Misty Phillip  0:00  
You know, I always tell people use your story to give God glory. And I want to help people to spark that soul message that they have. Because we all have things that we're passionate about anyway that I can encourage and inspire people to do that. And Spark has been a definitely a way for me to do that.

Jerry Dugan  0:26  
 I'm your host, Jerry Dugan. And in just a moment, we're going to have a conversation with Peter and misty Philip, we're going to explore how this couple became a couple. And then from there, some of the struggles they've had in their lives in their marriage, and how they are sparking media across the globe. To help, I guess, bring glory to God is their mission. So they're the founders of Spark Media ventures, they help podcasters through their conferences, their collective their network, their magazine, and so on, as well as consulting to really hone in on their message to leverage the technology of podcasting, marketing, and getting the word out there to bring hope, encouragement, and a better life. So sit back and relax unless you're throwing peanuts into a glass jar just because you want to see if you can do it. Do both. So here we go. All right, Peter. Misty, welcome to Beyond the rut. How're you folks doing? 

Misty Phillip  1:25  
Hey, Jerry, so glad to be here. 

Jerry Dugan  1:27  
You guys are calling in from the great state of Texas as I am i You guys are down there in Houston. I'm up here in Dallas. And I always like when we have Texans because you know if this thing like deviates, and we talked about barbecue for an hour,

Misty Phillip  1:43  
don't get him started. Please don't.

We may. We may be here all day. 

Jerry Dugan  1:49  
Like I said, before we record we never know where we're going with this. So that would be a first actually if we wind up talking about barbecue the whole time that would that's Don't worry, guys. That's not where we're on here.

Peter Phillip  2:00  
The religious significance of barbecue and family table where you go, Passover.

Jerry Dugan  2:08  
I'm down with that. Some roasted lamb.

Don't take my firstborn, all that good stuff.

This is right up there when somebody tried to convince me that Die Hard was a Christmas movie. Christmas. There we go. I mean, I was convinced once I heard the arguments, I mean, yeah, there was a Christmas tree. There was It was Christmas Eve, I think, yeah, there was a Santa hat.

Somebody, somebody said, "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

Oh, yeah, we digressed very quickly, guys. I'm so sorry. We didn't even get it.

Now, the reason why I wanted to have you both on the show, we met through actually your venture Spark Media ventures, Rob Kirkpatrick and I were interacting a few months back, and he asked me, Jerry, are you going to spark conference? And I'm like, Huh.

I think I said that in the messenger, private message we had going back and forth, huh? And he said, Yeah, it's Spark podcast. It's a Christian podcast conference. And it's going to be in Dallas. And I was like, well take my money, you know, where do I go sign up. So that's how I learned about the two of you. And then I get to meet you in person in June of 2021. And you guys have been great, you ran a great event. Got to see the power of networking amongst the collective, the spark collective. And I thought, okay, that's, that's what people need a community of like minded folks on a similar mission, lifting each other up. That's the route that you're helping people get out of that I perceived, and I just needed to get you on the show. And of course, I'm there with my microphone, trying to be like, Billy on the Street. And I mean, if you folks don't know running a conference, it takes a lot of work. So if you think you can just like plop down, do an interview and then plop out to just anybody walks up with a microphone like me? No.

So I'm glad we were able to schedule some time get you on here. And that was just a long bout way to say thank you so much, Peter and Misty for jumping on here and doing this call with me. Absolutely. Glad to be here. Now. Tell us a little bit about your cells, because I saw just recently on Facebook, we're Facebook friends. The two of you. Well, I think Misty ratted you out, but she showed an older video picture of your wedding day, I think. And I was like, Man that or I was like stalking y'all guys, and I went too far back. But I saw an old picture of your wedding day. And I was like, wow, they were kids. So tell us a little bit how did you two meet? And you know, what was it that moment when you decided that's the person I'm going to marry me to take this one?

Misty Phillip  4:45  
Yeah, yeah. The real story. Oh, yeah.

Peter Phillip  4:49  
Not to put it to tourists to stories now. So actually, we met she was very young. She was 21 We met she was 21 I think it was 24

We met a pool hall actually, I was at the time I was, that's what I did for a living was play pool. And I saw her walking across the pool room and I thought, wow, so had the courage to go up and talk to her. And it was she was on a date with a friend and they another girl, and they were so they were like a double date or whatever. And they ditch those people. And we took them to breakfast.

