New ‘Bible in a Year with Jack Graham’ Podcast Passes 10 Million Downloads

From Unplanned Pregnancy to Digital Ministry: The Providential Story Behind PRAY.COMIn this heartfelt interview with award-winning Christian artist Matthew West on The Matthew West Podcast, PRAY.COM co-founder Matt Potter shares the remarkable story behind one of the world's leading prayer and faith-based content platforms. Potter's journey begins with his own miraculous entry into the world when a pregnant 15-year-old girl, on her way to an abortion clinic, stopped at a church instead—a decision that would save his life. From his adoption by a Christian couple to meeting Steve Jobs at Pixar as a teen, Potter's path ultimately led him to build a successful tech company before feeling spiritually empty despite worldly success. Through a divinely orchestrated encounter with future co-founder Steve Gatena, who had experienced his own spiritual awakening following a tragic loss, PRAY.COM was born. Now, eight years later, the platform has accumulated an astounding 2.5 billion listening minutes and reached millions with the gospel message. Throughout the conversation, Potter reveals the profound difference between worldly success and spiritual fulfillment, offering powerful examples of lives transformed through prayer and highlighting the platform's innovative features, including clinically proven meditative prayer content that positively impacts mental and physical health.Interviews · 3 min read

Leading Organizations That Matter: Is Faith in Fashion? Interview with PRAY.COM's Matthew PotterIn this episode of "Leading Organizations That Matter," host Ray Spadoni explores the intersection of faith, business, and technology with Matthew Potter, co-founder of Pray.com. The conversation examines whether faith is becoming culturally acceptable again, how mental health concerns are driving people toward spiritual resources, and how businesses are increasingly embracing employees' whole selves, including their faith lives. Matthew shares his remarkable personal story, the growth of Pray.com as a platform, and how they're measuring the impact of prayer on mental health through scientific research.Interviews · 3 min read

PRAY.COM Founder Steve Gatena Honored with LA Times Executive Leadership AwardIn a landmark moment for faith-based technology and leadership, PRAY.COM Founder and CEO Steve Gatena has been awarded the prestigious LA Times Executive Leadership Award in the Small Business Founder category. This rare and meaningful recognition highlights Gatena’s significant contributions to the Southern California business community and underscores the growing influence of Christian tech leaders in the digital age.Interviews · 3 min read

Beating Stage 4 Cancer While Being PregnantEpisode 5 of the Relentless Hope Podcast The Relentless Hope Podcast, hosted by Steve Gatena, founder of PRAY.COM shares vulnerable testimonies from the world's most passionate…Leadership · 2 min read

Dr. Ed Young’s 'The Winning Walk' Featured on Pray Radio and PrayTVLOS ANGELES, June 21, 2022 – Dr. Ed Young, pastor at Second Baptist Church in Houston and founder of the digital broadcast “The Winning Walk,” has always been an advocate for television ministry. His content was one of the first to appear on Pray.com ’s Pray Radio and will now be featured on its newest platform, PrayTV. As the leading mobile platform providing 24/7 prayer and faith-based audio and video streaming content, Pray.com has enabled Dr. Young’s encouraging teaching to reach new and growing world-wide audiences. “It's always been important to us to share our messages beyond the walls of the Church, as that is where we are most likely to reach the people most in need of the spiritual equipping that we need for our daily walk,” said Dr. Young. “Pray.com has been instrumental for us in expanding our audience and helping encourage new listeners and viewers in their spiritual journeys. We are grateful to be a part of this new platform and eager to come alongside people with more immersive methods than just audio content.” Before coming to Second Baptist Church, Dr. Young ministered at First Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina. There, he had a front-row seat to the church’s television ministry and its effectiveness in reaching an audience and building the church. It came as no surprise, then, that Dr. Young wished to implement this same type of ministry in Texas. Beginning in 1979, Dr. Young would go to a local television station every Monday morning and preach the previous day’s sermon in an empty studio. Over time, more people began to watch, and the broadcast eventually blossomed to include an international reach. “The Winning Walk” now has a ministry in India that is able to translate sermons into other languages and connect individuals who hear these sermons to local churches in the area. “Dr. Young always likes to say, ‘I’m just scattering seeds. That’s all we do – we scatter seeds.’ Pray.com gives opportunities to amplify and an avenue to really scatter the message far and wide,” said Keith Brown, Director of Broadcast Ministries. “Dr. Young wants to take the truth of the gospel and get it out as far and wide as we possibly can. Pray.com helps us do that and reach areas that we weren’t able to reach before.” Recently, due to the effects of the pandemic, one pastor was forced to shut down his church, but through Dr. Young’s teaching and daily devotionals, the pastor found encouragement to endure. In fact, people from around the globe have shared similar stories of finding strength in the midst of challenges through “The Winning Walk.” “The ability to get places where we weren’t able to before – to get the gospel into someone’s pocket – that’s an amazing thing to be able to do,” Brown added. “It’s encouraging for us to know people are using and seeing the content because the numbers represent souls. These metrics help make tangible something that’s intangible.” Through Dr. Young’s impact, Second Baptist Church has grown from 2,000 members in 1978 to over 87,000 members across six church campuses. Serving two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Young has also written numerous books, including “The 10 Commandments of Marriage,” “The 10 Commandments of Parenting” and “Healing Broken America.” “We are so honored to have Dr. Young’s content on our platform as he is such a respected voice with a heart for helping people overcome their struggles, which is also very important to us here at Pray.com,” said founder Matthew Potter. “We look forward to continuing to work alongside ‘The Winning Walk’ in exploring ways we can better serve our audiences who we know are benefitting so much from this encouraging content.” In addition to “The Winning Walk,” Pray.com includes teaching and preaching programs from leading Christian pastors and speakers, along with meditative and reflective prayer and Bible-based resources to aid listeners wherever they may be in their spiritual growth journeys. Find “The Winning Walk” and other prayer and faith-based audio content at www.pray.com/discover .3 min read

