According to Edison Research, podcasting has grown by 40 percent over the last two years. Chances are, many in your church are already listening to a podcast — and those who are not will likely do so in the near future.

So, you may be wondering whether your church or ministry should have a podcast. Most congregations include people who are ready to embrace new technology and new techniques, as well as those who are skeptical and suspect of anything new.

Perhaps you are thinking of the two or three people in your church who will never listen to a podcast. Keep reading, and don’t worry about the naysayers for the next few minutes.

With their growing popularity, podcasts are a great way to reach deeper into your ministry and reach out to your community in the days to come. I love podcasts and would encourage you to start one, but I want you to go into it with both eyes open and make sure you have what you need to be successful.

Below are five questions to consider before starting a podcast.

Why are you doing this? Thousands of new podcasts start every day. But why are you considering creating one? If you don’t already have a purpose in mind for your podcast, you may want to reconsider doing it.

Many church podcasts are simply another way to post sermons online, which is great for your congregation. But there are other ways a podcast can expand your ministry reach as well:

• Providing additional sermon insights or context
• Providing commentary on global news for your local community
• Sharing stories from your church that reflect your values
• Highlighting a specific ministry area of the church

Are you ready to do the work required for a podcast? I currently co-host two podcasts. We post a combined total of four episodes each week. I can tell you that doing even one episode a week is likely more difficult than you think.

The 5 Leadership Questions Podcast is a conversational format and often includes a guest. This is what the workflow looks like for each episode:

The reality is that many podcasts don’t make it past 10 episodes.

• Schedule a guest
• Research the guest beyond his or her bio
• Set up recording equipment, and check sound quality
• Host the guest, and run the interview
• Do any necessary editing (we try not to edit at all)
• Write show notes and links for listeners
• Schedule social media marketing
• Schedule the email blasts
• Upload the episode to several platforms
• Share the episode with followers and friends

How often are you planning to post new content? Be sure you decide on a regular cadence for when people can expect you to drop an episode.

You expect the Sunday newspaper to be at the end of your driveway by 6:30 on Sunday morning. It will be hard for you to build consistent listeners if you are not consistent on when you post content. How often you post is up to you, but whether it’s weekly, biweekly or monthly, be sure you do it consistently.

Are you ready to get personal? A key component of many podcasts is that they are personal. Podcasts that seem scripted and heavily edited feel inauthentic.

Few people can truly pull off a one-man show, however. I would encourage you not to do a monologue unless the podcast is simply reposting a sermon.

Are you willing to give your podcast the time and effort it will need to grow? Podcasts are easy to start. In some cases, you can be up and running in a few hours.

The reality is that many podcasts don’t make it past 10 episodes. I would recommend that if you are going to launch a podcast, make at least a 12-month commitment to be sure you give it a fair shot. A year should be enough time for you to find your audience and your audience to find you.

You don’t have to do everything I outlined here to launch a podcast. We grew along with our podcast, and our workflow changed over time.

Don’t let the idea that you need a recording studio scare you away. Fancy equipment is not a requirement. You can use something as simple as GarageBand or Skype to record episodes if you are not ready to make a bigger investment. If you want a decent podcast setup, you can shop around and get everything you need for $400 or less.

Take heart: If you have made it to the end of this article without being dissuaded from starting a podcast, you probably have more than enough of what it takes to get it off the ground.

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2018 edition of Influence magazine.