Brian Utter ’91 has been nominated for the Industry Impact Award by Christian Music Broadcasters (CMB), an honor recognizing significant contributions to Christian media and ministry. “This isn’t about me,” the radio host explained. “It’s about the impact our students make as they graduate from Olivet and go out to make a difference in this industry.”
Utter began his career in U.S. Christian radio as Program Director of WCFL in 2001 before leaving for the mission field. “We were producing radio and television in Spanish, radio in Portuguese and radio in native languages like Quechua in the Andes, Guarani in Paraguay and Imba in parts of Ecuador and Colombia,” Utter explained. “Anything that had to do with communications for the Nazarene church, resources for the church.”
“We went from 18 radio stations to over 1,500 radio stations in just a couple years with our content distribution,” he said. “Our television ministry had a women’s program that was on more than 1,000 television channels in 20 countries.”
Since returning to the U.S. and joining Shine.FM 14 years ago, Utter has overseen expansion across the Midwest. The Shine.FM network has expanded significantly, adding powerful signals across Indiana and moving a key Northwest Indiana signal to a higher tower, boosting its reach tenfold.
Utter notes the impact of launching Brilla.FM, a Spanish-language Christian network. “In that first year, I had maybe 12 bilingual Hispanic students from high schools visiting to attend ONU.” he said. “The talent was there, and so was the need in the communities we serve. So we launched Brilla.FM.”
From Radio to Church Plant
The Brilla morning show—hosted by South American pastors Marcelo Fretes and Viviana Perez—has been airing for more than a decade. “They’ve done that on a volunteer basis for over 12 years,” Utter said. “It finally grew to a point where we needed them here full-time.”
In October, the Fretes/Perez family moved to Illinois with work visas secured by Shine.FM. “They are also church planters, having successfully planted three churches,” Utter said. “Now we are opening up Iglesia One Church in Saint Anne, Illinois, which is a true multicultural, bilingual church.”
“There’s no dominant culture, there’s no dominant language,” he said. “We’re trying to show the community what love actually looks like and accepting all cultures.”
The new church will hold its first service Easter Sunday at 4:00 PM. “We wanted to be different,” said Utter. “A lot of our launch team are part of a church in the morning, so this gives them the opportunity to help launch this one as well.”
Utter’s ministry work has continued to stretch internationally. “In 2024, I was with a media team of ONU students in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg to present a regional media camp,” he said. “I was in Kenya in March. I was in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in May. Argentina was in September.”
From local listeners to global training efforts, Utter’s work has spanned cultures, platforms and decades. “We had a major communication studio in Argentina. We built another studio in Brazil for Portuguese. And then we had about 50 to 55 localized ministries—that’s where we got into some of the indigenous languages.”
Looking Ahead to Momentum 2025
The CMB Momentum Conference, where the award will be announced on May 30, brings together Christian broadcasting leaders from across the country. “It’s more than just tech people—it’s also pastors and people that speak as well,” said Utter. “It’s a time of not only learning the craft of content creation, but also being encouraged in our walk with Christ.”
This year’s keynote speakers include Louis Giglio and KB, with performances by TobyMac, MercyMe, Maverick City Music and Elevation Worship.
“Marcelo and Viviana are the real deal,” said Utter. “They’ve done the morning show from South America for more than a decade, planted multiple churches and now they’re here helping build something new. That’s the kind of impact that matters.”
“It’s humbling to be recognized,” Utter said. “But the real reward is watching my students work at media outlets across the U.S. and making Kingdom impact.”
Shine.FM is the flagship broadcast network of Olivet. Shine.FM reaches diverse communities throughout the Midwest with a message of hope, love and unity. Learn more and listen live at Shine.FM.
