History of Songtime
Songtime has been on the radio in New England for over 50 years. Founded by Dr. John DeBrine in 1963, it has been a staple for the evangelical community in the Northeast for over half a century.
As a trusted voice, it has used its reach to draw people closer in their walk with Christ.
Since 2013, Songtime’s current President and Host, Rev. Adam Miller, has further developed the programming to reach the current needs of New England by building up the body of Christ in the foundations of the faith and motivating the Church to go outward with this knowledge and the love of God to reach their neighbors, cities, and communities.
Dr. John DeBrine, Founder and President Emeritus, has been used by God to preach the Word over the radio for over 60 years. Prior to his full time involvement with Songtime, Dr. DeBrine served eleven years as the pastor at Ruggles Street Baptist Church in Boston.
He started his radio ministry in the 1950’s as an outreach of his church to introduce the public to their ministry. In 1964, he left the pastorate to dedicate his efforts to the daily broadcast of Songtime USA. The early broadcasts had a unique format, incorporating and integrating the use of musical segments with Biblical teaching segments. That same format continues to have a powerful impact today. Dr. DeBrine was also very involved in Youthtime and Youth for Christ, two ministries that had a profound impact on the youth of that era.
His educational background includes Houghton College, The University of Rochester, and Boston University. He holds a Master’s Degree in Communications from Boston University, and an Honorary Doctorate from Houghton College.
John has earned the 50-year lifetime achievement award by the National Religious Broadcasters for his faithful dedication to preaching and teaching the Word for over half a century.
Early in 2013, at the age of 88, Dr. DeBrine had a fall and broke his hip. At that time, he had been mentoring a young man, Adam Miller, who was working as Songtime’s office manager. Adam stepped into the role, believing it to be temporary, but it soon became evident that John would be unable to continue broadcasting full time, and he began doing only the weekend programs. Adam has become the new “voice” of Songtime, as John took on the role of President Emeritus with a supporting and advisory role.
Songtime moved to Cape Cod in the 1980’s and worked out of a building on Attuck’s Lane in Hyannis. As time went on, the operation moved to Route 6A in Yarmouth Port, downtown Hyannis and now in Centerville. The staff consists of Adam Miller as host, Mark Shrauger as program producer, Cheryl Moos as office administrator, Rosemary Servis as Administrative Assistant, and many, many, volunteers who help with office tasks, mailings, conferences and other formidable tasks.
Over the years, Songtime has held numerous events, including weekend conferences, retreats, and trips. Currently you can hear Songtime on over 40 stations throughout the Northeast and streaming online.
