If you have enjoyed all that we have done for our community for the past 15 years, we need your help. If not, we will soon become a memory of a better time in our community; a era when Christians had a voice.
It was the spring of 1995 when I came out with my first magazine, Houston Sports News. Several years later, I was listening to a sermon by my pastor, Wallace Henley of Encourager Church. He spoke about the necessity for churches to work together, not against one another, in reaching the community for Christ. That is when God first steered my heart toward creating a Christian magazine.
I did not act on that vision until the summer of 2005, when I began building Houston Christian Scene. The beginning of this path was filled with turmoil. We were supposed to start printing in September 2005, but the catastrophic hurricane Katrina, and later Rita, caused us to postpone printing until November 5, 2005, when our first edition hit the streets.
After a couple of issues, we changed our name to Houston Christian Magazine. In the fall of 2008, due to a personal tragedy, we once again changed the name to what it is today: Katy Christian Magazine. Then, the Lord blessed us, and we dreamt of expanding our publication to touch more lives. In the summer of 2014, we added our second magazine, Fort Bend Christian Magazine.
During my 25 plus years of publishing, we have witnessed many downturns in the economy. First, we endured the dot-com bubble burst in 2001. This was closely followed by the tragic 9/11 terrorists attacks. Both events catalyzed huge ripple effects, decimating the stock market. And yet, by God’s grace, we survived when many other magazines did not.
Then, in 2008, I lost my wife and my children lost their mother. This wounded my family and loved ones deeply. Our loss, coupled with the 2008 recession, nearly brought us to shambles. Yet again, somehow, we survived.
Since then, companies like Facebook and Google have commanded popularity and devoured up the majority of advertising revenue, while newspapers and magazines felt the brunt of it. Over these past ten years, over half of the small to mid-sized newspapers have gone out of business. Magazines have been cut in half as well. Throw in the hurricanes Ike, Harvey, and a few lesser storms… yet through all of this, we have survived.
This latest crisis, however, has taken a toll on us that we have never experienced. I am heartbroken to announce that we have lost about 2/3 of our advertisers. We are holding on with borrowed time, and it will truly take a miracle like none other to save us. We literally have about 45 days to save Katy Christian Magazine and Fort Bend Christian Magazine.
Over the years, I have made personal sacrifices publishing these magazines. I could have made much more money in other areas of sales. But the Lord urged me to use my skillset to spread His word and touch the hearts of our community. These magazines have always been a ministry to me; I truly believe that this is my calling. There are no other magazines of our kind in our communities, and now more than ever, we need a Christian voice in a world so filled with chaos.
We were not able to print a hard copy of the magazines this summer, and truth be told, we may never be able to do so again. Right now, we are focusing all of our efforts on developing and expanding our website presence, with the hope of once again printing our magazines this fall. For all of this to occur, we are pleading for as many businesses to place an ad in our online business directory as possible. For a lack of a better term, we need a miracle.
I have had many well-meaning pastors pray for our survival during these past few months. But Faith without works is dead, as are prayers without support or action.
If you are interested in advertising or helping us with our vision, please email me at joseph@
Katy Christian Magazine
Fort Bend Christian Magazine
650 West Bough, Suite 150-170
Houston, TX 77024