And she didn't like me, she liked my brother. And

and so I wore down, you know, it's one of those just constantly being there and just wore down. And I think we were together for three or four weeks. And it was very busy became to a stoplight. And I just looked at her and I said, we're going to be together for the rest of our lives. And she just looked at me like yeah, what like, whatever.

Stalker away because I'm still wearing her down. And that was 29 years ago.

Jerry Dugan  5:54  
Now Misty, do you have it in your diary? Like, Hey, Peter told me a really funny joke today. From that moment,

Peter Phillip  6:00  
probably.

But I'm sure there was somewhere like, whatever, this is not happening. 

Misty Phillip  6:07  
All my friends were like, Oh, he's so key. What do you say to him? And I'm like, Are you sure cuz I don't know, this is the guy. But God knew. And that's the, that's the really cool part of the story is that God knew just that we perfectly complement each other, we're best friends. And we just he's very gifted in some areas, and I'm gifted in other areas. And those are really, really complementary. So I love that even though the way we started out, we had no idea that we would ever do something together, right? But through lots of years of difficulty and pain and hardship and grief and loss, and just the things that fortify you and make you more

like Christ. And then we just we love being together. 

Peter Phillip  6:57  
So yeah, we I don't think we realized when we were together that God's like, Okay, we're gonna give you 20 something years of sanctification.

So, the purification of our metal through fire has taken a while, but

we are happier, better as a couple in and more solid than we've ever been in our entire past, right? Because the youth is very different besides being just stupid when you're young, and just kind of winging it, and just, I just was such an idiot when I was in my 20s Like, it's, I've looked back and just and me too,

you know, to now where it's like, there's so much I say this all the time. I wish I had the confidence and comfort that I have now in myself that I back when I was 25 Right? To know those things and to not care about what doesn't really matter the rest of the world and other people and things to think and just be able to relish the relationship I have now like to have that feeling that that depth of love that understanding that bond which is so different. It was when it's young, it's filled with passion and excitement and it's all this Yeah, it's like fireworks right and now it's more like watching fireworks so I don't have to do all the work I don't have to pop it in now I can just take you know that I can go home more comfortably right. So it's still an amazing spectacular show. But the stupid stuff I did to try to not blow my hand off like that's not there anymore. Now it's

it's so I'll take this over that any day. Not that I that it was that fun then but but the way God has bonded our hearts and knitted us together is just spectacular. I just can't I can't get over what he's done in our life together. So it's pretty amazing. Nice. Now were you both Christians when you met each other, or was that something that developed later on? Yeah, I grew up Catholic so I'm gonna Italian family right and I was the firstborn son so I was supposed to be a priest right? That was destined that was like or inherit the family well, right. But then we either would write and take over the ticket with a family business kind of a Corleone thing there but

Jerry Dugan  9:03  
I almost drowned on my coffee there.

Peter Phillip  9:07  
But you know, that was altar boy. And you know, that kind of grown up very different than more the more Protestant style

belief system that we're in now, which is more Baptist in that, I think you grew up. I grew up Catholic and also but in college, I had a conversion experience and fell in love with the Lord didn't walk with him, like we're still kind of had one foot in the world and

Misty Phillip  9:37  
and it took us a couple of years to find our way. Because Peter was very, like, he loved the Catholic Church, the comfort of the church and just like the stained glass and ritual the pews

like, yeah, and I was like, put the Bible and Jesus and,

and so we ended up finding a church.

Just to go to you and we got bad times together and it was just really sweet and, and really kind of grew up in our faith together. 

Jerry Dugan  10:09  
Good, good. Yeah. I always was like asking that one when I get an opportunity to ask that one because,

yeah, Liv and I were not attending church regularly at the time we met, she had a much closer upbringing in the Catholic Church, whereas I was in and out of a variety of different ones. But it was claiming to be agnostic and atheist by the time we met. And, anyway, you wouldn't know it by knowing me now. But yeah, that came later. came later for us. Yeah. Now, so that was like the early years, you added some kids to the family. And I met a couple of them already. Now there are what three altogether? Yes, we've had. Yeah, we've had we've lost several as well. So in between those three.

Misty Phillip  10:55  
We had a miscarriage. We had a tubal pregnancy that nearly killed me. And then our Yeah, we had a son who was born with trisomy 18. He was still born. So we have those kids on top of our three kids. We got Angel babies in heaven, as well. And that's hard. I.

Jerry Dugan  11:16  
Yeah, I've got some friends who've who've lost kids, both as babies and later on. And what was something that you were both able to lean on to keep from falling apart? Because that is something that tends to tear couples apart is losing a child here, you've got three. 

