Leading Organizations That Matter: Is Faith in Fashion? Interview with PRAY.COM's Matthew Potter

Key Takeaways

• Impressive growth: PRAY.COM has achieved 19 million downloads, 168 million content shares outside the app, 3 billion listening minutes (equivalent to 1,700 years of content consumption), and 200 million podcast downloads in the last 18 months.
• A providential founding story: Matthew's own life story begins with his adoption after a 15-year-old girl chose life instead of abortion, and includes a chance meeting with Steve Jobs (also adopted) that sparked his tech career.
• Faith is resurging: While church attendance is declining, faith content consumption has increased by 52% over the last 24 months. Matthew observes that orthodoxy is becoming "cool" again, even among tech elites and investors.
• Digital transformation of faith: The average churchgoer previously engaged with faith for about 1 hour per month, whereas Pray.com users engage with faith content about 60 times per month for 6-8 hours total.
• Mental health benefits: PRAY.COM's research team, led by PhD researcher Dr. Bree Laird, is conducting clinical trials and cross-sectional studies showing that regular prayer and engagement with digital Christian content reduces anxiety, depression, and feelings of hopelessness.
• Business meets ministry: PRAY.COM balances business goals with ministry aims by focusing on "margin and mission, profit and purpose," with an obsessive focus on serving their customers: Christians and those curious about faith.
• AI for good: PRAY.COM is incorporating artificial intelligence throughout its platform to create personalized content, increase efficiency, and better serve users experiencing spiritual or mental health crises.

Full Conversation

Introduction

Host Ray Spadoni opens by acknowledging that faith-related topics represent a departure from his typical podcast subjects, but explains that leadership, meaning, purpose, and impact inevitably intersect with deeply held personal values. He introduces Matthew Potter as co-founder of PRAY.COM, a major player in the growing realm of faith-based apps and media.

About PRAY.COM

Matthew describes Pray.com as the #1 app for daily prayer and faith-based content, founded in October 2016. Now the largest growing Christian audience in the United States, the platform has achieved impressive milestones: 19 million downloads, 168 million content shares outside the app, 3 billion listening minutes (equivalent to 1,700 years of content consumption), and 200 million podcast downloads in the last 18 months.

Matthew's Remarkable Life Story

Matthew shares his extraordinary personal journey, beginning with his adoption. A pregnant 15-year-old girl was on her way to an abortion clinic when she stopped at a church for advice. The pastor, feeling uncertain, called a friend who had been counseling a couple struggling with infertility. The young woman agreed to adoption, and Matthew became that adopted child.

Growing up in a Christian home, Matthew had a chance meeting with Steve Jobs at Pixar, not knowing at the time that Jobs was also adopted. Inspired by Jobs, Matthew dropped out of college when the App Store launched and founded HomeStack, eventually building over 8,000 apps for major real estate companies.

Despite business success, Matthew felt empty and contacted his pastor about giving back. While praying about this, he ran into his friend Steve Gatina at a coffee shop. Steve had experienced tragedy when his business partner died in a plane crash during the filming of the movie "American Made" with Tom Cruise. A former Navy SEAL had given Steve an audio sermon that helped him through his grief, inspiring the idea for Pray.com as a "digital destination for Christians" similar to what ESPN is for sports. Matthew offered to help for free, and along with two other co-founders, they launched Pray.com in October 2016.

Is Faith Becoming Cool Again?

When asked if faith is becoming "cool" again in culture, Matthew notes that both culture shift and companies like Pray.com are driving each other. While church attendance is declining, faith content consumption has increased by 52% over the last 24 months.

Matthew observes that culture initially "swung the pendulum outside of faith," but now "the subculture has become orthodoxy" with a return to traditional values. He notes that even at conferences in San Francisco with investors, many are attending church or becoming orthodox in their faith practices.

He compares the decline in physical church attendance to decreases in movie theater attendance, noting that digital access has changed how people consume all content. The average churchgoer previously engaged with faith for about 1 hour per month, whereas Pray.com users engage with faith content about 60 times per month for 6-8 hours total.

Mental Health and Faith

Ray suggests that the pandemic and mental health concerns might be pushing people toward faith. Matthew agrees, stating that we don't yet know the full impact of COVID on society and mental health, but it's clear people are turning to faith when dealing with mental health issues.

Matthew explains that Pray.com has a PhD scientist research team led by Dr. Bree Laird conducting clinical trials and cross-sectional studies on how prayer and Christian content affect mental health. Their research shows that engaging with faith regularly reduces anxiety, depression, and feelings of hopelessness, with frequency being a crucial factor in achieving these benefits.

He references additional evidence, including CDC data showing increasing suicide rates since 2005, and Harvard's Human Flourishing Project, which found that adding faith and religion components to their model led to even better outcomes than originally predicted.

Faith in the Workplace

Ray observes that people seem more willing to discuss faith in professional settings now compared to five years ago. Matthew confirms this trend, mentioning the REDI Index that measures companies' religious diversity and openness to employees bringing their "whole person" to work.

He notes that employee benefits programs increasingly include faith-based apps alongside meditation apps like Calm and Headspace. Major corporations like Google and Facebook have established employee resource groups for Christians, allowing them to have Bible studies and bring in speakers.

Matthew frames this in business terms as "margin and mission, profit and purpose," noting that companies recognize that employees' belief systems shape their morals, integrity, and work ethic.

Balancing Business and Ministry

When asked about the potential conflict between running Pray.com as a business versus a ministry, Matthew emphasizes their "margin and mission, profit and purpose" approach. By focusing obsessively on serving their customers (Christians and those curious about faith), they naturally align business goals with ministry aims.

He acknowledges that this alignment is regularly tested but maintains that when they prioritize serving the customer and fulfilling their mission, "the business part ends up working itself out."

Artificial Intelligence and Faith

Matthew discusses how PRAY.COM is incorporating AI throughout its platform, having recently announced a partnership with Palantir. While they don't use AI for content creation, they leverage it to improve efficiency, personalize user experiences, and create better cinematic audio and animated series at lower price points.

He notes that all new technologies, from nuclear power to AI, can be used for good or evil. He observes that there are already "cults in Silicon Valley of people who worship AI," and that the technology will inevitably be used for deception through deepfakes. However, he argues that good actors must use technology for positive purposes, or only the harmful applications will flourish.

Matthew shares powerful examples of users finding PRAY.COM at critical moments—a mother at 3 AM in a hospital with her injured child, or a police officer contemplating suicide who received a share of the app just in time.

The Human Connection

As the conversation concludes, Matthew expresses concern about maintaining human connection in a technologically connected world: "We live in the most connected world, but we have the least amount of best friends." While he's confident they can perfect the technology and programs to support mental and spiritual health, he worries about preserving humanity amid digital transformation.

Closing

Matthew generously offers podcast listeners free access to the entire PRAY.COM app for a year by visiting pray.com/matt. Thank Matthew for his important work and impact on culture, acknowledging the value of what PRAY.COM is accomplishing.