Start Strong 2026: A New Season and a New Way to Listen

Welcome to Wednesday in the Word. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. I have two exciting announcements to share today. First, season 27 of the Wednesday and the Word podcast begins February 4th, 2026. In this new season, we're doing a topical Bible study called Start Strong, a New Believers Podcast. Yes, this is a companion series to my new book, Start Strong, A New Believers Guide to Christianity. This is a series I've been looking forward to for a long time. I recently came across one of my earliest outlines for the book, and it was dated 2004. That's how long I've wanted to share this teaching with you. Both the book and the podcast season are for anyone who is new to the faith, coming back to the church after a long time away, or mentoring and discipling new believers. Each chapter of the book walks through a core truth of Christianity in clear, simple language, and then points you to Bible passages so you can see each idea for yourself in Scripture. In the podcast, we'll unpack one of those see for yourself passages. The book chapter gives you the big picture. The podcast episode helps you explore a passage that teaches that idea. This is the kind of resource I wish I'd had when I was a new believer. If you don't have the book, don't worry. You can still listen to the podcast and you'll get a lot out of it. But if you're listening or reading with a friend, a small group, or a book club, I've created free discussion questions for each chapter. Some are reflective, some are practical, and a few are just for fun. There's also a companion workbook if you want to reflect, journal, and apply what you're learning. And if you want to use this book as part of a Sunday school class, I've created a free lesson plan for each week. And one more resource, if you're using this book in your homeschool, you'll find quizzes for both middle school and high schoolers so you can check comprehension. And you can find all those resources at StartStrongbook.org. That brings me to my second announcement. Many of you have asked for an audiobook version of Start Strong. While a traditional audiobook isn't available yet, I have created a way for you to listen to the book through a subscriber-only podcast called Croissant Maratha's Bookcast. Each week I'll release an audio version of a chapter on the bookcast one week before the matching Start Strong podcast episode comes out. That way you can listen to the chapter first and then go deeper in the companion podcast. The bookcast will be available to paid subscribers only for only $5 a month. That's about the price of a cup of coffee. If you stay subscribed for three months, you'll hear the entire book for less than the cost of most audiobooks. You can cancel your subscription at any time or keep your subscription active. Not only will you support the show and the ministry behind it, you'll get access to future premium content as it's released. If you'd like to know more about any of this, check out the links below this podcast. Thanks so much for listening today, and I will see you soon at Wednesday in the Word.