting to Good News Ministries (DBA). It’s important to share that, upon the successful sale of our stations, millions (plural) of dollars went out to nonprofits we believe are needed to help our community.
This set the stage for what would be our expanded mission and vision for GNM.
Our for-profit, Good News Communications, became a full-service marketing firm, specializing in strategy, content, and fractional CMO services.
Good News Ministries expanded from serving the community through Christian messaging to assisting nonprofits through incubation, consultation, and investment. This expanded approach allows us to impact the community without creating duplicative services (there are more nonprofits per capita in Tucson than any other city in the country). We don’t wish to start nonprofits for the sake of doing so, but instead try to encourage cohesion and collaboration whenever and wherever possible.
Our Beliefs
Establishing unity in Christ. This doesn’t mean that we waffle on the closed-handed issues. On the contrary, we believe the scripture is holy and inerrant, profitable for teaching, correcting, and encouraging us as believers. That said, we believe Christians who hold fast to the Gospel need to be unified in order to reach the lost and serve those who are hurting.
What we do matters. Our time here is incredibly limited and what we do while on this Earth matters to God. We want our time to count, which is why we are committed to our mission.
The message matters. As professional communicators, we know the power of words and content. We like working with nonprofits that focus on communicating truth, especially in a world like ours where truth is often hidden.
Our Mission
“Using the tools we have to bring Good News to our community, and to influence our culture with Christian values.”
That mission continues today with an expanded vision to make our clients successful.
How do we choose nonprofits to work with?
Great question! We are currently incubating a few projects so are not considering anything at the moment. That said, we love hearing about new ideas!