International Media Ministries lost Henry Marsh, an integral team member and missionary colleague Tuesday. He has been a loyal friend, advisor, and colleague. He worked in partner relationships with our distribution outlets and gave our lead team the voice of reason and clarity about what was and was not likely to work, always with a good reminder of our goals and our limitations.
We had a meeting scheduled in a few days, so it’s an unexpected situation and a hit to how we are looking at the future. Henry had some ongoing health challenges but was dealing with regular doctor visits and a planned surgery. He took a sudden turn and was gone in just a few days.
We are far away here in Spain from him, Janet, and their adult sons in Florida. Yet Henry was at weekly staff meetings and lead teams through the magic of technology and a big help in various aspects of distribution and leadership. He would pause and give a wry smile before some witty comment that could make the issue so much clearer.
As young people in 1993, Kerry and I arrived at IMM in Belgium. We worked across several departments and one of those was in production under Henry Marsh as production manager. Henry and Janet seemed like ‘grown up missionaries’ with a house and children and a career in missions. Henry had begun missions as short term MAPS worker in 1981. We were temporary young vagabonds who knew a bit about media. We were stretched and grew in those two years and the friendships we established never left us.
Henry went on to work with the Global Media Alliance and Global University and others. From this perspective of working with media people across the world, he brought loads of connections and ideas from a vast perspective. He had a tenacious memory. When an idea would come up, he could name someone or connections that would be relevant to develop the opportunity. More than 40+ years of missionary work and wisdom just can’t be replaced.
When he rejoined the IMM team a little more than 10 years ago, we were thrilled. It is humbling to find yourself in leadership with someone who was a ‘boss’ in the past. What an honor to learn and serve together though.
Particularly focused on distribution but also bringing training and production experience to the table, Henry has been a great contributor to the crew and our processes. He and Janet came to serve here on the ground in Spain before planning to retire. The pandemic shutdowns here were more intense than in the USA, so we decided it was best for them if they returned to the states and wait out the quarantine. As Henry got more information on some ongoing health struggles, they had to remain in the US. This did not stop him from being involved. This year alone Henry has facilitated contracts for Farsi speaking projects, Indonesian, Bulgarian, and Albanian, among others.
Jesus has appeared on more screens around the world and in more languages because of Henry’s perseverance in missions and in faith to share the hope of Jesus. That is a great triumph but we will truly miss him.
