40 Day Prayer Journey

Share

40 Day Prayer Journey

Pray with us!

Our team has been doing intense things. We are distributing and working on pieces for languages for people from Afghanistan, for the Arabic world, and for the Iranian people. The Kingdom of God is growing.

These successes have not gone without opposition. We have had three team members lose a family member in two months. A couple of others are on major journeys with their health. We covet your prayers. We are 15 people with our hands to the plow.

What you and IMM are doing together matters, the kingdom of darkness wants to put a stop to it. What we do is BIG - much greater than we are as individuals or in our own strength. Putting Jesus on Every Screen is important. I’m not talking about goals - I’m talking about individuals who are hurting and searching for a God who wants to set the oppressed hearts of this world free!

We are dedicating the last 40 days of the year to not only pray for our team, our families and IMM projects, but we are praying for you as well. We invite you as our support team to join us on a 40-day Prayer Journey Celebration, beginning November 22nd through December 31st. As we are celebrating IMM’s 40th anniversary, praying for 40 days is the right thing to do!

We want to know that you are praying with us, and we would like to pray for you too. Sign up below and we will send you a weekly reminder to let you know what we can all pray for - together. We promise not to email you every day during the holidays, but here’s the FANTASTIC thing about prayer: when you get to that email, when you see it even later as you search for something in your inbox, will be a perfect time to pray for us!

We would love for you to join us for these specific days of praying, but we know any day you pray will be God’s will for us! We also want to pray with you, so pass your prayer requests to us and the IMM team will pray for your needs as well.

Share

Around the Corner

Share

Around the Corner

Lately, the Lord has been pressing on my heart the importance of what is unseen.

My sister-in-law comes to mind. She is one of the most creative people I know. Lately, she’s been making videos to teach preschoolers about science through simple experiments. Not only are her videos scientifically accurate, but they are chock-full of things that preschoolers love: stickers, stuffed animals, and sparkly objects. She takes simple, household objects and demonstrates things like gravity and freezing point so that a preschooler can understand. (And if I’m being honest, I’ve learned a thing or two from watching her videos as well.)

Between preparing the materials, doing the experiments, filming, and editing, it takes a lot of time and effort to make these videos. And yet she never gets to sit inside the classroom with the preschoolers and see their eyes light up. She doesn’t get to hear their little shrieks of delight as they make ice cream or a working compass [mostly] by themselves. She faithfully puts in the work, trusting that it will be worth it for a room full of four-year-olds, even though she won’t get to see their reaction.

It’s easy for me to tell her how incredibly impactful her videos are. How worth the time and energy for those little kids to actually enjoy learning science. But for some reason, it’s much harder to remind myself of that. My work can often feel like a collection of trivial daily tasks: formatting a script, looking for the correct version of a video, filing financial documents, and so on. I quickly forget the weight it can hold for someone watching our videos in their own language, in their own room.

On top of this, recently our team has been grieving the loss of several amazing people connected to IMM. The biggest brunt of the grief is not mine to describe or put into words, but I will just say that we’ve all felt the weight of this season. Some days feel like taking two steps forward, five steps back, and falling flat onto your back: lots of pain and questions.

Praise God, He meets me in the middle of my why’s and how’s. But He’s also been gently reminding me that through every discouragement, doubt, and disappointment, He is doing something around the corner I can’t see. Miles away, in a country I may never visit, in the bedroom of a seeker, listening on their knees...He is speaking and breathing life. He is impacting someone I will probably never meet through something that ran through my hands.

This isn’t to inflate my ego or that of IMM, but to remind myself and to encourage you: You can’t see what God is doing around the corner. Maybe all you’re feeling is opposition and obstacles, but the reality is that the kingdom is being advanced by leaps and bounds. The enemy would love for us to be discouraged to the point of believing that, if we were to stop or slow down, nobody would even notice or care. But in the words of one of my favorite worship songs: “Even when I can’t see it, He’s working; Even when I can’t feel it, He’s working. He never stops.”

