Last Easter, Yate and Fromeside Mission Area started experimenting with podcasting. Nearly one year later it has proven to be a success. 41 episodes have so far been recorded, and they have been played collectively 1400 times in the Bristol area alone. Hywel Snook, associate minister at Yate and Fromeside Mission Area, is at the helm of this project.
Podcasts are episodic digital tracks, usually uploaded to SoundCloud or iTunes where you can listen to them like a digital radio show.
When the Mission Area began this journey, they werent sure how to begin and initially decided on a broad approach. They interviewed lay people about their faith, recorded episodes from various events such as the Yate Rocks festival and the Praise in the Park service, as well as discussions around Christian topics. They even interviewed Bishop Lee about his previous work as a scientist.
The power of the interviews is that we can hear local people openly talking about their faith and this can give others encouragement to do the same.
Now they produce two podcasts episodes a month—one covers a specific Christian topic and the other is an interview of a lay person where they discuss their faith. Hywel Snook believes that ordinary Christians can inspire others in their faith journey. The power of the interviews is that we can hear local people openly talking about their faith and this can give others encouragement to do the same. Not just in a podcast but also in everyday life too.
The podcast also allows for those seeking faith information to find local and relevant information and it tries to answer questions such as what is the bible, advent, or lent? They are building a great resource library. A frequent listener to the podcast Jemma emphasises I like the podcast because it encourages me in my faith. The interviews are really interesting when we hear other peoples stories of faith too.
It did take some tweaking and fine tuning when it came to the technical and sound systems but now they have settled into their studio at St Marys church vestry. The team are eager to continue their work.
If you want to listen head over to the Yate parish website or search SoundCloud for the Connection @ Yate Parish.
The Yate and Fromeside Mission Area is a mission partnership between the parishes of the expanding town of Yate and the Fromeside Partnership. Together they are committed to focusing on growth in numbers, discipleship, leadership and engagement with young people.
Mission Areas are a strategic initiative of the Diocese of Bristol bringing parishes together to serve alongside one another with a coordinated approach to mission, sharing resources and ideas. Learning from the Mission Areas is collected and shared to inspire and resource mission activity across the Diocese.