The company known for the last 30 years as Strang Communications is rebranding itself as Charisma Media.

The Feb. 1 name change caps a series of recent corporate shifts, including relaunching the company's flagship publication—Charisma magazine—and renaming its book division. Founder and CEO Steve Strang said that the moves not only position Charisma Media for growth in the digital age, but also undergird the organization's purpose of "inspiring people to radically change their world" through the company's diversified resources.

The company is best known for its magazines such as Charisma, Ministry Today and Christian Retailing. But its book group—now called Charisma House—has grown rapidly in recent years with 10 books on the New York Times best-sellers, becoming the largest part of the company.

The company's Spanish group, called Casa Creación, was the fastest-growing part of the organization in 2010. The company is stepping up its digital products, which include a free Charisma News application, electronic books, e-newsletters and digital editions of its magazines that have readership in the top tier of digital magazines nationally.

"Charisma is our strongest brand," Strang writes in a column in the February issue of the magazine. "It refers not only to spiritual gifts, but also to our calling and passion to serve God and the church. Media signifies the diversified ways we can communicate—not only in print through magazines and books, but also online, via apps and the myriad of other digital vehicles."

A new Charisma Media logo shows the initials CM as a flame in a pot of oil, signifying the flame of the Holy Spirit. The company's corporate Web site has been relaunched as charismamedia.com, with a new sign being erected in front of the company headquarters in Lake Mary, Fla.

The company's other brands such as Charisma, Ministry Today and Christian Retailing magazines as well as Creation House and Casa Creación remain the same. However, the entire book division will now go by Charisma House instead of Strang Book Group.

Long recognized as an innovator, the company has become known as the leading charismatic/Pentecostal publisher in the world. It has also been acknowledged as the premier publisher of charismatic titles and health books from a Christian perspective.

Many of the company's staff have been recognized for excellence, mostly through the Evangelical Press Association and the Florida Magazine Association. Casa Creación has been named Publisher of the Year four times by the Spanish Evangelical Products Association.

The company also recently had five books sell more than 1 million copies—most recently 23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese and Heaven Is So Real! by Choo Thomas. The company staff also reflects the ethnic diversity of the church market it serves, with 43% of the staff being considered "minority."

In 1975, Strang, then a 24-year-old newspaper reporter, persuaded the leaders of megachurch Calvary Assembly in Winter Park, Fla., to start a small magazine called Charisma. After rapid growth, the magazine spun off on its own within six years. Since that time, Strang's wife, Joy, has helped him as co-owner to build the company, serving not only as chief financial officer, but also in other strategic roles—including heading up the rebranding process.

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