Often we think of MEDIA in churches as a way to help the Praise and Worship leader get the congregation to sing all the correct words of the worship song, perhaps a chance for the youth pastor to exhibit how “hip and with it“ they are with the meme culture, or a way to show a funny announcement video. Even evangelistically, we tend to think in terms of hosting a film and waiting for people to show up to have a “heart response“. These are the basic thoughts of how media is used in churches currently.
Is that the only type of media IMM can offer?
Does IMM offer ways for you to stop waiting for people to come to you?
Maybe we can find ways for you to meet and engage people where they are?
There is no denying how effective the Jesus type films have been, but is that all there is for helping plant churches around the world? I ask you to put yourself in the shoes of a man or woman in the Northern African region for example. How effective do you imagine it would be to hear a Christian film, not dubbed, but actually in your native tongue and dialect? Maybe even someone narrating the video that looks and talks like you do. Maybe that is what it takes to pique your interest to investigate online, or connect with someone locally, and in doing so you encounter the love of Jesus.
What could be done with a whole congregation trained on how to use their phones to spread the gospel amid a generation prone to using their phones to tear down, project hate, and vitriol against others?
Maybe as a church planter you are attempting to reach out to a people group that has specific needs, IMM may be able to help with that.
Here are a few quotes to think about:
"...we must be the church to each other—to listen, befriend, invite....change doesn’t happen after facts are put forward; it happens in the warm context of community…“ Mary DeMuth (Author)
How can IMM help with that?
“IMM provides resources and tools for planters to reach target people groups…like conversation starter videos that engage viewers about life issues.“ Henry Marsh (IMM Distribution Coordinator)
“IMM has a Mobile Media Training to draw people to a new church plant…helping lay people with the purposes of outreach to engage the culture around them.“ Denise Godwin (IMM President)
In a field ripe for the harvest, maybe it is time to use new tools to engage the current culture. IMM has been ahead of the curve for 20 years now, helping innovative congregations develop ways to sow the gospel, and now how to harvest what was sown by finding new ways to put Jesus on every screen!