~ Free publication focuses on positive music, activities and personalities ~
“Free publication focuses on positive music, activities and personalities” was the header of the January 7, 2003, article in The Tennessean that covered the development of Christian Activities Magazine from a free one-page handout to its present incarnation as a statewide magazine and international website.
On January 7, 2003, Tim Adkins of The Tennessean wrote an article about Christian Activities Magazine and publisher Kathryn E. Darden titled Christian Magazine Grew From Calendar.
Excerpt:
While working at the Koinonia Christian Bookstore in the late 1980s, Kathryn Darden saw her fair share of aspiring singers who dreamed of a career in the Christian music industry.
“There was a bus stop right outside Koinonia, and people would get off the bus with a guitar strapped on their shoulder and a bag in the other hand. They would come in and ask where to go to get started,” Darden said.
Unfortunately, there was nothing to hand them, so Darden, who was the director of development at the Music Row bookstore at the time, in 1989 launched the Koinonia Concert Calendar, a free, one-page flier listing concerts and events at Nashville-area churches.
”We got a good response,” she said “People kept saying there was a need for something like this, and the churches appreciated having a place to put their activities.”
Before long, Nashville Christian radio station WNAZ-FM asked Darden to read the calendar on air on Sunday nights,
”Even more people found out about the calendar then,” she said
Darden, who lives in Bellevue, took the idea one step further and began publishing Christian Activities Nashville in October 1992 The four-page newsletter featured a concert calendar, a cover story and classifieds in the beginning.
In 1994, Darden changed the newsletter to a magazine format and named the publication Christian Activities Magazine she serves as publisher and editor.
Today the free publication has grown from four pages to 16 pages, and 20,000 copies are distributed each month not only in Nashville, but also across the state. The magazine’s Web site attracts readers worldwide.
Another excerpt from contributor Mike Parker:
Mike Parker of Antioch has been a reader of the magazine from the beginning.
“For people looking for a local source of information that they can’t get anyplace else, I think Christian Activities is the place to go,” Parker said.
Parker started selling advertisements for the magazine in the mid-1990s, and Darden eventually asked him to write a concert review for NewSong, a Christian band. Before long, he was writing more concert reviews.
“The magazine provides fans an opportunity to connect to the artists they enjoy listening to and it gives artists an opportunity to see what hometown folks think about them,” Parker said.
Parker, who is now a full-time free-lance writer, continues to write a few articles for the magazine and the online version.
“Kathryn gave me my first opportunity to break into print,” he said.
Parker writes biographies for Christian artists that are included in press packages and does some corporate copywriting. Parker and his wife, Paula, are also contributing editors for LifeWay Christian Stores’ online publications.
“Kathryn is a sweetheart to work with as far as being an editor and mentor,” Parker said.
The full feature article can be be found at:Christian Magazine Grew From Calendar (This 2003 article is no longer in the Tennessean archives)
Related Articles &Links:
- Interview with Kathryn Darden
- Women in the Christian Music Industry
- About the Editor
- What Can One Woman Do? 2001 Christian Activities Stats