Peter Phillip  11:30  
Yeah, I know, our middle son Connors is he's special, right? He's a special needs kid. And that families and couples with special needs kids have like a 70%. More like in the 90, like really, publicly it's claimed is 76 or 74%, or whatever, but it's staggeringly high. Because the stress and strain that goes with it depends on the severity of the condition. And a lot of what goes along with that, right, because there's a huge financial burden, anything special needs is 10 times it's just 10x, whatever it normally be, even if it's the same product, like we used to find things for Connor, like these therapy pedals that you would velcro to his feet and velcro to a bike to try to teach them how to ride a bike. They were like $150, it was a piece of plywood, some Velcro and a screw like that made our own stuff. I'd make our own things like stupid. So that financial burden and stress that goes along with that plus the the just some of the challenges that occur with a special child where you there's no downtime, there's no, you know, depending on what their condition is. So us having that. And then we found out that Liam was going to have that Liam had Trisomy 18, there was a lot of grief for him. But we knew he was going to be our son No matter what, like we were just I mean, that's what it was going to be right. That's what God gave us. And that's what we're going to do. So I think Connor was some very much help in getting us prepared for what was going to be very challenging because Trisomy 18, boys never live very long. Rarely, girls can live to the teenage years, and some older, but the boys typically don't make it to the teenage years at all. So we were mentally understood what was going on. And that challenge. And when that happened, it was devastating. And, and, and

in trying. But I think having our faith and knowing that God just said, You know what, I'm just going to take him and he's not gonna suffer. That was for us more empowering than just because you used to say all the time, I can't believe going through this and not having faith in the Lord like not having, not having that Well, that just such an emptiness and such a void that you would have to embrace to say, well, there's nothing now and that's, that was you talked many times about how terrible that would be. And that's what really short us up and support us. 

Misty Phillip  13:41  
Yeah, and just I would just say, our faith in general, I was reading a book at the time that I was pregnant with Liam called 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. And it's about being grateful and thankful and, and I began just thanking God for everything. And I think that heart of gratitude and that closeness, God really had us in, in a, in a comfort bubble, that peace that passes understanding. So much so that we were able to minister to other people

at the funeral of our son.

And we shared the gospel, and my, I had lost my brother growing up. And so my mom had lost a son, and then I had lost a son. And the way we handled those things were very different. Because we could say, bless it be the name of the Lord, and she didn't get it. But I think ultimately, that and sharing the gospel at Liam's funeral helped bring my mom to Christ and so you know, there are so many layers to to it not only were we ministering to people in the midst of our pain, they would try to call us and reach out to us but God was holding us so so close and so tight through it all but I definitely agree with with Peter that having Connor prepared us for what possibly could be and when the doctors

said we want you to abort, we said he's fearfully and wonderfully made. And God has a purpose and a plan for his life no matter how long he lives. And, and yeah, 

Jerry Dugan  15:10  
Wow! Thank you

for sharing that I knew when I went to spark conference, you had mentioned to the the audience that they all knew your story. I'm like, I don't know that story. And I didn't know what I was getting into till just now. And, you know, thank you for sharing that with all of us. Because there are a lot of people out there who try to struggle through this alone, and they try to bottle it up, and you have to be open about it. And even if it's reopening those wounds a little bit, it is reaching somebody, we will probably never, never ever meet until you know, we're going to heaven one day. And that always blows my mind. I mean, just telling me about the person who was saved. From all this, I got choked up, because, you know, it's, it's almost always connected in some way. We don't know, we just don't know until we get to that point, we get a little glimpse of how God's using our pain and our our tragedies for for the better.

Very true, man. And it's clear that not only did you know, God keep you together while you're going through this turmoil. But because of that you also were able to heal and you're healing from all that.

Now, there's probably no great way to segue into what you do now with the spark collective Spark Media and all that. But how do we bridge from that story from that testimony into what you're doing now together as the dynamic what I refer to as the dynamic duo. I'm trying to get it to stick. We'll see.

