''Relevant'' (often styled as ''RELEVANT'') is a bi-monthly Christian

lifestyle magazine Lifestyle journalism is the field of journalism that provides news and opinion, often in an entertaining tone, regarding goods and services used by consumers in their everyday life. Lifestyle journalism covers travel, fashion, fitness, leisure, fo ...

. The magazine is published by Relevant Media Group with an average distributed circulation of 70,000 copies. According to a demographic study in 2012, 86% of ''Relevant'''s subscribers are between the ages of 18 and 39 (the average subscriber's age is 27). The magazine's companion web presence, relevantmagazine.com, launched in 2002 with the email newsletter, "850 Words of Relevant" (now called "Relevant This Week"). ''Relevant'' launched its interactive iPad edition in September 2011. The website consists of daily news, reviews, and original and exclusive content from contributors. In 2012 the site averaged more than 500,000 visitors a month. In September 2020, ''Relevant'' announced the suspension of its print edition, shifting to an all-digital format and maintaining its bi-monthly release schedule.

History

Both the magazine and the website are products of the Relevant Media Group, founded by Cameron Strang, son of ''

Charisma Magazine ''Charisma'' (also known as ''Charisma + Christian Life'') is a monthly Christian magazine based in Lake Mary, Florida, a suburb of Orlando. It is aimed at Pentecostals and charismatics. Its perspective is influenced by the charismatic revivalis ...

'' publisher and Strang Communications CEO Stephen Strang, in June 2001. ''Relevant'' magazine was first published in March 2003. From a sociological perspective, one critic has called the publication "the mass media equivalent of

outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

in the skate park." It is distributed nationally at Barnes & Noble and other retailers, and is a top seller at the Family Christian bookstore chain. In its early years, contributors to the print magazine included John Fischer,

Dan Haseltine Daniel Paul Haseltine (born January 12, 1973) is an American singer best known as lead vocalist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay. Haseltine has performed vocals, piano, accordion, percussion and melodica, while with Jars of ...

( Jars of Clay), Don Chaffer ( Waterdeep), and Dan Buck. ''Relevant'' runs articles about faith, life in your 20s and 30s, social justice, and interviews with musicians and authors such as Donald Miller, Bob Goff,

The Avett Brothers The Avett Brothers are an American folk rock band from Concord, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett (banjo, lead vocals, guitar, piano, kick-drum) and Seth Avett (guitar, lead vocals, piano, hi-hat) along with Bob C ...

Rob Bell Robert Holmes Bell Jr. (born August 23, 1970) is an American author, speaker and former pastor. Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, and pastored it until 2012. Under his leadership, Mars Hill was one of the fastest ...

, and

The Civil Wars The Civil Wars were an American musical duo composed of Joy Williams and John Paul White. Formed in 2008, The Civil Wars won four Grammy Awards prior to their 2014 breakup. History 2008–2010 Both Williams and White had solo careers prior ...

. In 2005, Relevant Media Group created a women's magazine, ''Radiant'', which published 12 issues from 2005-2007. In 2008, Relevant Media Group launched a magazine for church leaders, ''Neue.'' In 2011, Relevant launched a free semi-annual social justice magazine, ''Reject Apathy''. It was included with Relevant subscriptions. ''Relevant'' launched its interactive iPad edition in September 2011.

RelevantMagazine.com

The website is updated daily and is a counterpart to the magazine. It includes daily features, news ("slices"), columns, reviews, and features such as "The Drop" and "RELEVANT.tv".

''Relevant'' podcast

''Relevant'' releases a new

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

every Monday and Thursday. Its weekly listenership topped 100,000 in 2012. The podcast won the 2015 Academy of Podcasters Awards in the Spirituality & Religion category. On September 12, 2022, the Relevant Podcast released their 1,000 episode.

References

External links

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''USA Today'' article from 2004Relevant Media Group website
The Orlando Sentinel, March 25, 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Relevant 2003 establishments in the United States Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Religious magazines published in the United States Christian magazines Magazines established in 2003 Magazines published in Florida