Join host Rachel Mains as she welcomes Travis Pander and Alissa Baranik from Crawford Media Group to discuss the latest updates and initiatives at KLTT. Learn about the impactful Bibles for Africa promotion, the launch of KLTT’s YouTube channel, and their innovative community engagement strategies. Dive deep into their exciting summer event lineup, including partnerships with various Christian organizations and conferences, and how they aim to make a positive difference in the community.
00:00:00 Introduction with Rachel Maines and Guests
I’m Rachel Mains, and with me today, I have some rock star employees of Crawford Media Group. I have Travis Pander and Alissa Baranik in studio. We’re going to talk about all things KLTT. Welcome. Thank you, Rachel. Thanks for having us.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, thanks for having us.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s great to have you guys. You guys do so many things in the digital world, starting with Travis. What is new with KLTT?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, so this month we’re super excited about the Bibles for Africa promotion that we’re doing. You have the opportunity right on the website. As soon as you get there, there’s a big link that will pop up. You can give any amount that you feel comfortable to supply Bibles to folks in Africa who can’t get it, and those will go to churches and small house groups and things like that. It’s a really great organization.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I love that. So many people around the world, you know, here in the United States, we take for granted, or in the Western world, I would say, we take for granted how easy Bibles are to get here. I have about five at home that, you know, four of them are not being used. So to give a Bible is huge for somebody in another country. And Elisa, share what you’re doing and what’s new with KLTT.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. So we have a YouTube channel and we’re going to be plugging that the rest of this month and probably into next month. So what to expect on those YouTube channels is going to be snippets from different sermons and teachers. And what really stands out with these videos is they will have closed captioning. So you will see exactly what the teacher is saying. So if you’re hard of hearing or you just kind of want to read over it and just double check and pause, because I mean, what they’re saying is super powerful and you just really want to look at it. It’s all there for you to read as they go through it. And we plug in that previous sermon. So if you are like, hey, I love this first five minutes. I want to listen to the rest. You just click on the link and you can listen to the rest on our KLTT app.
SPEAKER 03 :
Awesome. And moving forward, guys, with KLTT, I know we have a strong vision here. We like to take listeners’ feedback, and we’re here for the community. What’s some things that we’re kind of envisioning for KLTT?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, so we are stacked for the summer for events. Last night I just attended the FCA, which is a great organization. They had a Topgolf event, so they had a great dinner, and then we just played Topgolf for an hour and a half. So I highly recommend they’re going to be having some more events later in the future that we’ll be partnering with. But some other ones to look forward to in mid-May, we’re going to a Christian’s Writers Conference in Colorado Christian University. So if you’re an aspiring writer or you have some work that you want to get published or just want to get started, it’s a great conference to go to. And it’s just on a Saturday morning. In June, we’re heading to a women’s conference called Feast. And then in July, we’re doing Layers of Faith, which is a creation conference, which I’ve never been to. But it’s just going to be if you love science and how it connects. That’s me. I love it. Yeah, if you love science and the Bible, this is the conference to go to. It’s for three days, and it’s just going to have some really good Bible study, but also just the science to back it up and how God has created everything. You can see his fingerprints in everything. That sounds awesome. Yeah, yeah. So we are very excited for the summer and what we have planned for the future.
SPEAKER 03 :
Nice. And Travis, with the website, one really neat thing that we’re doing right now is the podcast. Tell our listeners how that’s growing.
SPEAKER 01 :
For sure. It’s growing like a weed. And it’s a great way, like Elisa said, to kind of go back. If you catch a part of a sermon or you tune in on the radio, you only heard a part of it and you want to hear it again, you can go back and find that date’s message, which is really great. Another thing that we’re doing with those are categories, and I think we talked about that last time, but it’s really taken hold. A lot of folks are using it, and I think it’s a blessing because if I’m struggling with anxiety or I’m fearful or I want to hear messages about love, I can go in and just click on those categories and get fed for what I need. So love that part of it. The podcasts are growing a lot. We’ve got a few new shows that are coming up on podcasts as well, and we’re keeping ahead. So before they were a week, week and a half behind just because the tools weren’t there, but we’ve got it locked in now. So you should be able to find those usually within the same week that they come out.
SPEAKER 03 :
Nice. Yeah, I love that categories option because, you know, it’s hard to try to find what you need in the moment. And if it’s already there for you, it’s great. That’s wonderful.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, and we’re all struggling with something, right? So being able to go on there and just kind of get fed with what you need is wonderful, I think.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, agreed. Now, someone who’s listening right now who has an event that they’d like to partner with us on, how do they go about that?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, you can just go right to the website, click on the contact, and those go right to me. So if you’ve got an event that you want put up there, right now we’ve got a ton of Easter stuff. So if you don’t have plans for the Easter holiday, go ahead and check that out. Lots of egg hunts, retreats, things like that. So just click the contact link. That will go right to me. Let me know what you’d like to see up there, where your event is. It’s really helpful if folks send details on the event, time, location, that kind of thing, or a link, even if it’s just a Facebook event page.
SPEAKER 03 :
Nice. Nice. And when you think about partnering with events, what are we looking for for KLTT? We have a lot of variety of events, which is really nice. But what else do we look for?
