A local pastor has inked a national radio contract to broadcast his program on a nationwide network of Christian radio stations.

Slatington Pastor Sam Guido and his wife, Sandy, have signed a contract with Wilkins Communications Network in Spartanburg, S.C., to begin broadcasting their program, The Lords Amazing Grace with Pastor Sam and Sandy, as of December.The founders of Sam Guido Evangelical Ministries International, Inc., the couple has produced their talk show from their ministry in Slatington for over a year.Now, they are also scheduled to be broadcast on WHOZ 103.5FM in Greensburg, Ind., as the new contract will bring them to radio markets across the country, such as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Omaha, York, North Carolina and South Carolina. The ministry also has an option to expand into 13 other markets such as Albuquerque, Pensacola, Huntsville, Chattanooga, Mobile and Augusta, if they wish to exercise that option.The current Presiding Bishop of The Lutheran Orthodox Church, Pastor Guido said he initially began his program over a year ago on the LOC Internet Radio Network."That way, people who wouldn't have normally heard of us had a place to go," Guido said. "I started getting invited to other churches to speak."But, it wasn't until Guido received the second letter in the mail from the Wilkins Communications Network - which owns 18 Christian broadcasting stations - that he was able to get a broader platform for his program."Our first show actually aired on Monday," he said. "The network likes the program, so we were happy with that."As part of his new contract, Guido said he and Sandy do one program a week on six different stations."They said they'd like to put our show on up to 18 stations," he said. "We talked them into giving us 15 minutes on five stations, plus the one in Indiana."Recently, Guido said a friend of his decided to buy a Christian Radio Station in Indiana, and told him and Sandy they're welcome to have the air time."I thought, this could be cool; I've been a talk radio junkie since the age of 5," he said. "I have no training in radio, so this will be trial and error."Instead of preaching to five people in an empty church, I can spend 15 minutes and reach hundreds of thousands of people," Guido added."We have a hobby of music and are very passionate about talk radio," he said. "We give a little short story and sermon, keep it polished, and just have fun with it."Guido said he and his wife have 40 years of experience in the music industry to draw on. Sandy said that while she enjoys talk radio, "I'd rather do music."Their website, samguidoministries.com, has generated 50,000 hits over the last month, Guido said.Through it all, Guido said he's received support from Crusaders For a Cause, which gave him a table, as well as a ministry in Slatington, which donated two computers."We support ourselves with our secular work; any donations that come into the ministry, we keep in the ministry," he said. "It's a stopgap measure, where if they run out of money, we're able to help them out with a couple bags of groceries for free."Guido is the author of two books, and is the pastoral care director of two local nursing facilities. He is the founder of The Visiting Chaplain's Association, and is a member of The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, the accrediting board for professional hospital chaplains.His various ministries have affiliated branches across the country as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and India, and they recently received a Citation from the U.S. Navy for charitable works, humanitarian aid and service to our returning military personnel.Wilkins Communications Network started 21 years ago, and currently owns 18 Christian Radio Stations and broadcasts such ministries as In Touch with Charles Stanley, John Hagee Today and Insight For Living with Chuck Swindoll. Their network reaches a population of over 18 million people with millions of listeners tuning in each week.