2025
IMPACT REPORT
An Exceptional Year
We just completed our 7th year of Compelled and are blown away by all that God has allowed us to participate in, primarily through 4 iniatives.
Please enjoy our 2025 Impact Report, or use the links in the guide below to navigate to a specific section.
INITIATIVE #1
PODCAST
11
NEW
STORIES
This year, we shared some incredible stories like:
Steven Matamoros - He grew up as a Jehovah's Witness with a distorted view of God.
But through a crumbling marriage and heartbreaking loss, he would encounter the true God of the Bible, who promised to always be by Steven's side... even in the darkest of times.
Lori Apon - She met the love of her life at a Christian concert. Bobby Apon was a young, dashing man who sang songs for God's glory. He was a founding member of the Christian music group, NewSong, and he swept Lori off her feet.
But at the wedding altar, both of them were in bondage to sin. What, or Who, could set them free?
Jerri Jameson was a hopeless meth addict. She hated her life and wanted to stop using... but she couldn't kick the habit.
Then one night, she cried out in desperation to a God she wasn't even sure existed... and He answered.
Click any of the images to dive deeper and listen.
Or scroll past the images to keep reading!
32
REMASTERED
TESTIMONIES
We also remastered 32 stories from our archives.
Many include brand-new music, sound effects, and guest content.
Each episode was re-released on our podcast feed and aired on our nationwide radio program.
80,000
MONTHLY
PODCAST DOWNLOADS
Celebrating 100 Episodes!
We also hit a colossal milestone this summer.
After creating testimonies for 7 years, we published our 100th episode and held a celebration, introducing our listeners to the team behind the magic, as well as some of our favorite testimonies.
Our entire team made a guest appearance on Compelled, this time in front of the mic!
Paul Hastings (Host/Producer)
Sarah Hastings (Associate Producer)
Zach Fowler (Production Consultant)
Atley Nugent (Technologist)
Becky Hetrick (Assistant)
Will Jackson (Senior Editor)
Micah Foster (Radio Editor)
Tim Hull (Sound Engineer)
Mark Weeber (Radio/Script Editor)
INITIATIVE #2
RADIO
170
RADIO
STATIONS
Speaking of radio… that was thanks to our donors! Because of you, we reached a completely brand-new audience this year!
In February, Compelled began airing on American Family Radio’s network of 170 stations across 34 states!
500,000
WEEKLY
RADIO LISTENERS
INITIATIVE #3
BOOK
One of the hardest secrets to keep for the past year, was that we were secretly writing our first book of testimonies.
The book, titled Compelled, was released on July 7th and quick sold out in America and the United Kingdom.
It’s been a fantastic evangelism resource and contains 7 uplifting testimonies are strengthen the faith of existing Christian, while also serving as conversation starters for non-Christians.
Our publisher has been incredibly helpful and immediately grasped our vision for evangelism and has priced the book as low as $2.50/copy so that churches, small groups, or even individuals can buy the book in bulk.
Note: We waived all our royalties from the book, to make the price as accessible as possible.
20,000
COPIES
SOLD WORLDWIDE
We’ve heard stories about the Compelled book being distributed across Little Free Libraries in Canada, read by groups of prisoners in Mississippi, handed to the homeless in California, and even stolen out of the back seats of cars!
INITIATIVE #4
PODCAST NETWORK
Soon after we launched Compelled in 2018, we realized there was a need for even more thoughtfully-crafted, story-driven podcasts that proclaim His Name.
Which is what led us to launching the Proclaim Podcast Network last Fall (2024).
Our network members (Compelled, Exempla, God Out Loud, and Story Partners) meet together, collaborate, and cross-promote each other’s shows.
Since launch, three of our shows have appeared in the Apple Podcasts Top #40 Christian podcast list.
181,994
DOWNLOADS
WORLDWIDE IN 2025*
* as of November 6, 2025 - excluding Compelled
IMPACT
&
GROWTH
Outsized Impact
Compelled stories have a tremendous impact, as evidenced by all of the touching emails, comments, and messages we received.
Here’s just an example.
“I’ve been listening to your podcast for about two years now, and it has helped to deepen my faith in God and in His power to change lives and circumstances.
My spiritual life has grown, as well as my hope and trust in God through very difficult circumstances of my loved ones.
These stories have been a great inspiration, and it amazes me how God can use people from any country and from all walks of life to save others by listening about His love and faithfulness through all kinds of ministries.”
Read more feedback here
Explosive Growth
Our listenership exploded again 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.
As of today* Compelled has already been downloaded over 760,000 times.
(We still haven’t yet hit the elusive 1,000,000 downloads/year… but we’re very close!)
Yearly Podcast Downloads*
In 2025*
Compelled reached…
327,767*
Unique Listeners
188*
Countries
Including several restricted nations in the Middle East, Africa, East Asia, and Eastern Europe, including South Sudan, Iran, and Pakistan.
760,851*
Downloads
* Stats as of November 10, 2025. Yes, that means the numbers will actually increase for another 2 months.
PARTNER WITH US
2026
The Actual $ Numbers
All of this was possible because of the generous support of our sponsors and listeners like you!
Our operational expenses for Compelled 2025 YTD are $108,869*. This covers editing, mastering, radio broadcast fees, equipment, travel, marketing, etc. (this does not include Paul’s salary).
* Note: There are still 2 months remaining in the year, so the total expenses for 2025 may still increase by another $10,000.This was the 3rd full year that Paul spent working on Compelled full time.
Our Vision for 2026
Our vision for 2026 includes:
Season 10 (10 brand-new episodes) : Already Underway/Spring 2026
Season 11 (10 brand-new episodes): Launching Fall 2026
Remaster 30 more episodes from our archives
Maintain our national radio broadcast (170 stations across 34 states)
We’ve already recorded 18 new testimonies and have already begun editing several. Here’s a sneak peak of just a few:
Will struggled with his sexuality while growing up. But finally, he made a decision to live as a transgender "woman" named “Maggie”, and never look back. Which he did successfully for 30 years, deceiving everyone he knew. But then one day, he encountered the true God of the Bible, who asked him, “Who did God say Will was?”
Brittini was young and successful, and her party friends nicknamed her "Black-out Brittini". Then one fateful night, under the influence, she drove head-on into the wrong lane of traffic and caused a tragedy she never could have imagined. Could God really forgive her, much less want her?
Ben was the new pastor of a small church in Mississippi. He and his congregation mutually loved and cared for each other, until he decided to marry a woman from another ethnicity... and his peaceful flock rebelled. What was God asking him to do?
Kayla was sexually abused by a family member for almost a decade. At times, she felt worthless and powerless, incapable of changing her past, present, or future. But then one day, she was introduced to the Creator of time and space. Could He redeem what had been broken and restore what been lost?
Marvin was a card-carrying American Communist and atheist who couldn't wait to usher in a new era of equality and even tried to become an informant for the KGB. But then one afternoon, he sat frozen in his chair while his brain raced unbidden, "What if Lenin was wrong about God?"
John was a Bhutanese convert who was persecuted for becoming a Christian. He fled the country to find relief, but ended up imprisoned in a foreign nation because he chose to share about Jesus publicly. Could his fledgling faith remain firm?
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 $80,000 of our budget through donations.
Will You Partner With Us for 2026?
These stories powerfully illustrate how God can change any life, regardless of 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?
