Manna Nation: Building a Vertical Shorts Experience for a Faith-Based OTT Platform
How Flicknexs made short-form vertical video a native part of a faith-based Christian media platform — on the homepage and inside every partner profile, running on one reusable, admin-managed dynamic template.
How did Flicknexs build Vertical Shorts for Manna Nation?
Quick answer: Flicknexs built a Vertical Shorts experience for Manna Nation, a faith-based Christian OTT platform associated with Pastor Rick Wiles. Shorts live on the homepage in a “Today's Best Shorts” row placed after Live TV and Today's Recommended Podcasts, and inside each partner's reusable profile template. The build runs on a dynamic, admin-managed structure rather than hard-coded videos, and is implemented in staging pending final approval.
Flicknexs builds faith-based OTT platforms where Shorts, podcasts, playlists, live programming and long-form video connect inside one structured content journey.
Quick overview: the project at a glance
That table is the short version. The rest of this page is the long version, because the interesting decisions did not fit into a single row each.
Who Manna Nation is, and what they were up against
Manna Nation is a faith-based Christian media platform associated with Pastor Rick Wiles. It carries Christian programming, podcasts, video content, and other faith-focused media, all of which serve an audience looking for teaching, ministry, and inspiration rather than general entertainment.
That context changes what short-form video is supposed to do. A Short on Manna Nation is not a distraction to be swiped through; it is a doorway into the deeper programming that a partner produces. The platform already carried podcasts, playlists, live programming, and long-form video. What it did not carry was a structured way to do short-form vertical video as part of that same journey, and that is what this build was for.
There is an assumption about short-form video that we run into constantly at Flicknexs: that a Short is just a shorter file. Upload it, put a vertical player in front of it, and move on. For Manna Nation, that assumption was the trap we were asked to avoid. Their goal was broader: they wanted Shorts to sit inside the faith-based ecosystem, not next to it. This page is our account of how we built that, from the Flicknexs delivery team, using our own project records and staging notes.
Platform Overview
- Platform
- Manna Nation
- Category
- Faith-Based Christian Media / OTT
- Associated with
- Pastor Rick Wiles
- Content carried
- Christian programming, podcasts, video, faith-focused media
- Build focus
- Vertical Shorts inside the existing OTT content journey
What this build established
- A dedicated Shorts section on the homepage
- Shorts integrated into partner profiles
- A reusable partner-profile template
- Admin control over Shorts content
- A clean, consistent OTT viewing experience
- Shorts connected to podcasts and long-form programming
- Dynamic content management instead of hard-coded videos
Shorts had to feel native, not bolted on
The goal was not to add another video format. It was to make Shorts a natural stop along Manna Nation's content discovery path. Everything else followed from that.
The point that quietly runs the whole project is dynamic content management. Shorts could not live as a list of video IDs baked into a page. They had to be something the Manna Nation team could manage day to day, and something that any future partner could inherit without a developer being involved.
The build had to deliver:
- A dedicated Shorts section on the homepage
- Shorts integrated into individual partner profiles
- A reusable structure for future partners and content creators
- Administrative control over Shorts content
- A clean, consistent OTT viewing experience
- A content structure connecting Shorts with podcasts and longer programming
- Dynamic content management instead of hard-coded videos
One template or many pages
Before any code was written, the project had to answer a single architectural question: do we build Manna Nation a Shorts feature, or a partner framework?
Add Shorts as a feature
Build the vertical player, wire it to the video pipeline, and call it done. That would have technically worked. It would also have meant every future partner wanting a Shorts section needed bespoke work — the exact bottleneck a growing ministry network cannot afford.
Build a partner framework
A reusable partner-profile template where Shorts are one section among many. Add a partner to the platform and the same structure assembles around them automatically: their information, podcasts, Shorts, playlists, other video, and about/contact details.
That distinction — between a feature and a framework — is what made the build scalable. It is also the part of this project we are most confident other faith-based platforms will want to copy.
A Vertical Shorts experience in two places
Flicknexs implemented a dedicated Vertical Shorts experience across the two places where discovery actually happens on the platform: the homepage and the partner profile.