Serving the Lord doesn’t always look like giants being slingshot or massive crowds speaking in tongues. Often, the most important work looks (and feels) like doing the mundane, getting knocked down, getting back up, and doing it all over again. We have to remember that there is more to this life than we can see. There is more going on than we will ever know.

Whatever season you may be in, there is a God, not only walking through every valley with you but also using your obedience to change lives beyond the point you can see. May we remain faithful, sewing our tents like Paul or crunching numbers or leaving an encouraging note to a neighbor. May we walk in humble obedience to the things God puts on our hearts – big or small – because as we are faithful with the things we can see and control, He is even more faithful with the things we cannot.

Share

A Better Plan

Share

A Better Plan

As part of an upcoming project, a few of us have been reading testimonies and stories from the IMM archives. I stumbled upon from one Jerry Gibson that particularly caught my attention:

“Recently, we visited one of our ministry partners in Istanbul, Turkey. We met a young producer, Damaris, who told us her story. She had been hired to help run a Christian satellite broadcast ministry focused on a nation of 72 million people. It was her chance to break into the TV business. She began her career at the age of 25, single, well educated, and a Muslim.

Damaris wanted a job in media and she didn’t care who it was with! Over the course of the next two years she couldn’t help but watch programs like “People who Met Jesus.” She heard of the testimonies of lives being changed by Jesus. The emptiness she felt in her own life was set in contrast to what she observed from those around her who seemed filled with joy. Gwen and I listened as tears flowed down her face and she spoke of how Christ had changed her life. She declared to us, “Now I have more than a job; I have a ministry!”  In a country where there are only about 4000 known followers of Jesus Christ, together, Damaris, IMM and NHC are telling the story that changes lives.”

Wow. That story still excites me after reading it three or four times. I relate to Damaris so much! We are the same age and both work in media.  No, I didn’t come to Jesus through my media job, but in the same way as Damaris, I have seen how my plans pale in comparison to God’s.

When I set out to join IMM, I knew there was a long road ahead of me: support raising, a visa application, the logistics of packing up my life and moving across an ocean - the list goes on. I remember even wanting to prepare myself mentally. One missionary had told me that their first year on the field, they were cleaning toilets instead of preaching to the masses so on more than one occasion, I told myself, “Becky, if you get to Spain and you’re cleaning toilets, don’t complain. You’re going there to serve.”

Looking back on it, I was preparing as though I was going to boot camp. My plan was to take whatever discomfort came my way in the name of spreading the gospel and then pat myself on the back if I “survived.” Between culture shock and the pandemic, there has certainly been discomfort, and I still do remind myself that it’s all worth it if someone hears about Jesus. But time and time again, God has shown me that He had much different plans for my time here all along.

I thought I would be cleaning toilets and giving myself a gold star for humility while I watched other people make movies about Jesus. Instead I got a pandemic-instigated four-month quarantine in a small quiet space where God began to disentangle and heal parts of my heart that I didn’t know were hurting. And at the same time, I’ve gotten my hands dirty working on several projects in several roles, often feeling unqualified, learning innumerable things along the way; I’ve been a part of the team as we’ve launched programs into North Africa and the Middle East and begun dreaming about a new project; I’ve seen my heart for missions grow as God challenges me not just to love an “unreached people group” on the other side of the globe, but to love people who think, talk, and act differently than I do even if I have to think, talk, and walk in close proximity to them; and I’m very grateful to say that I have not had to clean one toilet (well, mine at home, but you know…)

How great is God that He can use any circumstance, desire, or background for good? Damaris stepped into her career with a Christian production studio as a means to break into the media industry, but God had other plans for her endeavors. I came to Spain just wanting to endure, but instead God tenderly opened my heart up to love the people we’re ministering to even more. No matter where we find ourselves today, when we submit our plans to Him, the Lord - without fail - makes something greater than we could have done in our own power!

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” - Proverbs 16:9

Share

Share

Black Thursday - Devotional Thought

One thing is undeniable: If you live long enough, bad things are going to happen. Whether it’s getting a flat bike tire or losing a job, life has a way of throwing a wrench in our plans. Some bad things happen because of our own poor choices; some bad things are going to happen regardless of what we do (think bird droppings on your shirt); and some bad things happen as a direct result of the good things we do.