Lecrae and Pray.com Team Up for Messages of Faith and PrayerMeditative and Motivational Prayer Series designed and narrated by GRAMMY® Award-winning artist comes to leading Christian audio content platform SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 15, 2022 -- Pray.com, the world’s No. 1 app for Christians, today introduced GRAMMY® Award-winning global entertainer and entrepreneur Lecrae as its latest brand ambassador. The collaboration with Lecrae will see the release of several new content series led by the artist on the Pray.com website and mobile app. “Transform Yourself,” a seven-part meditative prayer series, will guide listeners through messages of mindfulness in faith to reduce everyday stress and improve their relationship with God, while an additional seven-part motivational prayer series will aim to inspire listeners in the morning to lead a productive day. In addition, Lecrae has narrated “Hope in a Dark World,” a Pray.com Bedtime Bible Story centered around Noah’s Ark that helps parents and families share lessons with children about having faith in tough times. “Pray.com and I believe positive messages have the power to help uplift, motivate and inspire those on their journey through faith," said Lecrae. "I'm a Pray.com member who has turned to the app for thoughtful faith-based guidance and I'm excited to partner with a company that helps people of all backgrounds be the best versions of themselves in a safe and user-friendly way. I'm proud to record and share my motivational and meditative prayer series with the world through a trusted partner like Pray.com." The special Lecrae-led content is accessible via PRAY PLUS, which users can try for free via a 3-day trial period. Subscribers can listen either through the Pray.com website or app, available both in the App Store and on Google Play. The collaboration with Lecrae is part of Pray.com’s continued pursuit to provide a spiritually-motivating experience for its members in technologically-savvy, engaging ways that positively impact people's faith, health and well-being. “The first time I spoke with Lecrae I felt his authenticity and courageous spirit,” said Pray.com CEO Steve Gatena. “His desire to spread God’s message worldwide pumps us up and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Pray.com family as our newest brand ambassador.” Lecrae’s journey to faith began in his teenage years when, as the son of a single mother, he turned to music to find meaning and share socially conscious messages of hope. Notably, his 2012 album Gravity won Best Gospel Album at the 55th GRAMMY Awards, marking the first time a hip-hop artist won the honors in that category. Over the course of an accomplished career, Lecrae has also received three BET Awards, been named a Dove Award Winner eight times, and has had eight songs reach No. 1 on Billboard. His seventh studio album, Anomaly , debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2014 and was certified Gold by the RIAA. His TEDx Talk “Is Hip-Hop a Cancer or Cure” has been viewed over 650,000 times on YouTube, his New York Times bestselling memoir Unashamed has sold over 100,000 copies, and the 2020 follow-up, I Am Restored, How I Lost My Religion but Found My Faith was a top-selling title. LISTEN TO LECRAE ON PRAY.COM3 min read

4 Things Christians Can Do To Take Care of Their Mental Health In the WorkplaceDiscover how to deal with the increasing problems of mental health in the workplace, including anxiety and burnout.Healing & Well-Being · 10 min read

