After being in Christian radio since 1993, Mark Zimmerman signs off Wednesday

By JOHN KEREZY with HANNAH MAYER

BARBERTON — Little did Mark Zimmerman know when he went “On The Air” for the first time in February 1993, he would enjoy and thrive in a Christian radio career that would span four decades.

As he retires from WKJA Heartfelt Radio (www.heartfeltradio.org or 91.9 FM) on Wednesday (Nov. 26) Zimmerman does so as one of the deans – longest running local radio station program hosts – in Northeast Ohio. He’s totaled more than 28 years of on-air duty at Heartfelt Radio, beginning in February 2020, and at Moody Radio Cleveland before then.

And it all started with children’s programming on Saturday, February 6, 1993.

“Dick Lee (the station manager then) gave me the choice of working Saturday mornings or Sunday evenings when I started, and Wendy (Mark’s wife) and I really liked the worship and children’s activities at Parkside Church on Sunday evenings then,” Mark recalls. “So, I began my broadcasting career on Saturday mornings at WCRF in Brecksville, playing some kids shows such as ‘Nature Corner’ and ‘Ranger Bill: Warrior of the Woodlands’ and a lot of music that was pretty old, even by 1990s standards.”

A radio/television major in college, Mark’s career began at WUAB-TV (Channel 43) and then gravitated towards the advertising profession by the late 1980s. He put his creativity to work, and eventually transformed Saturday morning programming at WCRF into what was known as the “Children’s Radio Funhouse” focusing on popular music and musical artists for children.

WCRF fed Mark’s growing interest in Christian broadcasting. When he was laid off from AdPro Communications in 1998, Moody hired him full-time to broadcast the 9 am to 2 pm shift at the station. By then he was also the vacation substitute host for the legendary Broadcasting Hall of Fame member Bob Devine.

“Mark was a student of Devine while Bob was still on the air, and when Mark filled in for him for vacations and days off, he applied his own giftedness and talents to the goal of making the most of the platform he was given,” recalls Dick Lee, who was station manager at WCRF from 1986 to 2013. “He prepared well and enthusiastically put his best foot forward.”

There is also another emotion which happens when you’re succeeding a master superstar in a live broadcasting capacity.  “The scariest day of my life was October 1, 2000, my first day permanently hosting the morning show at WCRF,” Mark remembers.

In hindsight, it’s obvious that God was preparing Zimmerman for this role for decades. And for 15 years, Mark grew and expanded Moody Radio Cleveland’s impact in the 22-county area which could hear the station’s signal either at 103.3 FM or through repeater stations across Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

Flourishing at Moody Radio Cleveland

Perhaps the apostle Paul’s Bible verse in Ephesians 5:16, “Making the most of every opportunity….” Appropriately defines what Zimmerman accomplished at WCRF.

Even before joining the station full-time, Mark transformed the Saturday morning children’s programming at Moody Radio Cleveland into the “WCRF – Children’s Radio Funhouse” with new music and ‘out of the box’ ideas for children’s shows. He even took on a different persona, “Mister Z” for the kids’ time listening to the station.

Mark took the initiative to get in touch with Christian children’s musicians such as Mary Rice Hopkins (in California) and Alan Root (in Tennessee) in the days before email. He also connected with Chip Richter, based in Columbiana (Ohio) and included songs and programming from Chip into the Saturday morning show.

“I sought out music that my young (then) daughters would want to listen to, and put that into the programming,” Zimmerman recalls. “Kids and parents started sending in letters, telling us what music they liked, and eventually we had a “Kids Top Ten” song list. I asked my daughters to voice promotional liners in the show, and eventually we had Alan Root and Mary Rice Hopkins coming to Northeast Ohio and doing concerts in conjunction with their popularity on the Children’s Radio Funhouse.”

In 1999, Zimmerman received financial backing to turn the Children’s Radio Funhouse into a nationally-syndicated program called ‘Toonz – music for His kids.’  At its height, Toonz aired on over 90 radio stations throughout North and South America.