Though we can’t see the spiritual realm with our eyes, the events that took place in Belgium on Black Thursday of 2002 certainly seem like an example of godly activity instigating spiritual pushback. We know we have an enemy who hates it when people love God and advance His kingdom. If nothing else, the Belgium shut-down is an excellent reminder of how to respond to trials. Such a dramatic and forceful response from the Belgian authorities could have discouraged those associated with IMM to back down to avoid any more resistance, but instead, they saw it as a sign that they were doing something right. They were making waves, getting attention, and going in the right direction...So they kept going. They continued the work of media ministry, reaching into dark and restricted areas with the light of the gospel.

James 1:2 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

Joy as a response to many kinds of trials? This instruction is counterintuitive, and James knew that. But when we give our lives to Jesus, we give him permission to turn our intuitive responses upside down. Our weakness becomes His strength, our failures become our testimony, and obstacles become opportunities. Even when the opportunity isn’t obvious, we search for it. We open our eyes to what God sees, to place our circumstances in perspective with His power. We serve a God who specializes in turning obstacles into opportunities. Just as James says, may we rejoice in trials of every kind because we know that God can turn every kind of evil into all kinds of good.

Share

Share

Black Thursday – One Day Changes Everything

Those serving at International Media Ministries remember the day well. On Feb. 7, 2002, Belgian Police detained four volunteers from IMM and across the street at the International Christian Academy in Sint-Genesius-Rode. They deported them from Belgium on accusations that they were working illegally on tourist visas. Everyone was in shock.

Brussels Ministry Center

Brussels Ministry Center

Earlier in the day, Belgian officials arrived without warning at the IMM office, demanded passports and other documents, and asked that those in question not leave the premises. Shortly thereafter, four young women were escorted to a Brussels Detention Center at the orders of the Belgian Ministry of Interior, each interrogated, and locked for 15 hours in a cell without any personal effects, nor being allowed to contact friends, family members, or the American Embassy.

Bonnie Cooper, Julia Ryser, Trista Logering, and Kristi Hoggard were held in jail overnight and placed on a flight to New York the next day, after having only a Belgian waffle for food during their incarceration. A fifth woman, Carol Jezek, was not taken into custody because she was able to produce a return flight ticket but was told she had five days to leave the country. 

Principal Anita van Gorp said children at the International Christian Academy (ICA) were traumatized as seven armed policemen and three plainclothes officers went from classroom to classroom and took away their teachers. “My children were frightened, there were ten men with guns,” she said. The English-language school had been working in Belgium since 1978 and had never previously had any problems with the authorities. Nearly all of the IMM missionaries’ children attended ICA.

“There was no indication we were out of step before they swooped in,” John Merrell, IMM Director at the time, exclaimed. “So, these four women were guilty of working without pay, volunteering, without permission from the government.” John was stunned that in modern European society, charitable deeds seemed to be against the law. “What is wrong with a nation,” he asked, “where someone gives without taking, and the reward is being treated like a criminal?”

Since that dark day, there has been much speculation as to why this event transpired. Two specific areas seem to shed light on the situation. The terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City had occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, just five months previous, and the topic of passports, work visas and tourist visas became a very delicate issue afterwards for Western powers. Authorities from many nations cracked down and scrutinized foreigners who were traveling freely in their respective nations. 

A Wall Street Journal article penned in 2002 titled “Europe’s Terrorist Incubator” accused the Belgian Government of bureaucratic lethargy and even complacency in allowing Islamic religious extremist terrorist cells to operate out of their nation. A senior Belgian official was quoted in the article, commenting that “We are not really concerned, you know. Osama Bin Laden’s war is against America, not against us.”

The abrasive discourse and accusations encompassed more than Ministry Center in Sint-Genesius-Rode. An article in The Bulletin magazine published in the spring of 2002, stated that “The European Commission is taking legal action against Belgium over its practice of expelling EU citizens whose papers are not in order.” The Commission insisted that the practices are illegal and contrary to existing laws.