Pray.com and Leading Points Partner to Bring Prayer and Meditation to Service Members with New Military ProgramLOS ANGELES, Aug. 2, 2022 – Pray.com has partnered with Leading Points Corporation to launch a military program which will share the power of the Pray.com platform with all members of the Armed Forces, all Veterans and all Military Family Members. This joint venture involves a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing the spiritual readiness of our military heroes and their families, beginning with making Pray.com more accessible by offering a 30-day free trial followed by 30% off the monthly premium subscription for members of the military community. Pray.com will host this offer at www.pray.com/military , and as the partnership expands, more military and veteran specific content will be available on the platform that will connect service members, their families and veterans to stories of strength and prayer. Pray.com already carries series that provide encouragement and inspiration for military members and veterans. “ The Armor of God ” features real-life stories of American veterans – military heroes who so proudly wear the spiritual protection that is provided to them, known as The Armor of God, found in Ephesians chapter 6. The Victor Marx podcast is hosted by a Marine Corps Veteran who challenges his audience to maintain and build spiritual health, mixing humor with raw reality stories of survival and redemption to encourage a resilient lifestyle, emphasizing the importance of the faith community in the military. Members of the military can attest to the common bond they share, in which many of them pray for safety, strength and hope for the present as well as the future, especially during difficult times, personal losses and grief. The Pray.com military program will allow this community to come together and share their inspirational journeys, experiences and messages of strength and healing found through prayer while serving, defending and supporting this great nation. “Demonstrating great respect and admiration for those who serve in the armed forces is mission critical at Pray.com. Over the past five years Pray.com has worked hard to honor our service members, military families, and veterans in meaningful ways. The brave men and women who serve our country need resources to aid them in their unique challenges,” said Pray.com founder and CEO Steve Gatena. “The men, women, and families in our military are heroes, and as such, it is important that we never overlook their mental health needs. At Pray.com prayer is the priority and we strive to connect as many people as possible to spiritual content that can provide hope, alleviate stress, and deliver inspiration on a daily basis.” The partnership began when Kevin Sullivan, President of Leading Points, considered the importance of spirituality in the military. While Pray.com already provides broad services that help its users pray, meditate and sleep, the new program will use the range of Pray.com’s services to guide this specific community of users through interacting with a drill sergeant, undergoing deployment and other challenges of the military lifestyle. "Throughout my career in the military, there was an emphasis placed on everyone’s mental, physical and spiritual readiness. I found that prayer was a very beneficial part of that for individual military members and, thus, the military mission as a whole," explained Kevin Sullivan, president of Leading Points Corporation. “While respecting and supporting the diversity of beliefs across the military community, we are confident that the Pray.com military program will help strengthen the spirituality and readiness of its users.” For more information about Pray.com or its military program, please visit www.pray.com/military or contact us at military@Pray.com .2 min read

Pray.com Provides Encouragement for Veterans this Memorial Day WeekendLOS ANGELES, May 26, 2022 – Hoping to provide some extra encouragement and inspiration for Veterans and active duty military this Memorial Day Weekend, especially those who may be dealing with PTSD and other mental health issues, Pray.com will feature the Victor Marx Podcast on its weekly “Sunday Service” feature. The program highlights Marx’s own military service as he shares wisdom he’s gained finding triumph over trauma. In addition, Pray.com recently launched “ The Armor of God ” podcast series featuring real-life stories by American veterans who exemplify the glory of God. This new series presents the true heart of these military heroes who so proudly wear the spiritual protection that is provided to them, known as The Armor of God, found in Ephesians chapter 6. In his podcast, Marx – a Marine Corps Veteran – challenges his audiences to maintain and build spiritual health. He believes in the importance of the faith community in the military and mixes humor with raw reality stories of survival and redemption to encourage a resilient lifestyle. He and his wife Eileen serve veterans and military personnel, women and children in the Middle East who have encountered debilitating trauma, and promote healthy, Christ-filled marriages and families. As such, his podcast tackles hard truths, stories of redemption and the latest from the frontlines. “What excites me about being on Pray.com is that I know I’m reaching a wide audience with messages of hope and redemption – whether they have had any exposure to faith before or not,” Marx said. “I know when I direct listeners to find my podcast on Pray.com that it’s the single best platform or app where they can get fed and be encouraged, wherever they are coming from in life.” “My life was turned around just from hearing other peoples’ stories, so that’s what I try to share on my podcast,” Marx continued. “Our guests – who range from war heroes to actors to fellow humanitarians – share authentically about their own journeys, and we never force discussions about faith. I think that’s what makes our podcast different from others you might hear on faith-based platforms, and I appreciate Pray.com giving us the opportunity to do that.” Severely abused and tortured as a child, by the time Marx graduated from high school, his lifestyle was filled with drugs, fights and theft. The discipline of military life and faith in God helped him recover from his traumatic childhood and empowers him to help others. Today, he focuses his attention to the plights of those affected by ISIS, troubled juvenile offenders, and supporting military personnel from all branches including the special operations community. Since leaving the military, Marx has done more dangerous missions now as a high-risk humanitarian, and is preparing for his 17 th trip to the Middle East region to continue his humanitarian work as an advocate for children and youth. “We love having Victor’s podcast on the Pray.com platform as it’s a very unique program that reaches a broad audience,” Pray.com founder Matthew Potter said. ”His stories are compelling, he’s vulnerable about his own trauma and recovery, and therefore is a great help to listeners who may be struggling with some of their own PTSD or mental health issues.” In addition to the Victor Marx podcast, Pray.com includes many meditative and reflective prayer and Bible-based resources to aid with mental health, along with audio teaching from Marx and other leaders regarding what has been helpful to them during their struggles. Find the Victor Marx Podcast and other prayer and faith-based audio content at www.pray.com/discover .3 min read