Misty Phillip  16:42  
Let me take this one. So we it's just another little part of this story of ours is is Peter worked from home a lot, and I homeschooled our boys. So our family was always together. I mean, we homeschooled for 20 years. So our kids were home, we were all together. So there's that that tight knit part of our relationship. And as our oldest son went to college, and I said, I think I'm supposed to write a Bible study. And I said, I could write about this, or I could write about that. And one of the things was about overcoming and he said, Maybe that's your life story. He said, that's what you need to write. And so I wrote a Bible study called The struggle is real, but so is God. Because you're right, Jerry, everybody has struggles, big struggle, small struggles, people may not have experienced the same struggles that we have, they may have experienced far worse, there are people all over the world who are struggling, or, or maybe not even as bad. But whatever the struggle is, it's bad for you. Right? And but God is bigger than all of our struggles. And so that is kind of a foray into this. We first started speaking at Texas, right to life, then it led to the Bible study. And then for years, they were saying you need to podcast, maybe you need to podcast, they bought my mic. They bought the equipment. And I like moved it around the house, because I was like I did. You're like, I'm not sure we're starting that podcast. Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do that someday.

But six months before the Bible study launched, I started the podcast by His grace. And we never looked back after that. It was it's just been a fun journey, I started to see how I was reaching people from the comfort of my own home, around the world with encouraging messages of hope, and to share the gospel. I mean, how amazing is that? That we can, I can be in Houston, Texas, and I can be talking to people in India or Africa, or South America or literally all over the world. And that was just, I just saw how cool that was. And from there that led to spark. And it's been quite a journey. Yeah, it's, I mean, the backstory about us working together all the time. 

Peter Phillip  19:05  
We've been together as a family for forever, right? It was, I mean, yeah, I had, I did consulting, and I was home a lot. My kids thought I was unemployed for a while.

And so, you know, which was great. I loved being able to be around my family all the time. And homeschooling afforded us a lot of the, you know, everybody takes summer vacations, we took ours at the end or before, and there was no crowds, no people and so my kids didn't experience this the madness of like everybody else in the world, taking a vacation. So it was really, really fun. Which set us up for doing this. It was a logical evolution of, you know, she's like, I got to do something, you know, eltra Try my kids and save their lives. So, you know, and the calling was, I mean, the calling was obvious is could be because, right when we hit on the let's write this Bible study about overcoming. We go to church on Sunday, and the sermon is about overcoming and we're like, why?

And then they had a guest who came, who sings a song about it, who was like a famous Christian singer that misty loved. She sings the song, and I'm looking at her like, really like, How much more does he need to tell you is time to write this Bible study like, this is stupid. Like, we gotta write this. So and that was a family thing, right? So we would, she would do the writing. And then we would mirror the computer to the TV and we'd all sit on the couch and edit every single line of the entire Bible Bible study together, went through this multiple revisions, like three years worth in multiple years, then sending it to a, you know, a paid editor and then coming back and kind of doing that. And that started the, okay, let's do this together. And then our talents are uniquely balanced, in that I'm on the technical side, the background, the I do all the graphics and all that stuff. That's, but she's just got the heart in the head, and brings that brings that to the front. And then together, it's a good it's a perfect marriage of us saying, literally a perfect marriage of a saying, you know, when together, we're much more dynamic and powerful than her just trying to do it alone, or me just coming out being this technical nerd about it, like kind of bringing it together, she smooths out my edges. And I put the spotlight on her like, like she should have, so it works out really well. 

Jerry Dugan  21:11  
Nice. And then you brought one of your sons into the fold as well, because I met him at Spark and then met him again over at Podcast Movement. How did he get into this? I mean, he's already in proximity, of course. But he kind of had this aha moment, like, hey, I can help people as well. 

Misty Phillip  21:27  
Yeah, he graduated in 2020. I mean, come on. The world is crazy. In May of 2020. Everybody is trying to figure out, you know, what, what's happening in the world. And he came to us, and he said, I don't want to go to college. And we're like, well, we don't really blame you. And we saw our friends whose kids were going to college that fall really struggling because they were having to

Unknown Speaker  21:56  
quarantine and they were at school, they were not at school, it was just it was a mess. It was a messy year. But we said you're gonna have to be productive. And it was my recommendation. I said, Son, why don't you start a podcast editing business because my boys had grown up with music lessons. And we gave them video cameras when they were little and let them like make movies and they manipulated sound files and made music and did all these different things. And I was like, you know how to do this. And I said, and I have all these women who come to me that don't want to have to do that. And, and the rest was literally history. He started with one client that led to another one, he got a publishing house that he does their recordings. And now he's got like, 15 clients, I think, and he is just rocking it. 

Jerry Dugan  22:46  
Yeah. And that's a really brilliant move on his part to say, yes, like, I trust you. I'm great idea. Let me do this. Because there are a lot of people out there, they want to start a podcast, they want to get their voice out there. But they're intimidated by or they don't have time for the technical pieces, and then enter somebody who has the technical pieces, and is like, hey, I can help you with that, you know, for this fee, or the structure. This is what I can do. And this is how I can help you. And that provides a solution for folks. So it's, you know, if you're out there thinking, that's not for me, or maybe I want a podcast, but I don't want to handle all the technical stuff. There's somebody out there, in fact, I'm talking to his mom right now. 

