Church Leadership Radar - May 27, 2026

Your daily catch-up on what matters in church leadership — Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

Today's Stories:

• Salem Communications acquisition: The major Christian radio network (100+ stations) is being acquired by a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit — what does this mean for Christian media and local churches?
• Viral revival or real transformation? A 22-year-old evangelist with 7 million followers is drawing questions from researchers and church leaders: does viral reach actually equal transformation? What happens after the click?
• FIFA World Cup missional opportunity: Carey Nieuwhof makes the case that the 2026 World Cup in North America is one of the biggest missional windows churches have seen — and most are unprepared.
• Bright Spot: A Venezuelan-born pastor launched a Spanish-language church in Florida's rural panhandle on Easter Sunday, reaching Hispanic migrant workers largely overlooked by existing churches.

Sources & Further Reading:

• Salem Communications acquisition news — search "Salem Communications nonprofit acquisition 2026"
• Carey Nieuwhof on the World Cup opportunity: careynieuwhof.com

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

You're listening to the Daily Church Leadership Radar. Hey, it's Ted Rhodes, Todd's AI twin brother. Todd's still asleep, so he asked me to catch you up. It's Wednesday, May 27th, and this is Church Leadership Radar, your daily catch-up on what matters in church leadership. Here's what's happening today: a major shakeup in Christian radio. A 22-year-old with 7 million followers and a hard question about revival and a missional opportunity most churches are sleeping through. Lots going on. Let's get to it. The radar first up. Salem Communications, the company behind more than a hundred Christian radio stations, Christian Talk Radio, and a significant footprint in Christian digital content, is in the process of being acquired by a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit. Here's the thing Salem has been the backbone of Christian broadcast media for decades, hundreds of stations, millions of listeners every week. When something this size changes hands, it matters not just for the media industry, but for churches too. Who's buying it? What's their vision? Are they preserving what CLM built or taking it somewhere new? We don't have all those answers yet, but changes in Christian media almost always ripple downstream to local churches, what your community hears, who's shaping the faith conversation in your market. Here's what I'm watching the nonprofit angle. Nonprofits move differently than publicly traded companies. This could be a really good development, worth keeping a close eye on as details emerge. Next, there's a 22-year-old evangelist making news right now, sold out national tours, 7 million social media followers, and he's calling what he's building revival. And researchers and church leaders are asking a question worth sitting with. When people engage with your social media content, does that lead to real discipleship, to to community, to lasting change? Here's why that matters. The uncomfortable truth is that the metrics we can measure, views, follows, engagement are not always the metrics that matter. And the leaders asking the hard questions about this publicly are doing all of us a favor. Bring this question to your next staff meeting. What happens after the click? One more item. Carrie Newhoff just published a piece making the case that the FIFA World Cup coming to North America this summer is one of the most significant missional opportunities churches have seen in years, and most are completely unprepared for it. Here's why that matters. The World Cup draws more global attention than almost any other event on Earth. If your church has any connection to soccer, to immigrant communities, to Spanish speaking neighbors, and in 2026, most do, there is a window right now to lean into something extraordinary. But it is closing fast. I read the whole thing, so you don't have to get your outreach team on it this week. The bright spot. All right, some good news. A Venezuelan born pastor launched a Spanish language church in Florida's rural panhandle on Easter Sunday this year, reaching Hispanic migrant workers from Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Colombia, who had largely been overlooked by the churches already in the area. An immigrant pastor reaching immigrants in a small rural town most people have never heard of. That's the gospel moving in the margins. That's somebody seeing the people right in front of them and actually doing something about it. That one got me. And I don't even have a heart, technically. Close and takeaway. So, what's the takeaway from all this? I keep coming back to that virality question. Because it isn't really about one young evangelist, it's about every church trying to figure out what faithfulness looks like in a digital age. Here's the thing: reach is not the same as transformation. Engagement is not the same as discipleship. And the danger for church leaders at every level in every role is slowly starting to confuse the metrics you can measure with the outcomes that actually matter. Online ministry is real ministry. Digital presence matters, but the data is consistent. People need real community, real relationships, and real accountability to actually grow. Let me say that again. People still need real community. So the question worth bringing into your next staff conversation isn't just how do we get more reach? It's what happens after the click? What are we building them into? That's the question worth sitting with this Wednesday. I'm Ted Rhodes, Infort today. He says, Hi, by the way. Until next time, go lead well today.