Times they are a-changing

When we said new, we weren’t joking. When we said redesign, we meant it. Or, as we like to say around the ec offices, this ain’t your daddy’s ec.

And if you’ve gotten a peek at the new, improved ec, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The redesigned ec magazine has probably already found its way to your churches and shown up in your mailboxes. And if you’ve looked at it at all, you’ve probably noticed it’s not quite. . . . the same. And that’s a good thing. (Or at least we think so!)

That said, I’d like to spend some time talking to you about the changes you’re going to see. And I want to do more than just tell you that we made changes. I also want to tell you why.

Understand this: we didn’t go into this redesign and just make changes because we thought it might be fun to switch things up. We made changes because over the past year or so, we’ve been taking a good hard look at ec and evaluating the magazine. Does it say what we want it to? Does it achieve what our readers want it to? Is our way the best way to handle devos, stories, and issues teens are facing.

The truth: the resounding answer to that question was no. After conversations with teens all over the place—about devotions, stories, music, and magazines in general—we came the conclusion that our way probably wasn’t the best way. Our magazine wasn’t the magazine you needed it to be.

So change had to come.

And that’s what you’ll see with the new, improved ec magazine. We’re very aware that we don’t have all the answers, but we also know that we know the One who does. We fully recognize that we’re older than you and your high school experience isn’t the same as ours and we’re not afraid to say that you have it tough. We want to walk through all of this with you—disappointments, college decisions, dating, acne, music, depression, school, and dealing with your families. WE don’t know everything, but we want to walk through it all with you and point you to a God who never leaves you, forgets you, or falls asleep.

We hope you recognize that in the redesigned ec. The changes we’ve made don’t just include paper size and colors, but an attitude and voice. You know more than we give you credit for, and we want you to see what it means to really live for Christ in this crazy world. We want to encourage you, to walk beside you, to tell you what we’ve learned along the way. We want to keep you from the mistakes we’ve made and spur you on to a new level in your relationship with Christ.

So check back over the next week or so. We’ll be detailing the specific changes and talking about the reasoning behind those changes. First up (on Monday): devotions.