An official with the American Embassy, Oscar Hilderson, reviewing the events of Feb. 7, explained that IMM was not targeted per se, as told to him by the Belgian Ministry of Labor. “The problem was rather more complicated and concerned all organizations that call upon the services of volunteers.” He said. “It has been discovered that volunteer work is only vaguely described for the purpose of applying labor, social, and immigration laws… and some groups actually exploit these volunteers in a sort of ‘modern slavery.’”

The second area of scrutiny was suspicion. After the events of Sept. 11, 2001, there was awakened scrutiny of all “religious extremist” sects not officially recognized nor approved by the respective nations of the European Union. In March of 2002, EU member nation France passed a controversial anti-cult law that resulted in draconian measures being taken against Baptists, Evangelicals, Protestants, and even Mormon churches across the country. According to CBN News Reporter George Thomas, French security authorities regularly monitored religious services for “mental manipulation,” mingling amongst the congregations, listening, and taking notes. More recently, Christian Churches in Denmark are pushing back against a new draft law that would require all sermons in foreign languages to be translated into the country’s native language and submitted to the government for approval.

The persecution had been going on years before in Belgium. Christian Center, an Assemblies of God International Church and location of ICA, found themselves under fire from the Belgian Ministry of Justice in 1989, seeking “legal and fiscal prosecution of American missionaries,” and the confiscation of all properties associated with this “cult,” according to a letter delivered on behalf of the Belgian Attorney General. The pastor of Christian Center at the time, Lowell Harrup, was named in the document as the “guru” who fled Belgium to the United States on various occasions. The letter went on to state that, “In view of the moral, social and criminal danger represented by this cult, we request that this cult be radically stopped to not bring harm to the population.” The resolution? The case was dismissed due to not being factual. The Assemblies of God was, in fact, a legally recognized Protestant Organization within Belgium’s borders.

Fast forward to Feb. 7, 2002. The Belgian “Co-Director of the Commission who studied religious sects,” who published a 700-page paper on the topic, is now the Belgian Minister of the Interior.  That Thursday afternoon, upon directions from the Belgian Interior of Affairs, the Rhode St. Genes police commissioner authorized a search under the pretext of looking for “Belgian children who may be attending the school” at ICA. Before the day was over, everyone was asked to present paperwork, missionaries were questioned, four young women were transported downtown, and the future existence of IMM and ICA was in question.

“The officer asked me to sign some papers,” Bonnie explained. The American Embassy, who became immediately involved in the incident, began offering counsel. “I asked the officer if he could tell me what the papers said. He read me as much of the document as he could in English.” It said that the Ministry of the Interior was charging them with working illegally in Belgium, and by signing the papers, the volunteers were not admitting guilt but were merely agreeing that they understood the reasons for their deportation. “The officer then took inventory of the items I had on my person,” Bonnie explained. “He let me keep my inhaler, but took my purse, sealed it in a bag, and put my name on the outside.”

Each woman was questioned. “It seemed that they couldn’t understand the volunteer concept,” Kristi said. “They thought I must be drawing some pay for teaching.” The questioning intensified before government officials announced that the Americans must be deported for failure to have the proper paperwork. The four stayed together in a holding cell, behind bars and a locked door for a total of fifteen hours. The cell contained one eight-foot-long bench attached to the wall. The floor was littered with food wrappers and empty juice boxes.

“We were really shocked, we couldn’t believe what was happening,” John’s niece Julia, a detainee, recalled. “I was never in any physical danger, but my parents didn’t know that. My hands were shaking, but in my heart, I was extremely calm. People kept looking through the door of the cell to see us,” she said. “I guess no one could believe there were four American girls in this jail.”

According to Bonnie, after asking for blankets to keep warm, they were given four mattresses and four blankets from other cells. “Three of the four blankets smelled of urine and body odor, so we elected not to use them,” she said. “We tried to sleep. However, throughout the night, there were officers coming in and out of the room, talking to each other, and to the other people inside the other cells.”