The "Today's Best Shorts" homepage section
A dedicated "Today's Best Shorts" section was added to the Manna Nation homepage. Its placement is not random. The section appears after the Live TV player and Today's Recommended Podcasts, which gives a viewer a deliberate path: from live programming, into the podcasts, and then into short-form video.
The section uses a full-width, horizontally scrollable layout, which is the right shape for a format that people consume quickly and on mobile. The more important detail is what is not there: hard-coded video IDs. The section is admin-manageable, so the Manna Nation team controls which Shorts appear through the homepage settings. What surfaces on the homepage is a content decision, and we kept it in the hands of the content team.
Homepage discovery order
- 1Live TV player
- 2Today's Recommended Podcasts
- 3Today's Best Shorts (new)
Shorts on partner profiles
The second half of the solution placed Shorts directly into individual Podcaster/Partner profiles. Each profile follows a structured, channel-style sequence:
That order is deliberate. Shorts are not buried at the bottom as an afterthought. They sit in the middle of the channel, where a viewer who has landed on a partner's page is most likely to keep scrolling. A Short becomes one of the ways a visitor samples a partner before committing to a full podcast or playlist.
Two things make this hold together: the sequence is a reusable dynamic template, so the same structure applies to future partners while displaying their own content, and the John Mark / Daily Whispers profile was used as the reference for what the experience should feel like.
One template assembles for every partner
- Banner & host information
- Subscribe & podcasts
- Shorts section
- Playlists & other video
- About / contact details
The dynamic partner architecture
The reusable profile template is the load-bearing wall of the build. Instead of creating an individual page for every partner, Flicknexs developed a single profile structure that assembles automatically for anyone added to the platform.
A new partner — a future podcaster, ministry, or content creator — can arrive and immediately have a profile displaying their information, podcasts, Shorts, playlists, other video, and about/contact sections, all without a developer creating a page from scratch. For a faith-based network planning to grow its roster of partners, this is the difference between a partnership pipeline and a development backlog. We built the former.
Admin-controlled Shorts
The Shorts functionality was integrated into the platform's existing content-management workflow from the start. Administrators manage Shorts through the admin panel, with the ability to:
The recurring theme of this build is that routine decisions belong with the people whose job is routine content. Whether a Short is live, which series it belongs to, or which partner it is attached to should not require a developer ticket. We made sure they do not.
A clean presentation for the staging environment
The implementation also included content cleanup for the demonstration environment, which is the kind of work that rarely makes it into a case study but quietly determines whether a review meeting goes well.
Existing Shorts content associated with Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart was removed or disabled from the generic demo presentation, and placeholder thumbnails were used where required. The goal was a clean demonstration environment that did not present unfinished content as final production work. A reviewer can assess the structure — the placement, the scrolling, the admin behavior — without being distracted by placeholder-quality media.
Staging presentation
- Existing demo Shorts removed or disabled from the generic presentation
- Placeholder thumbnails used where required
- Reviewers assess structure, not unfinished media
Shorts as part of the OTT experience, not a TikTok clone
It would have been easy to read the brief as "give us a TikTok-style feed." That was never the objective, and it is worth spelling out because it shaped a lot of the decisions. Manna Nation is a faith-based platform, and short-form video serves a different purpose than it does on a general entertainment app. A Short here is an entry point into ministry content, not the end of the scroll.
That chain is where the value lives. A visitor might discover a partner through a Short and continue into that partner's podcasts, playlists, or full-length programming. The Short is not the destination; it is the door. Build the door well, and the rest of the library benefits from it.
A channel-based experience for Christian media
Rather than treating Shorts as a standalone entertainment feature, the implementation places short-form video inside Manna Nation's broader media ecosystem. Each partner profile becomes a structured content destination, so audiences can discover a partner's short-form videos alongside their podcasts, playlists, recent episodes, and additional content.
The result is a stronger link between a partner's identity, their short-form moments, and their longer-form ministry. The Short introduces the person; the profile houses everything else.