Even after taking over the Morning Show duties, Mark kept his hands in reaching children and children’s programming via radio with a summer church visitation promotion called the VBS Express.

“We came up with the idea of taking WCRF to smaller churches via what we called the VBS Express,” he remembers.  “We were aiming this at churches which couldn’t host a Moody event. ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to have Mr. Z come to your church?’ That was our approach. We developed a theme for every year, and a giveaway for every kid attending bible school at the churches where we went.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Moody Radio Cleveland Years

Churches from Hermitage (Pa) to Port Clinton to Walnut Creek got visits from the VBS Express. The promotional visits helped increase attendance at vacation bible schools across all across the station’s broadcast area and also helped build listenership.

And the number of listeners grew and grew during Zimmerman’s tenure at Moody Radio Cleveland. In some Arbitron radio ratings, WCRF would rank as the second or third highest radio station listened to in places such as Wayne County (Wooster).

“Mark used his creativity and skills to help bolster an already-strong listener base for us at Moody Radio,” Lee recalls. “For example, he began doing live radio interviews with newsmakers on the morning show. When the technology became available for on-location remote broadcasts, he would take to venues such as the Ohio Christian Educators Association (OCEA) conference at The Chapel in Akron, and he went to events such as the Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale and Auction in Kidron.”

Additionally, Mark collaborated with long-time friend André Bernier to develop a special, live radio comedy-drama program called “Soup Du Jour” which was performed 16 times between 1997 and 2011. Sometimes the show was aired live on Moody Radio Cleveland.

“One of the cool things about Mark was that we both brainstormed the idea of ‘Soup Du Jour’ into being, with the full support of Dick Lee and WCRF, who agreed to air the program,” Bernier recalls. “Mark’s ability for creative writing is off the charts amazing … every one (of Mark’s writing for the programs) was nothing short of brilliant!”

(You can watch a Soup Du Jour program on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cMR-SCSeAc)

Zimmerman also recalls being involved with Christian conferences and special events for more than two decades.

“Moody Radio had events at a half-dozen large churches in Northeast Ohio which hosted conferences, and that was great, but we were going to the same churches a lot of the time,” Zimmerman recalls.

“Dick Lee got me on the committee that organized the Billy Graham Kids Crusade. We did events at Blossom Music Center, and of course the big event every spring for many years was being a part of the Moody Men’s Conference where we would bring several thousand men to settings such as Parkside Church (Chargin Fall) and Grace Church (Middleburg Heights). Tony Evens, Erwin Lutzer, Chuck Swindoll, and of course Joe Stowell  were some of the conference speakers. It was like non-stop appearance of some of the great preachers of that era, and mountaintop experiences for the attendees.”

Mark was also blessed to go on many mission trips in his capacity at Moody. “We went to Latvia and Guatemala with Shoes for Orphan Souls, and the trip to Central America really launched my family’s caring for the plight of orphans there,” he recalls. “Justin Masterson (then a star pitcher for the Cleveland Indians) and I ministered in a slum in Kenya for Bright Hope International. My wife Wendy and I also had the joy of going on and being bus captains for Charlie Dyer’s “The Land and the Book” tours in Israel.

 Beginning in 2015, Moody Bible Institute chose to move into a different direction with the stations that it owned. Personnel at some Moody-owned stations were released from their on-air duties.  Zimmerman and News Director Gary Bittner, who had partnered with Mark on the morning show and handled news reporting duties, were laid off in August of that year.

This led to a period of more than four years in Zimmerman’s life which he now describes as ‘waiting in the hallway’ for – maybe – a chance to be in broadcasting once again.

Back on the air, for God and for Good

Mark Zimmerman made the most of his involuntary separation from radio. He worked as a driver for Lake County Transit, as a gallery guard at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and as an usher for both the Cleveland Guardians and the Lake County Captains. But he never lost his faith in Christ, or his belief in himself.