Misty Phillip  23:27  
And the really cool thing about it too, as as as parents, he works with all these Christian podcast that he's hearing every day, he is hearing so many amazing messages of, you know, God's redemption and His grace and His love and the word and the Bible and all of these things. So it's kind of a two fold thing because he's being fed spiritually whether he realizes it or not. That's cool, too. It's getting bread on the table and bread in the soul. Right? That's right. 

Jerry Dugan  24:02  
What does it Shea Watson is always talking about the pantry podcast where you put in your pantry. 

Misty Phillip  24:06  
Right spiritual nourishment. 

Jerry Dugan  24:07  
Yeah. Oh, yeah. So quick, random shout out to the Watsons there.

Peter Phillip  24:14  
Really good people. 

Jerry Dugan  24:15  
Yeah. Which I also met them through y'all as well. I mean, they had done a spin off and then y'all are connected. And then I'm like, oh, and these guys are awesome. And then have them on the show. So yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Good people. So I mean, just like you said, now. So you had your podcast that you launched, you were getting traction with that. And then you decided to start Spark Media. And tell us tell us about that. Because I mean, you know what it is, I know what it is from just the last few months of us interacting with each other. But the folks listening and they're like, he keeps saying spark but what the heck is that? So what does Spark Media do and the spark collective and and then of course, the cool thing that you just announced just earlier, well, just a month ago was spark magazine. So yeah, yeah. 

Misty Phillip  25:05  
So spark was an answer to prayer. I had asked God, where does my gifting in my calling lineup in this next season of my life and he was like podcast conference and I'm like a podcast conference what? I've never even been to a podcast. I've never been to one I blew my mind to learn that, by the way.

I've been to writing and speaking conferences. And so I had an idea of what that would look like. But God really showed me that Christian podcasters were Christian podcasts are the largest category on iTunes, yet the least underserved in with what's happening in the marketplace. And so I just stepped out and said, Yes, God gave me the name Spark, he gave me the date, I got a venue, I just started calling my friends saying, Hey, I'm going to start this conference, would you be willing to speak and from there, God just opened one door after another, and the first spark happened just weeks before the pandemic. And the cool thing about that is all of these people came, we had standing room only in the hotel that we had rented. And it was just a love fest of podcasting. We had people from the industry that were there, we all love these connections were made. And it was just amazing. And weeks later, the world shut down. And so all of these people who had been to spark had made connections, I think, probably 15 podcasts were launched out of that conference. And so people were able to have time in the pandemic to start and then that's how the collective was born.

Jerry Dugan  26:46  
And the collective Is it primarily a Facebook group of folks who have come together who are like minded? Or is there a membership website that they go to? Because remember, when I went just this June 2021, I was amazed at how many folks already knew each other, they've been connected in a community. So yeah, how does the collective get together? And, you know, synergize, like, I saw them do? 

Misty Phillip  27:07  
Yeah, so we took those first initial videos from the conference, and put them into a video library. And so people have access to training. And then I interview people all the time in the industry, talking about what's happening in the industry. And so we have this video library that they go to, we also do masterminds and group coaching, and one on one consulting all to help coach and train. But I think where we really shine and what differentiates us from what anybody else is doing in the marketplace is the strategic partnerships that I've developed with people like the NRB, where we hosted our conference within their conference, it was a really Inception type moment where we had a conference within a conference, but I am all about building relationships and collaborations to help because I know that as Christian communicators, it can be a very competitive marketplace. But as someone who loves the Lord and the Gospel, I want to find ways that we can work together to to advance the kingdom. And so I think that is just as how it's grown from the collective to then our, you know, we we partnered with POD fest to do a faith track for us, or Global Media Summit, and we set a Guinness Book of World Records there for the largest online podcast conference. Then we hosted our own spark now Summit, Peter ran all of the tech, we did it partially live in our home and partially pre recorded and we met in zoom. And it was a really amazing experience. So we were able to and we did that election week, because I saw that people were Yeah, people were all of my friends who are podcasters, who were the ones who were the encouragers, they were getting discouraged with what was happening. And because the summer of 2020, in the fall with the election, it was just all really heavy. And I was like, No, y'all, we are still here. God has us on mission and we need to be busy about what we're doing. So we did that. And then we started to plan and prepare for the spark that you attended. And and then during that time, we one of our strategic partnerships was with glory stone that we created a podcast network, and now we are, you know, looking to advance the network. And then from there, we launched the magazine. So it's really been a series of, of like, Okay, God, what's next? And then he opens the door and we walk through it, and we continue to, you know, make partnership arrangements with other people who are doing some really fun, interesting things. And it's been it's been a blast. 

