THE IMPETUS:

Post-pandemic, as people weren’t immediately returning to church, we explored ways to connect with Christians and help to grow them in their faith through means other than worship services. One side effect of the pandemic was the growth of podcasting, both from creators and an audience of listeners.

Audio is a uniquely flexible format, ideal for our mobile, modern lives. One of the biggest podcast advantages is that people can listen during screenless moments — working out, driving, cleaning, and cooking — when visual media can’t reach them as easily.

59% of listeners have done housework or yard work at the same time. 49% of podcast listeners say they do so while driving. 46% have listened to podcasts while out on a walk. 79% of podcast consumers listen to podcasts through their mobile device. 81% of podcast streams on Spotify happen on a weekday, 35% during commuting hours, and 77% on a mobile device — indicating that podcasts add value to screenless moments, when people are on-the-go.

“Podcasting is the renewal of the dying form of verbal storytelling. For centuries, entire epic poems like The Odyssey were passed down from generation to generation by storytellers who memorized the entire work. This oral tradition was seen in other cultures over the course of history, but written and visual media has nearly killed the storyteller in American society today. However, podcasting has rejuvenated this tradition, and storytelling makes up a huge margin of podcasts.” -Evergreen Podcasts

“For me, there is something magical about experiencing an authentic, dialogue. You get to hang out with a few smart | funny | engaging people, learn stuff, laugh, and be surprised. I love to read too. Podcasts are different. Not better, or worse than reading. Just different. In a dialogue unexpected ideas, comments, concepts can pop up. There is a verbal serendipity that can happen. It’s free-range, in a way most writing is not. In my experience the relationship you develop with a podcast host is also very different than the relationship you have with a writer. You’re hearing someone vs. hearing your voice in your head —- reading their words. If you get into a podcast, after a few episodes, the host becomes a person in your life. You trust them to ‘take you on a ride’ of some sort on every episode. They become like a curator of cool stuff to learn about/think/laugh about. Podcasts also live in your ear. It’s intimate. The host becomes like a friend that you have coffee or beers with every week.”

PURPOSE:

To help people recognize that they are creative, that they are story tellers, and that their normal lives are a part of God’s story.

Note what is not in the purpose statement: Marketing. It is not to “grow the church”, but it is to help people grow deeper, and may grow the church.

AUDIENCE:

The intended audience is Christians, to be an encouragement to tell our own stories. It will have a uniquely Methodist bent, but will not be exclusively Methodist. The target is broader than Custer Road UMC, but will be a blessing to Custer Road UMC, and will feature CRUMC guests as well as guests from other places.