“Mark put together a talk he titled ‘Jesus at the Museum’ and presented that at the Cleveland Museum of Art when he was working there,” Zimerman’s wife of 40 years, Wendy, recalls. “He always believed that there might be another opportunity to return to radio one day.”

That opportunity came about in 2019, when the non-profit Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM) purchased the license of WKJA-FM in Brunswick, and began planning to turn it into an on-the-air part of its ministry. Founded in 1981, CHM is the original health cost sharing ministry. It shares 1200% of eligible medical bills and overall has satisfied more than $12 billion in members’ healthcare costs. (Details are at www.chministries.org). “Carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ,” (Galatians 6:2)

One of its first radio station employees, even months before it went on the air, was Mark.

“I learned a lot in those years about people, and I think I related better with my audience when I got back on the air in February 2020,” Mark says. “The better you understand people, the more relatable you are. Driving people to their medical appointments or helping customers find their seats at a baseball games teaches you a lot.”

One of Zimmerman’s many lifelong friendships is with Wayne Shepherd. Shepherd was Moody’s Broadcast Program Manager in Chicago for almost 33 years. The two met shortly after Zimmerman began at WCRF and they’ve continued their friendship even after both departed from Moody. Shepherd has always marveled at Zimmerman’s faith.

PHOTO GALLERY: Heartfelt Radio Years

“Mark’s love for the Lord and his patience and faith during his wilderness season of life is a great inspiration,” Shepherd said. “Tenaciousness and faithfulness in the midst of disappointment— these are qualities I’ve learned from my friend.”

Heartfelt Radio’s studios are in the former Portage Elementary School on Wooster Road near downtown Barberton. For Mark, who lives in Kirtland in Geauga County, it is a drive of about an hour each way, each day, to the studio. Snowstorms didn’t slow Mark down when the station “went public” as Heartfelt Radio on February 14, 2020. But weeks later, Covid 19 did.  The pandemic made it more difficult for Heartfelt to find, then build, its audience.

The station carries many syndicated Bible teaching programs, and also unique Christian-oriented shows such as the American Policy Roundtable’s “Public Square.” Every Wednesday morning, local pastors in Heartfelt Radio’s listening area do a Radio Bible Study on the station.

With Zimmerman helping to lead the way, Heartfelt Radio has already established deep and lasting roots in Northeast Ohio.

“We are only heard in 9-10 counties from 91.9 FM, but the advantage is that we have been able to make the programming more local than we could at Moody because of the different listening area,” Zimmerman explains. “Our morning show is a local program every single day. We’ve bonded with Barberton, and we cover what’s happening there. We pay more attention to the local churches and the local ministries here, and that’s part of the great success story for Heartfelt Radio.”

In general, Heartfelt Radio plays music at the top of every hour, then Bible preaching and other syndicated programs at the bottom of every hour. Here’s a link to listen to the station from wherever you are via the Internet: https://heartfeltradio.org/

Recent cataclysmic changes in Christian radio both saddened and surprised Zimmerman. Salem Media Group sold WFHM (Cleveland) and six other ‘The Fish’ format stations to the Educational Media Foundation at the end of 2024. Soon thereafter, The Fish and the other Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) station were converted to the nationwide K-LOVE and Air1 Networks, nationwide music-based signals which Educational Media Foundation operates.

In May of this year, Moody Radio ended is local morning show in Cleveland and in several other radio markets as part of a “strategic realignment” and shift to a national programming format. This meant that Brian Dahlen and others who were producing and working on the “Mornings the Brian” show at WCRF were released from their broadcast duties. The “Karl and Crew” show, which originates from Moody Radion in Chicago, is now heard on all 71 Moody stations nationwide.

“Who could have predicted at the beginning of 2025 that ‘The Fish’ and WCRF would both cease to exist in their formats?” Zimmerman asks. “Here we are, 91.9 FM and www.heartfeltradio.org being the only Christian radio voice in NE Ohio.  The future for my friends here is really, really great.”

