Compelled Podcast
Impact Report 2021
Posted: December 15, 2021
Updated: July 29, 2022
Exceptional Stories
Last week, we released the final episode of our 4th Season of Compelled. The stories that we told this Fall were exceptional and some of our best work to date.
In 2021, we shared some incredible stories like:
Evelyn Husband Thompson - Her husband, Rick, was Commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003. Minutes before touch-down, the Columbia exploded in Earth's atmosphere killing all crew members and leaving Evelyn and her children reeling and looking to God for answers.
Jim Payne - He was sent to the Middle East as part of a Navy Seal Team in 2005. During their deployment, his team was divided in half and suffered devastating losses in the mountains of Afghanistan. As Jim grappled with crippling grief he clung to the One who offered any glimmer of hope.
Click any of the images to dive deeper and listen.
Scroll past the images to keep reading!
SEASON 4 - FALL 2021
SEASON 3 - SPRING 2021
Laura Perry - She was raised in the church but rejected its teachings and transgendered herself into a "man" for 10 years. But then one day, she encountered the love of Christ and was confronted with a life-changing decision.
Joshua & Amy Glasscock - His lungs had been destroyed by cystic fibrosis and he was slowly suffocating to death. When his only hope for life, a lung transplant, fell through, his hopes were crushed. Was this a death sentence? Or an unexpected blessing from God?
Atticus Carr - A rebel who looked for life's answers deep within Hinduism and New Age mysticism but came up empty-handed until he encountered Jesus.
Outsized Impact
These stories had a tremendous impact, as evidenced by all of the touching emails, comments, and messages we received. (read even more listener feedback here)
“Thank you for the interview you did with Catherine Zoller. My sister ran away from our home this summer. It broke our hearts within the family. I dealt, and still fight, with some bitterness towards her...
The episode blessed my heart, and reminded me of my earlier teenage years, and how God brought me to where I am today. It is only by His grace that I am in church and trying to serve Him now.
To hear of His hand at work in mightier ways in Catherine’s life has given me hope for my sister, in that one day she might be redeemed too.”
“It’s literally become my favorite podcast in just this past week. I’ve cried every episode so far- tears of joy of course! The grace of God is overwhelming in every episode. It’s all I’ve been listening to since I heard about it.”
“I was tearing up at work today listening to the story of Kathleen Lansing and the part in the story of her being bedside ... and the sound of the respirator. It was like I was back at my mom’s bedside again in May.”
“I am typing this having just finished listening to part 1 of the interview with Josh and Amy Glasscock. Megan and I have two biological kids - Austin and Emily. We are also a licensed foster family. I must admit I was fighting back tears as I listened to Josh and Amy’s amazing story. I can’t wait to listen to part 2.”
Rapid Growth
Our listenership exploded this year.
Many Christians are hungry for this content. They want to hear what God is doing in the lives of His people, right now. Today.
We’re firm believers that God was the driver in all of this growth. These are His stories after all. And frankly, that's the entire reason why the show exists - to highlight what God is doing in His people.
But as stewards of the resources God has entrusted us with, and as partners with you in this ministry, we think it's important to track and measure the "effectiveness" of our efforts, and that we celebrate appropriate milestones.
Before this year, our highest traffic weeks averaged 1,000 downloads a week.
Today, our show has grown 8X and consistently brings in 8,000 downloads a week.
Downloads per Week (8x Growth)
At the beginning of 2021, our cumulative download count (from all-time) was 37,000.
Today, that number has grown 4X and we’ve already surpassed 160,000 cumulative downloads.
Cumulative Downloads (4x Growth)
In the Last 30 Days
Compelled reached…
18,000
Unique Listeners
108
Countries
Including several restricted nations in the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia
35,000
Downloads
None of this happened without effort or expense.
Our entire annual expenses for Compelled (Season 3 and Season 4) was $27,000. That covered editing, advertising, equipment, etc.
As always, my time has always been volunteered. An investment in the future you might say!
This year, I personally invested 1,200 hours working on Compelled.
The number of hours I work to create our episodes is the primary reason why we’re forced to take such long breaks between podcast seasons - typically 6 months to 1 year.
But creating these stories with excellence takes time and money.
Which is why we’re turning to you.
Our listeners, friends, and donors.
Will You Partner With Us for 2022?
These stories powerfully show how God can change transform any life, from any background. We’ve heard from countless listeners who have been blessed and encouraged by these testimonies. Some have told us that Compelled reinvigorated their faith with a newfound awe of the God we serve.
Will you prayerfully consider partnering with us financially for this coming year, so that we can continue telling these stories and touching lives?
2021 Budget
$27,000
=
123,000
New Downloads
2022 Budget
$47,000
=
245,000
Projected New Downloads
2021 vs 2022 Budget and Downloads
We pray/hope that a large portion of these expenses (and some!) will be offset by advertising, but we also want to be prudent about not setting our expectations too high.
So we hope to raise at least $30,000 of our budget through donations.
Will you please consider contributing?
Checks can be made out to “Compelled Podcast” and mailed to:
Compelled Podcast
3507 Oak Forest Dr.
Lago Vista, TX 78645
This is our preferred method since it saves us online processing fees, but we are also happy to accept donations through PayPal or Venmo.
Please note: donations to Compelled Podcast are not tax-deductible.
I’m also happy to hop on a phone call to tell you more about what God has been doing and share more of our vision.
If you’d like to get in touch, drop me a message through the contact form!
Blessings and Merry Christmas!
-Paul
