KZSM.org, your true community radio station, offers a wide variety of programming, hosted by people of all ages and backgrounds. Our hosts do share one thing — a passion for their subjects. One of our newest shows, “Inspire with Jo Ann” (Saturdays 8-10 p.m.) expresses host Jo Ann Parsons’ most deeply held convictions.
“Inspire” grows out of “Inspirational Moments,” a program Parsons hosted on KZSM.org in 2018 and 2019. While the earlier show featured almost all gospel music, the new show includes less music and more devotional messages, with music especially chosen to be positive and encouraging.
To produce the show, Parsons has partnered with Derriqmaq and Randy Thomas of All Saints Radio in San Antonio. With Thomas based in New York, the two have been in radio for over 30 years. “The first hour is me and my devotionals—inspirational messages,” Parsons explains.
Derriqmaq and Thomas add music and produce the sound. “In return they get that second hour for ‘All Saints Radio,’ featuring their music and messages, which are just a little different.”
Derriqmaq and Thomas address a general audience, but Parsons’ music and messages are aimed specifically at women. Her ministry grows out of her personal experience. “I had a problem with some of the ministries out there,” she says. They were giving women “generic whatever. I wanted to give them something positive that comes from real life experience. I give them a little of my story to let them know that God can use anybody—no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve been through.”
For instance, women can find themselves in unhealthy relationships out of the simple need for someone to love. Parsons hopes to show them that “when you’re partnered with God, you’re never alone." Women can define their own relationship to the divine, she affirms: “You don’t have to go to somebody else to ask what God has for you; you can go to God.”
Parsons’ music choices underscore her emphasis on women, featuring women singers such as Evvie McKinney, Tasha Cobbs Lochart, and Bri Babineaux. She hopes her listeners will “walk away knowing that, even though it might not look like it, things can get better.”
“I love what I’m doing,” Parsons affirms. “This is my passion!” If you have a passion you would like to share with San Marcos and the world, contact us—[email protected].