Jerry Dugan  29:52  
Now, what are some of the things you do to identify who is that strategic relationship? Because me whether somebody's in podcasting, or or they're in real estate development, or I'm trying to think of another entrepreneurship type of venture venture, but I just went blank there. But anyway, so strategic partnerships, strategic relationships and contacts are a part of succeeding in anything that we do. How did you identify and discern if that was the right strategic partnership to have or not have? 

Misty Phillip  30:23  
Yeah, so one of the first things that sort of started me on this path was, I formed a board. So Rob Kirkpatrick from Focus on the Family is on my board. There are some other prominent people who are on my board, who advise me, and I think that there's wisdom and a multitude of counsel. But one of the things that I wanted spark to be made known for is that biblical worldview. And just to have a really, I want to be a place for Christian podcasters, to gather, I want to equip, train and encourage and inspire them. So that's kind of like I want to work with Bible believing people. I think that's kind of one of the one of the main things. So one of our partnerships, one of our other first initial partnerships was with pray.com. And so they're a prayer app, and number one prayer app, and those types of relationships. 

Peter Phillip  31:19  
Now, I want to circle back what I think, you know, when you ask about how does Misty make those decisions, one of the things she's amazing at is, is being a connector, she has a lot of relationships, she's connected to a lot, a lot of people, but that the way she interacts it, God has just kept delivering more and more people to her that here's another relationship. And here's another, and they she is naively unaware of how well known she is which I love. Because it's not it's not a it's not an ego thing at all. It's just, she has such a heart for the Lord. And this wants to work to further the kingdom. And that's like her. That's her driving passion. It's not money. It's not time, it's not some kind of recognition or notoriety. She actually doesn't like that part. And I think he's rewarded that in delivering and we if there's things we've turned down and said, That's not for us like that way that sounds great. But that's not going to work for us right now. And but she's done a tremendous job of saying, you know, how can we benefit each other? It's always about the mutual benefit. It's not, well, what are you going to do for Spark? What do you How is that going to make us? I don't know, it's always how can we help each other? Or how can I help my people in my community, because it is the collective is an online community. It's a subscription base, where you have all the training and all the videos, and then she has consulting, which is consulting with Misty, that gives you one on one deep interactive time to kind of further what you're doing with your podcasts are multiple topics can be covered. And that drive in that. That passion for her people. And the people in the community always shows because of the relationships that she's developed in the thing, she just brings them right away. So if you're in the community, you're getting a force multiplier in her ability to connect with other businesses and people and bring it to the community and say, Hey, guys, here you go, how'd you like to make virtually unlimited money by producing a three minute video? Will you get paid X number of dollars per video all the time, just make the video that's, that's a revenue stream right away. And for most people who are podcasting, this is not a money making business. Most of them are not making any money at all. They're usually burning money, right? They're paying for their hosting, they're paying for their site, they're paying for their equipment. Very few people are making money. And so always striving to help ease that burden further that message in the kingdom, but always uplift her people. So it's a pretty, it's a, it's a pretty amazing thing she has woven together that the Lord has really kind of delivered for her. But she won't say these things and she won't bring it forward. So I have to say it and bring it forward. That's why I had both of you on here. Just been like you wouldn't hurt anything, man. 

Jerry Dugan  34:00  
And I've seen that in action when I was at Spark conference just June 2021. Just her connecting folks and it was like just a nonstop celebration for those three days. And then I had the honour of meeting up with her and Ian at Podcast Movement. And then we went to the mixer that that first evening Tuesday evening, which was basically her party. It was like every every interaction I've had with Spark Media has been a celebration, a let's get together let's connect and not so much about Look at me, look at me, look at me. It's like look at what we're doing together, look at so and so's success, the awards ceremony at the end of Spark conference. That was everybody celebrating each other, you know, because you had to be nominated by somebody. And then you had to be voted on by the community and the folks beyond that community. So everybody who had won some kind of recognition. It was truly that community at Spark collective at spark community doing that, and I can see that in the few times I've interacted with you both that you are creating that environment, that safe space for folks to synergize and bounce ideas off each other get excited for each other. And the collaboration I've seen, you know, we mentioned the Watson's earlier, you know, the two of them. Nick Ruffin. Oh, man, the other two folks I just met and I can't remember the names right now. But even at Spark conference, the the five or six of them, went off, had dinner together, and then in a living room recorded a group panel that became episodes on each other shows. I'm like, Man, that's so cool. It's always getting fired up. And I think in any other situation, folks would be like, Well, why did they leave me out? I just met them. I thought they were cool. And it was like, that's not spark. You know, they were all like, this is cool. Yeah, way to go. That is awesome. You just published the book. That's awesome. I had, you know, so and so she's a publisher. And you just see that going on? And so if you hadn't heard that, I mean, you probably have, but if you hadn't heard it today, this is me telling you. 

