Jake and Cathy Moore hope the music station leads listeners to their podcast
By Jeff Kurowski | On Mission
GREEN BAY — When Jake and Cathy Moore launched their podcast “TruthPop” in the spring of 2019, they set out to help listeners connect “Christ into culture.” Five and a half years later, they continue to offer the podcast, and have added an online Christian music station.
“We had a soft launch for TruthPop Radio in February of this year and started heavily promoting ourselves in April,” said Jake. “We promote the music station with the podcast. The way we look at it is the music is the wider net to reach as many people as possible. We hope that people start with the music station and that it introduces them to the podcast.”
Working in the Christian music industry in some form was in the plans for Jake from an early age, he said.
“The radio station has always been on my heart to do, even before launching the podcast,” he said. “Growing up as a kid, I loved listening to Christian music on the radio. I’ve been passionate about it.”
The couple, who married in July 2018, started their podcast while living in Green Bay. Jake was working as a producer at Relevant Radio in Green Bay at the time and Cathy was an occupational therapist at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital. They were members of St. John the Baptist Parish in Howard, where they served as faith formation mentors.
In the summer of 2021, Jake took a position at a Christian music radio station.
“Throughout my time of working at Christian music radio, I had a very positive experience where I felt accepted as a Catholic by the Protestants I worked with,” he said. “They would ask me great questions which challenged me to take my own faith seriously and to dig deeper. I began to notice how many Catholics listened to Christian music radio, and so God put it on my heart to create something for us.”
In May of 2023, the couple moved to the Chicago suburbs, which brought them closer to family. Jake returned to working for Relevant Radio, now headquartered in the Chicago area. Cathy works in home health therapy.
Live365 is the music provider for the 24/7 TruthPop Radio.
“While we still play most of the Christian music you will hear on any radio station, the difference is that you’re going to hear content between songs from Catholic creed,” said Jake. “We started airing ‘The Bible in a Year’ by Fr. Michael Schmitz. We partnered with some local Catholic priests in the Chicago area who are doing their own stuff online and are sharing some of their audio. We want to reach out to other Catholics who create their own content.”
Fr. Zach Weber, director of the Newman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, has given permission for audio clips of his preaching to be shared on TruthPop Radio.
Other content on TruthPop includes “Catholic Kernels of Truth,” which are one- or two-minute sound bites.
“We take something from the Catechism (of the Catholic Church) and explain it,” said Jake, a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. “It’s a quick way to get you thinking a little bit and plant that seed. We are targeting Catholics through the music station (TruthPop Radio) and also want to reach fallen-away Catholics.”
“We differ from most Christian music stations because we offer Catholic content, including prayers, Catechism knowledge, Scripture and encouragement,” said Cathy.
“Working on TruthPop has allowed me to learn more about the Catholic faith by researching and developing content,” she said. “When I help create podcasts and promotions, I’m not only speaking to the listeners, but to myself. I’m often challenged by the words I speak on TruthPop and this helps me live out my faith even more.”
The original TruthPop podcast, which launched the couple into their evangelization outreach five years ago, has evolved to be “more faith intensive,” said Jake.
“Around the time we were leaving St. Louis, we decided to change our content and audience,” he said. “We were previously heavy on pop culture, more focused on reviewing pop songs and movies. At that point, we were targeting an audience that was more outside the Catholic faith. We’re now seeking more of an audience that is regularly going to Mass and more familiar with the faith. We still talk about culture, but are now more focused on how to witness, how to evangelize, how to grow in meaningful relationships.”
“Jake and I try to be aware of how the Lord is speaking in our lives and we share ideas of what we may want to talk about on each podcast episode,” said Cathy. “We sometimes have to delay topics and ideas if another one makes more sense for that week. We often encourage each other to research or look more into a topic we may not be as familiar with.”
The Moores have also served as presenters as part of their ministry, including speaking at “Theology on Tap” events (faith talks held in a relaxed atmosphere such as a bar or restaurant to attract young adults). Jake said that they are open to more of those opportunities, “as many platforms as possible to share the Gospel”
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to build the kingdom of God in this way,” said Cathy. “I can be shy about evangelizing others individually, but it seems to come more naturally for me when I’m speaking on TruthPop. I want to grow more on evangelizing in a personal way, but I’m so happy that we can reach many people through this platform.”
TruthPop Radio and the TruthPop Podcast are available at TruthPop. TruthPop Radio is also available through the LIVE365 app. Download the app and search for TruthPop.
