NEW EDITOR AT CHARISMA

Charisma, the leading periodical for Spirit-filled believers worldwide, has named a new editor as part of a multifaceted initiative to better serve readers with a redesigned print magazine, expanded digital editions and a new smartphone application.
Marcus Yoars, who has served as editor of Ministry Today for the last three years, is only the third editor of Charisma in the magazine’s 35-year history of reaching the charismatic/Pentecostal/Spirit-filled community. Yoars, 34, has been in the publishing industry for more than 15 years, including serving as an editor for Thomas Nelson, LifeWay and Focus on the Family. Born and raised on the missionary field in Hong Kong, he is a graduate of Auburn University.

Yoars fills the post vacated by award-winning journalist J. Lee Grady, who resigned in January to focus on international ministry after 11 years as editor of Charisma. Grady will continue as a contributing editor to the magazine.

Starting with the May issue, Charisma will have a new design, a new slogan (“Life in the Spirit”) and enhanced content that still includes what the magazine is known for: compelling stories, practical teaching, commentary and news about "what the Holy Spirit is doing around the world."

“It’s a new day for Charisma,” Yoars says. “We’ve been preaching that around the Strang offices for months, but it’s exciting to finally see things taking shape as we transition into a new Charisma starting in May. Lee Grady did a phenomenal job of further establishing the magazine as a hub in the Spirit-filled community, and I plan to continue that ongoing conversation with longtime readers and critics alike. It just might look a little different and take place in some new vehicles.”

Charisma will also launch in May a new smartphone application that allows mobile-phone users to read breaking news, entertainment reviews, feature stories and more. The app, which is among the first provided by a Christian magazine, will be free and will allow users to better connect with the magazine’s newly organized Web site, www.charismamag.com.