Transcript [00:00] What impact is Christian media having in [00:02] our culture today? Is it really making a [00:05] difference or is it just a quote unquote [00:07] safe form of entertainment taken in by a [00:10] faithful few? Joining me to discuss [00:12] these questions is Troy Miller, [00:14] president and CEO of the National [00:16] Religious Broadcasters. Troy, thanks for [00:18] joining us today on Kinship Radio. Ah, [00:21] thanks for having me. Why did NRB choose [00:24] to do a research study in cooperation [00:26] with Barner Group on the state of [00:27] Christian media? Well, look, we haven't [00:29] done this study for over a decade. And [00:32] so, uh, as I came on board as the new [00:34] CEO, I wanted to really understand what [00:37] impact is Christian media having in the [00:39] culture today. So, we reached out to [00:41] Bara and, uh, put this study together to [00:44] say what what what is that impact? And [00:46] we specifically want to know what is [00:48] that impact outside of your local [00:50] church. So, not including what you watch [00:52] on your pastor or or media streams from [00:55] your church, but what do you watch in [00:57] the broader uh area of Christian media? [01:00] As a CEO of NRB, in your opinion, what [01:03] were some of the most significant [01:04] findings that emerge from this study? [01:07] Well, I think the most significant one [01:09] was right off the top that 60% of [01:12] Americans, that's all Americans, the [01:14] general population, use Christian media [01:17] in some form, whether it was television, [01:19] radio, podcast, news, or social media. A [01:22] vast majority of this country is tuning [01:25] into Christian media at some point. Were [01:27] there any of these results in particular [01:30] that were surprising to you? You know, [01:32] that number itself was a little [01:33] surprising to me. We expected it to be [01:36] high, but we expected it to be maybe [01:38] more around the 50%. So, that was a [01:40] great number. The other one that was [01:42] really surprising to me because of kind [01:44] of some of the narratives out there was [01:46] that Gen Z was leading the way in [01:49] engagement with Christian media with [01:51] almost 64% of Gen Z followed by [01:55] millennials at 58%. So, that was really [01:58] exciting and quite honestly a bit [02:00] surprising. As the CEO of NRB, were [02:03] there any of the results that were [02:04] especially touching to you? You know, I [02:07] think the one that that was most [02:08] touching to me, we asked the question, [02:11] you know, why people were were reaching [02:14] out to Christian media. What was your [02:16] main driver? And the answer that came [02:19] back number one was encouragement and [02:21] hope. And that was really touching to me [02:24] because we live in a society today where [02:27] most of the mainstream media is very [02:30] hatefilled, very rebellious, very [02:33] divisive and and and such. So people [02:36] reaching out to Christian media for a [02:38] place of hope and a place of [02:40] encouragement that really I think is a [02:43] powerful statement about Christian media [02:45] itself. Were there any related findings [02:48] that showed people's attraction to the [02:51] Bible and engaging with God's word [02:53] through Christian media? Yeah. So, the [02:56] second biggest reason for people [02:57] reaching out was their desire to love [03:00] God with their mind and to learn more [03:03] about the Bible. That was the second uh [03:06] highest point. So, people were reaching [03:08] out to to really help them understand [03:10] the Bible better. And if that goes along [03:12] with another recent survey we saw, which [03:15] is that Bible engagement is up across [03:17] the culture. That is good news indeed. [03:20] Well, I know this is encouraging to [03:22] Christian broadcasters, those of us [03:24] involved in the Christian media. But [03:26] what would this mean to me as someone [03:28] who consumes Christian media? Just the [03:30] average listener. I think the average [03:32] listener should understand that there's [03:34] a lot of stereotypes about Christian [03:36] media. A lot of things have been [03:38] portrayed over the years, but Christian [03:40] media is fulfilling a huge need in our [03:44] society today. And that need is for [03:46] people that that again want that [03:48] encouragement. Also though, people were [03:51] seeking out Christian media as an [03:54] alternative to mainstream media. And the [03:56] other thing as a Christian person out [03:58] there listening to it, one of the other [04:00] numbers that was so high was that all [04:02] twothirds of Americans saw Christian [04:05] media as valuable and trustworthy. Wow. [04:09] Well, Troy, thank you so much for [04:10] joining us at Kinship Radio. Troy is the [04:13] president and CEO of the National [04:15] Religious Broadcasters. And Troy, if we [04:17] wanted to find more about what you do [04:19] and what the NRB does, where can we [04:21] look? Go to nrb.org oorgg and you can [04:26] find out all the issues that we're [04:27] working all the things we work in [04:29] Washington DC and you can also find out [04:32] about our next Christian media [04:34] conference in February in Nashville [04:36] Tennessee you'll find the all the [04:38] information there at nrb.org ORG Troy, [04:41] thank you for joining us today. Thank [04:42] you for having me.