Peter Phillip  36:06  
It's not that close from Misty that really does. I mean, you know, the, you know, the saying, right, I got companies, the company culture is come from the leader, right. And so, they drive that culture. So, think of this representatively as a company, right. And it is, it is a open Facebook community, a private Facebook community. It is a it's a subscription website is a network, it is a magazine, all of those things like that culture, and how that feel, the way the conference feels, right? That was the one thing we heard time and time again. But like this, the best counselor I've been to, I've been to 20 conference, this was, I've never felt like I felt the Holy Spirit here. I felt the love and the kindness and tenderness for each other. Right? Well, that only flows from one thing, right, if that flows from her, and so that culture being pushed out is it's chose that that's the Lord representing himself as that, as that connector that that that compassionate leader right is flowing out of her through that. I see that because I see how hard she works behind the scenes to get all these people enabled and empowered and connected, right. And it's, it's a lot of work. She's She was she looked at me a few times it goes, I got myself a job. Why did I do this? How did I get myself a job? Like, I could have just been playing tennis, you know? And do it whatever. It's so not you.

You can't not do that. So yeah. Nice. Now, I want to say one thing real quick. I mean, revolutionary, but I really loved at the award ceremony that you just showed up guerilla style, and started a podcast interviewing people in the room. So I wish we had some we might have some video with somewhere, I think. But you got to put that out. I love seeing you. You do set up at the table right there and just started, right when the awards are over. Like you got set up. I thought How appropriate, is it that you're just going to, you know, interview people on a podcast at a podcast conference at the award ceremony for podcasting. I thought that was great. I love the Thank you.

Jerry Dugan  38:06  
I got the idea from Jared Easley, who founded Podcast Movement. He didn't he doesn't do it at his own conference. But he goes off to like fin con and a couple other places and just interviews them right there on the spot. And I'm like, That's a brilliant idea. I want to do that someday, or he, you know, meet up with some friends in another city. And they would just record in a coffee shop. And I'm like, that sounds cool. Like, they're probably not even eating food or drinking coffee. They're probably just clinking plates and cups together every so often.

But it's Saturday. Yeah. And so I thought that'd be great. So I did that at another conference. And it worked out really well. And coming right off of that awards. Awards ceremony was perfect, because everybody was hyped up. And, you know, I was able to interview one person and tell her what the show was about. And then she I think, was Michelle Watson actually turns around and brings Paul Hastings up to the mic. And then Paul turns around and gets Gloria Quadroon up to the mic, and then they somebody ground. Who was they get the the people's favorite. She has the podcast about pornography. Paula. Now Rosie McKinney. Rosie McKinney. Love. Yeah. So somebody grabs her because we were talking about like, what was the most downloaded episode for be on the right and was like, it was the one where we had this guy talk about pornography and sexual impurity among men. And they're like, Oh, you need to get Rosie on here. And then somebody dragged her up there and got her on the mic and and so it was like four or five people back to back to back like the whoever was on the mic, went ahead and grabbed somebody else to get on the mic who got somebody else to get on the mic. And I thought this is brilliant. I should have done this the whole time. Like, just do full on episode. So that might be my strategy in 2020 to just go to two or three conferences. It's like Spark and just set up guerilla style and right there that's like five or six weeks worth or 10 weeks because everybody there specifically spark conference. It has some sort of story of coming out of a run

They either hit rock bottom, or they got stuck in life, and then headed on their heart to get out of that rut. And now that story, that testimony is what's bringing other people out of the rut. And I'm like, that's exactly what the show is all about is, you know, how did your story? What was your story of getting out of a rut? How do you help people get out of the rut? What are some of those success stories? What are those practical advice, pieces that you can give folks who are listening in, and a Christian podcast conference has just a wealth of stories like that, and I would have been dumb not to bring the microphone.