Heartfelt has always operated at a much smaller level than Moody Radio Cleveland did, with half the staff and a small fraction of a budget. “We’ve increased our revenue, both from sponsors and from our annual Harvest Time donation, due to a lot of hard work from a small group of people,” Zimmerman adds with pride.

This past fall’s Harvest Time fundraiser garnered nearly $94,000 for the station’s operations.

In his time at Heartfelt, Mark has worked with two different morning show partners. Gabrielle Collins collaborated with Zimmerman on air from 2022 to 2024, when she returned to full-time marketing duties with Christian Healthcare Ministries.

Burchon “Burch” English began partnering with Mark on Heartfelt Radio’s morning show on December 1, 2024. Also a former Moody Radio producer, he’ll take over the Heartfelt morning program hosting and production solo after Mark’s retirement.

“He is such a sweet, loving, gentle man who is always teaching (us), just a little more…” Burch says about Zimmerman. “He’s the product of a legacy (in Bob Devine), and he’s been pouring into all of us here (at Heartfelt) who haven’t been doing radio nearly as much as he has.”

Joshua Booth, who recently became manager of Heartfelt Radio after working with Salem for many years, sees Mark as a broadcasting treasure.

“One of the things I absolutely love is the conversation – the way Mark thinks about the other side (of the microphone),” Booth says. “He’s talking with the listeners, and they are getting into what’s happening with Mark as he’s diving into scripture. He has such a wealth of knowledge…he communicates his faith and communicates with faith.”

Booth adds that being a part of the community, in Barberton and around Summit, Wayne, and surrounding counties, is what makes Heartfelt Radio special. “We want people to say, ‘we love your station because you are a part of our community,’” he explains. “We open our hands to God, and God opens up His hand to us.”

Additional comments from some other of Mark’s co-workers and friends

“Mark has a heart and focus for ministry. His desire was for listeners to be active listeners. He wanted to motivate them into action by growing their faith, and then actively employing their gifts in ministry to others. He was a great encourager of the body of Christ, and I believe he was faithful to the calling God had given him.” — Paul Carter, co-worker at Moody Radio Cleveland

“Mark was the glue to make the block of programs (on Saturday mornings) that had listeners both young and young-at-heart tuning in to the Children’s Radio Funhouse. His trademark sign-off is still remembered by many today, ‘and remember kids — keep your rooms clean.'” — Ron Eastwood, co-worker at Moody Radio Cleveland.

“Everything Mark did, said, wrote, or developed was ALWAYS to point people to the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything! That was his TRUE driving force in whatever it is he set his mind to do.” — André Bernier, WJW weather forecaster for 35+ years

“Mark put his heart, soul, and creative mind into Children’s Radio Funhouse at 100 percent. He loved the freedom and opportunity to act on his great ideas. Creativity and stretching boundaries marked his tenure as host of the Morning Program. He was always interested in new ways to get to listeners and engage with them. We saw a huge growth in the ways in which the station interacted with the Christian community in NE Ohio and Western Pennsylvania in Mark’s time with Moody Radio Cleveland. He was a student of radio, and of its potential to reach people for Christ.” — Dick Lee, long-time station manager of WCRF, Moody Radio Cleveland

What’s next?

Mark Zimmerman’s association with Heartfelt Radio isn’t over. He will be returning in the future, and in some on-the-air capacity as well. But he won’t be driving an hour one-way in the morning darkness, dodging deer on Ohio Route 6 along the way, to begin a show.

As they say in the industry, “Stay Tuned.”

SPECIAL THANKS TO Dick Lee and Denise Pennington for providing photographs for this feature story.

John Kerezy teaches media, journalism and communications at Cuyahoga Community College. One of his former students, Hannah Mayer, contributed to this story. She’s the paid media specialist at The Davey Tree Expert Company. You can reach Kerezy at john.kerezy@tri-c.edu For a while longer.