Drawing close to 2 million unique visitors over the past month, GodTube.com not only became the nation's fastest-growing Web property in August, according to ComScore's Media Metrix, but has been dubbed by media outlets as the Christian alternative to YouTube.
Last week, GodTube also attempted to boost its appeal by adding social networking to the list of services that already include user-generated and live webcasting. While there already exists other Christian websites with similar offerings (dittytalk.com, videopile.com, mychurch.org, xianz.com), GodTube.com is the first to offer all three services.
And the triple-combination formula has been working.
Last month, the family-friendly website increased its traffic by 973 percent over the previous month and streamed 1.5 million hours of videos.
Chris Wyatt, CEO of GodTube, is not surprised, noting the vast potential market.
“You know, [there are] 2.1 billion Christians out there in the world, but really we're talking not only [about] the Christians but also the 4 billion out there that are seeking faith," Wyatt told ABC’s Nightline last week.
"Now we're going to take on the world,” said Wyatt. “You know, all of a sudden it's GodTube U.S. Then you're going to see GodTube in Español and in multiple languages.”
The multi-lingual feature of the site will be more than just a marketing strategy.
According to GodTube’s mission statement, the site exists to “connect Christians for the purpose of encouraging and advancing the Gospel worldwide.”
Wyatt first came up with the idea for GodTube two years ago after reading a Pew Internet survey saying that the percentage of Christians attending church regularly would drop by half by 2025 – from the 70 percent today.
In response, the website today targets not just non-believers but also a younger generation of Christians.
"We apply Web technology to the gospel in a way that appeals to young people," said Wyatt. "We call it Jesus 2.0."
Many other Christian ministries, megachurches, and Christian retailers, are also joining GodTube’s vision, including Garden Grove's 10,000-member Crystal Cathedral, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Virginia and leading Christian publisher Thomas Nelson Inc. of Nashville, according to the Los Angeles Times.