Misty Phillip  40:35  
Well, and the funny thing is, Jerry is that that's exactly how I started my podcast was I went to a conference, and I recorded in the, in my hotel room in the pre conference, because I had all of these women who were there who had all of these stories. And so I took my mic, I set it up in the hotel room, I still have those episodes up, they're really rough in comparison to to where I'm at now in my podcasting journey, but it was it was like Chris Kermit says it, you know, start ugly, it was ugly, when I started it was, but it was all of these people who had these messages. And so I think conferences are a great place to to get started. And similar, you know, people have stories that they want to share it and mine were about the struggles that interviewed all these people and their struggles. But we talked about how God saw them through just like you'd be on the rat. Yeah. 

Jerry Dugan  41:27  
Oh, man. Yeah, exactly. I mean, just gotta get out there and get this story sharing with other people. So what's next on the horizon? For spark? 

Misty Phillip  41:35  
Yeah, so we are, you know, working on the next issue of the magazine. So we're doing a quarterly issue of the magazine. And the intent of that is really to continue to amplify the voice of, of Christian podcasters. It's been really well received. And so we're really excited about that. We want it to be a publication that it has tips and, and tells the story of the podcaster, but also has encouragement in there. So So we're working on the next issue. We've loved our partnership this year with the NRB. That worked out really well. So we are, we're working out what spark will look like next year at the NRB. Because we want to partner with them, again, probably just in a pre conference type capacity, or maybe a one day half day event so that we can take advantage of everything happening at the NRB. One of the things that we did, there was the live podcasting on the NRB. Floor. And they want to expand that from four podcast booths, to you know, two or three times the size. So I want to be able to take advantage of that because I was running around like a crazy person. Yeah. Conference interview conference. This. I mean, I did 12 interviews in between radio, television and podcast in between the event. So yeah, 

Jerry Dugan  42:54  
I saw you scrambling almost the entire time. I was like, go go go.

Peter, what do you see on the horizon for Spark?

Peter Phillip  43:04  
You know, the idea there's, there's when we kind of started this we had we came up with seven offerings from Spark, right. And so we've rolled out four of those, I think. And so there's three more coming, that are already planned to really further into the community and teaching, you'll be rolling through the remainder of the year and next year. But I think aligning with our partnerships is really sort of crucial for us, because we have a lot of them. But ones that are first spark are going to really help. It's always a mutual it's a partnership in that sense that it's mutually beneficial for everyone. But how does that really focus to the core may spark media? And that's, that's the future for us is making? Sure. Not not that loose for this. And not that I'm saying that's started having all these chips in your left ear sticky thing, maybe not like the bay? No, that's not gonna work. But stay. Let's stay focused. So I think those kind of those two, two fronts for us are going to be crucial. Because we want that message we want it's all about the message, right? It's the message is the most important piece and staying true to that, I think is going to be what we're really going to focus on. At least that's what I'm doing. I don't know. 

Misty Phillip  44:22  
Yeah, no, I love it. You know, I always tell people use your story to give God glory. And I want to help people to spark that soul message that they have. Because we all have things that we're passionate about. And we all have things that we can do to bring glory and honor to God. And so any way that I can encourage and inspire people to do that, and Spark has been a definitely a way for me to do that. So 

Jerry Dugan  44:47  
perfect. That's the perfect spot to close up our time as well. And Peter, Misty, I'm so glad that you were able to take some time on this long weekend to join us here on the on the right. 

Misty Phillip  44:58  
Thanks, Jerry. This has been fun so much.

Peter Phillip  45:00  
Appreciate it. 

Jerry Dugan  45:01  
Now, we just heard from Peter and misty as they shared their story about their struggles and trying to have children, raising a special needs child, and then venturing into a media company that helps other Christians start a podcast, thrive in their podcast, and get their message out into the world. Now, if you're inspired to learn more, check out the show notes at beyond the rut.com/ 301. And there you'll find links to their website, a little bit more information about Peter and Misty. And you'll also see some similar episodes that we've done here on Beyond the right now, maybe we inspired you, maybe we put somebody's name in your mind, who would also love this episode, the best way to pay this show back is to pay us forward. So however, you're listening to us, hit the share button on your device. It sent this episode to someone you feel would get a lot out of it, be entertained by it, be inspired by it. Any of those things would be awesome, not just for us, but also for the person who you're sharing this with. Now, I'm glad you joined me this week, and I'm looking forward to joining you again next week. But until next time, go live life beyond the run. Take care

Transcribed by https://otter.ai