Pray.com partners with Renowned Researchers to Study the App’s Benefits to Mental HealthLOS ANGELES, October 26, 2022 – As the No. 1 app for daily prayer, Pray.com is partnering with renowned researchers to study the benefits that digitally enabled prayer can have on mental health and well-being during our current pandemic-induced mental health crisis. With approximately 26% of the U.S. adult population suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year, according to John Hopkins Medicine, and at a time when people are more interconnected digitally than in-person, Pray.com believes it’s important to scientifically study the benefits of digital engagement with prayer for the first time. “We know from experience and the existing anecdotal research, that prayer, meditation and consumption of faith-based content is beneficial to your mental and spiritual well-being,” said Founder and CEO Steve Gatena. “We are excited to contribute to the scientific knowledge to further examine the science behind digital prayer and its impacts on mental, physical and spiritual health, an area of research that has been largely overlooked.” Partnering with established scientists in this space, Pray.com will conduct multiple first-of-their-kind studies to assess the impact of digitally-enabled prayer on mental health and wellness, bringing together science around mental health and digital prayer. Dr. Jennifer Huberty, former Director of Science at Calm, who recently joined Pray.com as Fractional Chief Science Advisor, is leading the company’s research efforts in partnership with Dr. Todd Hall, a professor of psychology at Biola University and a faculty affiliate at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program; Dr. Joshua Hook, Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of North Texas; and Dr. Daryl R. Van Tongeren, Associate Professor of Psychology at Hope College. “I am very passionate about mental health,” said Dr. Huberty. “If we can show that spiritual well-being is linked to mental health benefits, then Pray.com, with its spiritual well-being offerings, could be a strategy to help people improve their mental wellness.” One clinical study in the process is a randomized control trial in which participants with high levels of stress will be assigned to one of three groups to determine the effects of the app on stress and mental health. Findings from this study will add to the scientific knowledge about how spiritual well-being may reduce stress and improve mental health outcomes. Another study is exploring the feasibility of Pray.com in ethnic minorities. Findings from this study will help inform the product enhancements to ensure continued inclusivity of the app’s content and experience. In addition to these studies, Dr. Hall is conducting a cross-sectional survey based on Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program to help understand self-reported user perceptions of the app and its benefits for spiritual and mental wellness. “The essence of the research I have done in my career has been about the well-being of people and how we become the best version of ourselves. After countless hours of conducting research on social connection and flourishing, I am more convinced that relationships are the key to flourishing in life and work,” said Dr. Hall. “This is exactly what Pray.com is doing with these research projects. By understanding its users’ needs the platform gives them an opportunity to connect with others and improve their mental health, which translates into other areas of their lives.” As the first religious mental health and wellness app to do so, Pray.com’s purpose in these studies is to drive scientific insight into the impact digitally enabled prayer has on mental health and to use its findings to raise more awareness of ways to strengthen mental health by practicing the healthy habit of daily prayer.5 min read

New ‘Bible in a Year with Jack Graham’ Podcast Passes 10 Million Downloads

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