Pastor Jim Garlow’s Future conference in San Diego this week was an amazing array of nearly 50 speakers giving leaders strategies on many issues from gay marriage to the threat of ISIS.
We will report on nearly every speaker in the days ahead. I told one leader that each speaker seemed better than the one before. We want to spread the interesting reports far and wide to mobilize the church far beyond the couple thousand who were able to hear the presentations live. The last session is 7 p.m. tonight and it’s being streamed live here. The speeches from the conference will be posted this week at skylinechurch.org.
Charisma Media had the privilege of sponsoring the event because we believe it’s important. It also gave me an opportunity to present the new Modern English Version, our new charismacaucus.com, about which I wrote last week.
It was also an opportunity to get out the word about our new Charisma Podcast Network. At the same time I was able to record many podcasts that we will release over the next few weeks on a podcast version of The Strang Report.
Our podcasts were recently put on iTunes. It was exciting for me to go to iTunes and to see my own logo and download several podcasts, including one I did on the importance of the Future conference. I encourage you to go there and download it. Below I tell you how to access all our podcasts.
I am thrilled we can offer our audience a new way to consume our content. For the last 40 years we have tried to remain on the cutting edge of distribution methods for Christian news and feature stories. We realize that our readers are highly mobile and look forward to receiving our content on their smartphones.
According to the Pew Research Center, podcast listening doubled between 2008 and 2015. The research indicated that those who have “listened to a podcast within the past month” currently exceed 17 percent of Americans age 17 and older. The Charisma Podcast Network (CPN) will produce many different programs to supply quality Christian content to the company’s loyal following. The first podcast to launch will be the “Charisma News.” The news product will be fueled by Charisma News content available online. Online content will be reformatted for podcast through the use of storytelling. The Charisma Podcast News segment will consist of one news story, well told, on a daily basis.
In the July issue of Charisma, Dr. Steve Greene writes about this important new distribution source.
“Our journey in remaining cutting edge with our online presence has led us to consider the vast potential in podcasting,” Dr. Greene writes. “The podcasting industry is enjoying a revitalization on the heels of recent successes with podcasts produced by NPR and specifically WBEZ’s ‘This American Life.’ One podcast in particular, ‘Serial,’ was the fastest podcast to reach the 5 million download milestone.”
The Charisma Podcast Network launched this week with five shows for immediate release.
A second podcast titled “Charisma Connection” will feature an in-depth interview with a newsmaker or book author. I will join the network with my “The Strang Report” on a weekly basis.
Popular writer and Charisma News Editor Jennifer LeClaire will host her own podcast entitled “Walking in the Spirit.” Dr. Greene hosts a leadership podcast, “Greenelines,” which is based on his blog.
Other podcasts scheduled to be released this summer include “Javelin, Sports News the Charisma Way,” “SpiritLed Woman” and “Charisma Life Stories.” Podcasts from pastors and ministries are planned for future release.
You probably know that in addition to Charisma magazine, we publish Ministry Today and Christian Retailing. Several years ago, Charisma Media began distributing our content through websites and electronically delivered newsletters. In any given month more than 4 million unique visitors view our websites to find the latest news, ministry encouragement and inspiring testimonies. Our 39 newsletters reach more than 185,000 people with stories about what God is doing in the world and in the lives of His people.
You can access our podcasts by visiting charismapodcastnetwork.com or by visiting iTunes and searching Charisma Podcast Network.
I urge you to try them out. Then subscribe and help us get out the word!
Steve Strang is the founding editor and publisher of Charisma. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook stephenestrang.
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