BLOG 2025
APRIL 2025 | BLOG
Q&A with M. King: A Closer Look at CrossFirstNews.com
In this Q&A with M.King, we talked with him more deeply and in depth about crossfirstnews.com: who he is trying to reach, and what he wants to accomplish with this new Christian news website.
What specific need or gap in the existing Christian news landscape are you hoping to address with this new platform?
M.King: I think one thing we've gotten good at in the Christian news landscape is providing different niche Christian news websites, right? Uh, Jerusalem Post, The Christian Post, Christian Daily. But, needless to say, one thing we don't have is a resource or news website that reaches out to these different resources and tries to pull their stuff into one website. And so, I think one thing that we are going to have with Cross First News is we're going to have a Christian news website that gives you a variety of different things from all over the world, all focused on the faith.
Who is the target audience for crossfirstnews.com, and what kind of content strategy will you employ to effectively reach and engage this demographic?
M.King: Well, to be very honest with you, our target audience for crossfirstnews.com is Christians who are very interested, right? They have a unique interest in the faith and want to know what's going on out there from our faith-based perspective. Whether that be from the Jewish perspective, the Christian news perspective, Christian politics, entertainment, or even archaeology (which I kind of think is interesting when they find certain things like that), we want to focus on bringing content to this type of person.
Our goal is to show that Christian news isn't boring. There's always something interesting going on out there, and there are always people trying to highlight it, except it's from a faith-based standpoint. So, with us, we want to have a content strategy where we focus on curating our social media content eventually. We'll focus on really interesting stories and put that out there through our expanded e-mail distribution and by making media, where we'll focus on five genuine stories that we found interesting to kind of pique someone's interest. I think really honing in on that and focusing on the fact that Christian news stories can be interesting and something you really didn't think about is key for us.
How will crossfirstnews.com ensure its Christian news is fair, accurate, and not biased?
M.King: You know, I think this is one upside of running a Christian news website like Cross First News: we lean on multiple sources for our news. So, at the end of the day, you get a different perspective on Christian news, right? Another thing I like is the fact that you are working with and using feeds and news sources that have been around for a while. Right, like I said, we certainly can't reinvent the wheel, but tapping into these news sources and certainly using their expertise and what they bring to the table, I think, certainly allows us to focus on a topic from different standpoints and perspectives, and certainly curate a news website that is, I think, both fulfilling and strengthening when it comes to people's faith.
Note: CrossFirstNews.com will officially debut on May 1st, 2025
MARCH 2025 | BLOG
Q & A with M. King: Phase 2 of M.King Media Is About to Begin
In this Q&A with M.King, we talk with him about what has been going on behind the scenes since January of this year, and how we could soon see M.King Media expanding with another website.
So, you gave up the Google Grant last year because you felt the Lord calling you to do it. What do you believe God did this year because of that sacrifice last year?
M.King: You know, last year we had to let go of the Google Grant. The amount of money we were spending just wasn't yielding the same amount in returns, so it was a relief when that was finally off our plate. But I remember seeking God, like, 'Lord, what are we going to do now?' And I know I've reached out to organizations to help us expand, and it seemed like doors just hadn't opened. It's interesting, because to start off the new year, God put on my heart to purchase the domain name for crossfirstnews.com. And when we looked it up, it was available and we were able to purchase it in February.
So, with the purchase of this web domain, what do you hope to accomplish by building a news website?
M.King: Well, first and foremost, I think where God wants us to go is to build something that I haven't seen before in the Christian faith. It's pretty much called a news aggregator site, and I truly believe that something like this will be a real benefit, especially in this day and age when Christians like to look at multiple resources and see different sources showing us various news pieces, if that makes sense. So, I think that this is going to be a game-changer for us in the faith. It's going to help us bring different sources of Christian faith news together in one area, and be able to share what's going on, up-to-date, faster, and get us up to speed even better than what we have right now.
One of the negative ways learned was about a young boy who fell in love with an AI character and ended up taking his life because the AI bot told him to. It's sad because in this day and age, we have a generation of youth who have grown up online, like that's all they know. So for them, it's sad when they can't distinguish reality from fantasy, human from AI, and you have someone so caught up emotionally with an AI character that they would fall in love with it and do almost whatever it tells them to do.
So, for the last question in this interview, what do you see ahead for M.King Media and this ministry expansion called crossfirstnews.com?