Technology and implementation
The solution was implemented on Manna Nation's existing OTT architecture, with an emphasis on reusable structures and dynamic administration rather than a parallel stack. The implementation included:
The point of the whole thing is that Manna Nation can expand its short-form library without building a new page for every partner or Shorts collection. The structure already exists; the content just flows through it.
Staging, ahead of the starting line
The Vertical Shorts experience has been implemented in the Manna Nation staging environment and reviewed as part of the platform's approval process. The production launch remains subject to final approval from the Manna Nation team, and we are stating that plainly because a case study that hides where a project actually stands is not worth much.
What the current implementation does establish is the technical foundation: the Shorts experience is in place, the dynamic templates are working, and the admin workflow is live. Expanding Shorts across the platform after production approval is now a content task rather than a rebuild.
A structured Vertical Shorts experience inside the OTT platform
The primary outcome was a structured Vertical Shorts experience inside Manna Nation's OTT platform. The solution delivers a dedicated Shorts discovery experience, homepage-level Shorts visibility, Shorts integrated into partner profiles, a reusable structure for future partners, centralized administrative control, and a clearer connection between short-form and long-form programming.
Because the Shorts experience is awaiting final production rollout, no post-launch viewer, engagement, or performance metrics are being claimed at this stage. Reporting numbers now would be inventing results, and we would rather this page read as a project account than a marketing brochure. Those metrics belong in a follow-up once real audience data exists.
Why this matters for faith-based media
Faith-based media organizations, churches, ministries, pastors, and Christian content networks are serving an audience that increasingly consumes content in several formats at once. A long-form sermon, a podcast, a live stream, a teaching clip, and a short video can all play different roles in the same person's journey.
Manna Nation's implementation shows how an OTT platform can bring those formats together inside one structured experience. With Vertical Shorts integrated alongside podcasts, partner profiles, playlists, and longer programming, the platform has a way to make short-form Christian content easier to discover without breaking the broader ecosystem apart.
Core highlights & strategic advantages
Vertical Shorts work best as a doorway
Short-form content is an entry point into deeper programming, not a separate destination.
Build for many partners, not one
The reusable template means future partners inherit the Shorts-enabled profile without pages built from scratch.
Let the content team manage content
Admin controls keep routine Shorts updates out of the development queue.
Placement carries meaning
Putting Shorts after Live TV and recommended podcasts turns it into a step in a journey, not a sidebar.
Present cleanly in staging
Content cleanup and placeholders keep review focused on structure, not unfinished media.
Architect for scale now
The dynamic structure gives the platform room to grow partners and Shorts after production approval.
Build a faith-based OTT platform that connects every format
Flicknexs builds scalable video platforms for churches, ministries, and Christian content networks, supporting Shorts, podcasts, live streaming, VOD, and partner channels within one ecosystem. The opportunity is not simply to add short-form video. It is to connect Shorts, partners, podcasts, playlists, and long-form content into a single seamless experience, with an architecture that grows as your roster of ministries and partners expands.
Ready to build your faith-based OTT platform? Talk to the Flicknexs team about your requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the Manna Nation Vertical Shorts build and the reusable partner architecture behind it.
A faith-based Christian media platform associated with Pastor Rick Wiles, providing Christian programming, podcasts, video content, and other faith-focused media.
A Vertical Shorts experience integrated into the OTT platform, with a "Today's Best Shorts" homepage section and a Shorts section inside each partner's reusable profile template.
After the Live TV player and Today's Recommended Podcasts, giving viewers a path from live and podcast content into short-form video.
No. A single reusable dynamic template assembles for any partner added to the platform, so future partners do not require standalone page development.
The John Mark / Daily Whispers implementation was used as the reference for the partner profile experience.
The Manna Nation team, through the existing admin panel, including upload, enable/disable, series assignment, and partner assignment.
No. Shorts are a discovery layer within a faith-based content journey linking Christian media, podcasts, Shorts, partner profiles, playlists, and long-form video.
The Vertical Shorts experience is implemented in staging and reviewed as part of the approval process, with production rollout subject to final approval from Manna Nation.
Not yet. Because production rollout is pending, no post-launch viewer, engagement, or performance metrics are being claimed at this stage.