New $10,000 EMPOW Awards Redefine Faith-Based Excellence in Modern Media
A renaissance in Armenian Christian media is underway, and at its heart lies the New $10,000 EMPOW Awards, an innovative funding and recognition initiative launched by Khachkar Studios.
These awards target creators of spiritually uplifting content—homilies, podcasts, and AI short clips—that meet five critical criteria: Engaging, Motivational, Powerful, Originality, and Wisdom. The EMPOW Awards aim to amplify messages that not only inform but transform.
With $250,000 committed for 2025, the program is one element of Khachkar Studios’ historically unprecedented $10+ million “Good News” campaign. This broader initiative seeks to reverse the steady decline in church attendance among U.S. Armenians by investing in storytelling that resonates.
What makes the EMPOW Awards different is their laser-sharp focus on outcomes. Khachkar Studios measures success using a singular metric: growth in the number of Non-Holiday Badarak Faithful. That’s the north star. From there, everything else follows.
This results-oriented philosophy also informs how the awards are granted. Rather than an annual event, the EMPOW Awards are designed to be recurring—monthly or even weekly—ensuring a continual stream of support to the most impactful creators.
Distribution is another key differentiator. Winning content doesn’t just collect dust; it gets shared—widely. Khachkar Studios will promote award-winning entries across digital and broadcast channels, and top-tier creators will be featured in educational content for developing Christian leaders.
The program is both timely and urgent. With only 3% of Armenians in the U.S. attending church regularly, Khachkar Studios believes the status quo must change. And they’re not waiting around for others to act. Compared to philanthropic benchmarks, they are already outspending all major Armenian-American foundations—combined—when it comes to religious engagement.
The EMPOW Awards also provide a necessary counterweight to years of underinvestment. By positioning media as a powerful evangelistic tool, Khachkar Studios is demonstrating that faith-driven content is not only viable—it’s vital.
In doing so, the New $10,000 EMPOW Awards are setting a new standard for how Christian excellence can look in the 21st century—digital, dynamic, and deeply grounded in truth.