SPEAKER 01 :
We don’t lock it into any particular thing, but usually it’s going to be church events if you’re trying to get more participation at a Bible study or a special worship night event, things like that. But think outside the box. If you have a question, let us know, and we’ll let you know if we can put it up or not. Nine times out of ten, we’re going to say yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, that’s nice. Yeah, it’s important for us to be community oriented here.
SPEAKER 01 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 03 :
And also, if you have the app or you’re online and you have a suggestion on how we can improve, we’re open to that, correct?
SPEAKER 1 :
100%.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, love it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, we’re blessed here at Crawford Media Group. We’re like a family here. I just kind of want to hear your own personal stories, maybe one or two, of how you’ve been changed working here at Crawford Media Group, starting with – I’ll start with Travis.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, wow, I get to go again. I like talking, so that’s good. Yeah, that’s big. I mean, a lot of folks don’t know me, but I’ve only been a Christian for seven, eight years, something like that. I was a devout atheist, the kind that spread the gospel of atheism. So coming here is just a great way to see Christ’s community on display. And that family thing, you just said it. We’re all a family here, and that’s what God intends for us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. So, Travis, okay, atheists. What broke the camel’s back, if you will?
SPEAKER 01 :
Science, actually. Nice. Exactly what you were just talking about. I’m a big science head, and it ended up my wife was going to church, and I was okay with that. I went to support her and got in a scientific discussion with a really great pastor at Novation Church in Westminster, and he kind of pointed me a couple directions. I did some math on my own, and I said, you know what? This is actually true, I think. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, 20 years of logic and reason just went out the window because it was untrue.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. And that’s the thing, too. As Christians, we don’t need to shy away from science or our logic and reason, right? Because the Bible will prove itself either scientifically or historically. I mean, there’s so many things. So as a Christian, we don’t need to say, well, I’m going to stop thinking. No. It’s not at all. You start thinking and God wants us to question and to have a strong foundation. So with that, you know, ask him anything. And I believe with a heartfelt cry, hey, I want to know this and I’m having trouble understanding this. He’ll he’ll help you either by sending pastors or friends or family or different situations to help us.
SPEAKER 02 :
So, Elisa, how about yourself? Absolutely. So, I mean, I love our team. We work well together. Everyone wears several different hats. So if someone needs help, you’re there to help them. But I think one thing that stands out to me specifically is just how we do our birthdays. So we have in our kitchen, we’ll have like a little bulletin board with everybody’s birthday. But when it’s your birthday, everybody goes out. So I remember I started working here in June. My birthday’s in July. And I came in and my office was covered in confetti and balloons. And everyone wished me happy birthday. And I got a little cake. And I was just like, that’s so nice. Because it’s just, I’ve worked other jobs. And they might just be like, oh, happy birthday and passing. But just to go the extra mile and to make the cards and everything, it’s just very… It just shows that we’re a family and we’re all in it together. Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love that, too. Yeah. It’s special when you can work for a Christian organization and you feel like family. Now, as you guys meet for KLTT, obviously the technical stuff and going out to more events. But what else do you hope to see? How do you hope to see KLTT grow?
SPEAKER 01 :
I’d like to see more video, and that’s what we’re working on. That’s kind of where the podcast snippets came from on YouTube and the YouTube channel. And just to kind of produce more video content that pairs well with the sermons that we do and the community. So personal videos around the office. Those take an awful lot of time to produce. You know that more than anybody. So we’re just kind of wiggling around until we can figure out the workflows for it. But, yeah, I’m excited about video this year.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I love video. And it’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun. And I love now that we have a YouTube channel. So I’ll be sending videos your way.
SPEAKER 01 :
Do it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Perfect, yeah.
SPEAKER 01 :
We need it.
SPEAKER 03 :
And how about you, Alyssa? How do you hope to see it grow and your role grow here at KLTT?
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. So I think the big thing right now is just making sure that everyone who listens knows all our programmers. Because we’re getting new programmers every so often. And we just want to make sure that they’re getting the same love and attention as everybody else. So one thing we’ve been doing is just working with them and campaigning with them. So we do giveaways every single month, just knowing… who our programmers are, and just we’d love to offer those resources so that you’re getting into the Word, you know your Bible, you understand it, and then you are equipped to share it with others.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, absolutely. So, Elisa, you know, we asked Travis about how he’s grown here, but I want to come back to you. How have you grown working at Crawford Media Group?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I think one way I’ve grown is just, you know, it doesn’t hurt… to ask questions and it doesn’t hurt to promote things um so we get people all the time asking for prayer or you know wanting to share something that’s going on and you know you have so much going on that sometimes you’re like well i don’t have time to deal with this but it’s like it doesn’t hurt just to go forward and see and you don’t know what that impact will make so seeing those prayer requests and praying over them or bringing it forward to someone else is very important so that’s definitely helped me grow my faith is just being someone who can help the community whether it be through prayer or letting others know on ways they can help or bringing notice to an event or ministry that is going on in our community.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, this has been wonderful. We’re going to have you guys back, of course, periodically to talk about what’s new with KLTT and all the wonderful work that you guys are doing. You really are kind of like the heart of our community because you make it possible, Travis, to have the community connect with us here at the station with the website. And you as well, Lisa, you help us with social media and going to events as well. So thank you so much for everything that you’re doing. And for our listeners, go to 670KLTT.com. That’s 670KLTT.com. Get connected. And also we have our social media tabs on the website so you can connect with us on social media as well. Thank you, guys.