M.King: "To be very honest with you, I truly hope that this can be something different for the Christian faith. I truly hope this can be a different avenue that God can use to reach people, that God can use to encourage people with hope and the message of Jesus Christ. I think I've already said it before: I hope that this can be a better way for people to consume their news from a faith-based news site, rather than a secular news site. I mean, what we're doing isn't new; secular sites have been doing it for years. And I think it's nice that we have an organization that genuinely wants to do it, not because it's something the secular world is doing, but because it's needed. There are times I find myself at the desk at my security job, I have a little spare time on my hands, and I'll look at the news. I'll go to Yahoo or MSN and look at their news aggregator sites, and then I have to hop from Christian news site to Christian news site to Christian news site. So, to be very honest with you, I think this will be something that is not only beneficial for a guy like me doing security, but for anybody out there who's a believer who wants to consume their news a bit faster, get updates a lot sooner, and focus on their faith a lot better
FEBRUARY 2025 | BLOG
Q & A with M. King: A News Special About AI and Its Rise
This Q&A with M. King looks into the Cross First News special about AI and discusses what was learned about AI and how it is making its rise in the world around us and also in the church.
The latest special from Cross First News is called "AI on the Rise." What was the intent and the goal of this special event?
M.King: The whole idea behind this special was to take a close look at AI and understand its pros and cons. It's certainly something that is here to stay, and so we wanted to show just how we as Christians can approach this tech in positive ways and also understand how Satan is using it in negative ways.
You say that you wanted to look at the positives and the negatives. What example can you give us about some of the things you learned?
M.King: One of the positive things that was learned is how they are using AI to help map and create a digital representation of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The idea is that they took almost half a million digital photos of the place and are using that to look for cracks and damages as well as giving those who can't make it to Rome and those who can an opportunity to see parts of the facility like never before, like St. Peter's tomb, which is held below.
One of the negative ways learned was about a young boy who fell in love with an AI character and ended up taking his life because the AI bot told him to. It's sad because in this day and age we have a generation of youth who have grown up online, like that's all they know. So for them, it's sad when they can't distinguish reality from fantasy, human from AI, and you have someone so caught up emotionally with an AI character that they would fall in love with it and do almost whatever it tells them to do.
As AI begins to rise in our world, what advice do you want to give to those reading this?
M.King: You know, as AI becomes the new thing in our world, kind of like the Internet in the early 2000's, I feel that we as the people of God need to understand that this tool is very much different and is a self-learning tool, and when you think about it, now is not the time to be lax. Now is the time to truly lean and depend on the things of God and His kingdom and to truly have safeguards in place because the same tool that can help us can also, without the right things in place, potentially kill us.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2025 | BLOG
Q&A w/ M.King: An Outpouring to Kick-Off 2025
In this Q&A with M. King, we speak with M. King about a new event (Outpouring 2025) that is taking place to kick off the year 2025. We will ask him how it feels to do this new event across social media.
How did the "Outpouring 2025" event differ from other similar events or campaigns?
M.King: To be honest, I think this event is more focused on reviving people's spirits and getting them to focus more on what God can use them for and do through them in the year ahead. Previous events and campaigns were more about getting you to seek the Lord and getting you to focus on Him to hear what He says to you. I think this is a bit different because we kind of come to you with our message, and you can choose to accept the message God is giving us or make the choice to seek God even deeper. So I think this gives you more options.
What social media platforms were primarily used during the event?
M.King: For the event, the social media platforms that were used were Facebook, X (formally known as Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Did the "Outpouring 2025" event achieve its intended goals?
M.King: You know, looking at it for what it's worth, I do believe that, in my opinion, I originally wanted to do four days, but unfortunately, on that last day, I kind of got sick, and I wasn't able to do it. But for the three days we were able to do it, I think it reached its intended goal. We ended up getting 666 views from people on social media, and I think, for what it's worth, I think that's very much worth it. We even had one person post on social media......
Amen, bro thank you for sharing !🔥🙌
..... And so, for me, being able to hear a comment like that from someone who needed to hear something that God used us to offer means it was worth the three days.
What lessons can be learned from the "Outpouring 2025" event for future faith-based social media campaigns?
M.King: You know, I think one of the things that we can learn from this event is that when you step out and do what God is calling you to do, God's super will always fall on your natural. To put it this way, it reminds me of when Peter asked Jesus, "Hey, can I walk on water?" And Jesus said, "Come." When Peter stepped out and reached out his hand, his hand met Jesus's hand. To me, that's social media. When God called us to do this, we stepped out of our boat, and we reached out, and Jesus was there to meet us. In turn, He blessed other people who viewed our social media campaigns, and I truly believe it's going to have an impact on them for quite a long time.