Faith Matters - Practical Wisdom, Personal Challenge, Unshakable Hope

Faith Matters® was launched in March of 1997 as a 30-minute weekday radio program on 980 AM (KKMS). The half-hour series featured the teaching ministry of Leith Anderson, Senior Pastor at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

In 1998, Faith Matters conducted a survey of area radio station managers (both secular and Christian), asking for feedback to help increase the effectiveness of the Program. In short, the feedback contained several consistent themes:
• The speaker was engaging and well received.
• The message content was interesting and relevant.
• The station signal was weak and inconsistent;
• The 30-minute format of Faith Matters was too long. The average commute time in the Twin Cities was only 16 minutes. Plus, the radio industry’s trend was toward “sound-bite” spots for content programming, more along the lines of 2 minutes as opposed to 30 minutes.
Also at this time, KTIS approached Wooddale Church and Leith Anderson about marketing the Faith Matters program as a part of the Northwestern Productions broadcasts. Four primary benefits were identified:
(1) A reliable signal and an expanded audience reach (via both AM & FM radio);
(2) “World-class” production resources, including both in-house and out-sourced production services;
(3) Proven marketing strategies and resources;
(4) “Internet-accessible” program production.

When initial proposals for airing the 30-minute version of Faith Matters on KTIS proved impractical and not affordable, conversations turned to producing a 2-minute version of Faith Matters that would be practical and affordable. In addition, the shorter Program allowed for an expanded audience – assuming that the new format was consistent with other radio station formats.

The changes to a shorter program were implemented in August 1999, and Faith Matters hit the ground running. In its first year as a two-minute broadcast, Faith Matters aired on over 50 radio stations nationwide, via Northwestern Productions’ SkyLight Network. Plus, the Program aired locally on KTIS, KKMS, and KYCR; as well as on the Internet at Oneplace.com. In addition, Faith Matters added a 24-hour answering service, 1-800-MATTERS, for people to call and order transcripts and inquire about Faith Matters and Wooddale Church.

Currently, there is a move to even shorter breaks in radio programming due to fear that the listener will change the station. Faith Matters has adapted to this change by producing a daily 60-second program called, Faith Minute. This was initially intended for mainstream (secular) radio, but Christian stations are requesting the shorter feature too.

Additional Notes:
Faith Matters is broadcast in the Twin Cities on KNOF/Praise FM, 95.3 FM, and is nationally syndicated on the Moody Broadcasting Network and on various independent Christian stations nationally.

Faith Minute is broadcast in the Twin Cities on KTIS 98.5 FM and KFAN AM 1130, and is nationally syndicated on the Moody Broadcasting Network and on various independent Christian stations nationally.

In 2009, Faith Minute was featured in each of the 162 Minnesota Twins radio broadcast during the 5th inning across the 79-station Twins Radio Network.

Faith Matters has 3 websites: www.faithmatters.fm, www.faithminute.fm and www.faithminute.org.