A decision was made by the missionaries not to appeal the deportation of the volunteers, as this may have resulted in them spending even more time in the Belgian detention center. The next morning, they were allowed to freshen up, were warned not to “make a scene,” and escorted to the departure gate for an outbound flight to New York. They were then given their passports after boarding the plane. Terry Hoggard, the current pastor of the International Church at that time, and his wife Ruthanne, accompanied all four women (including their daughter, Kristi) to the US to ensure that they arrived safely.

With the safety of the volunteers assured, Assemblies of God missionaries and leadership began to focus on the long-range ramifications for the future of the missionary efforts in Belgium, and perhaps missionary efforts based in other EU nations. One thing was clear, IMM was now at the center of this conflict.

Greg Mundis, Area Director for Europe at that time, stated “This is a spiritual battle, and it will be won only in the spirit. The ripples will be far beyond Belgium, throughout the European Union.” A call was put out to all Assemblies of God churches in the US to pray. All missionaries in Europe were called to fasting and prayer.

Ministry heads held meetings with American Embassy officials, Belgian Advocates, and with one another, always keeping this scripture in front of them:

3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 [a]We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10: 3-5

A valiant effort was put forth to navigate this new reality. Concerns were made about affecting the missionary standing of other organizations in pursuing redress with the Belgian Ministry of Labor. The American Embassy was concerned that relations between the two countries not be damaged. There was a missiological desire to fulfill the Great Commission, but at the same time to honor the laws of the host nations, to honor God, Christ, the Church, and to walk with integrity. 

IMM was told by the Belgian authorities to stop operations. “Preaching” was the only missions work to be allowed. For the missionaries of IMM, working in the framework of “normal” in Belgium was over. However, despite the government stoppage, the media missions effort moved forward. “During 2002, IMM programs - broadcast by partners around the world - reached more people with the Gospel than ever before,” said John Merrell, IMM director during that tumultuous time.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Urgent broadcast deadlines for Bangladesh were met using media equipment in private homes, which began airing to an actual viewing audience of 50 million that year. IMM training continued in Denmark, Russia, and Amman, Jordan, where a new media ministry center was launched. Previous projects such as The People Who Met Jesus were licensed for translation into 11 languages to be used in the Philippines, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Iceland. The children’s program Winds of Adventure was given the rights to overdub and broadcast in the countries and languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, and Pakistan. IMM’s broadcast partners continued to broadcast into North Africa.

“In review,” John explained in his 2002 summary, “It is obvious that the vast majority of ministry taking place at IMM in 2001 reached into the Muslim world. The same in 2002. I am convinced the recent events, which closed the IMM facility, are a direct result – in a spiritual sense – of this most effective ministry. There is now a clear understanding that the political crisis was used by God to redirect IMM.”

This was confirmed in July of 2002 when the AGWM Executive Committee approved IMM’s relocation from Brussels, Belgium to Madrid, Spain, where media missions efforts continue to reach into the closed nations and the searching populations, providing answers that point to Jesus Christ.

Share

Collaboration in Ciudad Real

Share

Collaboration in Ciudad Real

Some places on earth are synonymous with the stories that were birthed there.  As a young boy, I remember visiting Boston where I learned about Paul Revere, the Old North Church, and heroes of the American Revolution.  Thirty years later, I still remember some details of those places and stories.

Last week, a few members of our team went to another place with a famous story— the province of Spain called Ciudad Real.  The story that’s been told and retold there for centuries is that of Don Quixote, from the Miguel Cervantes classic. Our friends at OnTheRedBox, who are crafting stories from each of the 52 provinces of Spain, asked for our help on this one. We assisted with makeup, costumes, lighting and more.  We worked hard, but had a great time in a very picturesque part of Central Spain. 

In this episode, a powerful connection will be drawn between Quixote (who fought imaginary giants) and a modern testimony of a man from that province who found himself battling a giant he could not see. The goal, as with all of these short videos, is to challenge the residents of the area to invite Jesus into their story and life.  We are grateful to be a part of this process! Telling (and retelling) stories that connect people to the Gospel is why we do what we do.

What story are you telling in the place where you live?




Share

It was a bright September Saturday morning

Share

It was a bright September Saturday morning

The Spanish sun had been burning in the sky for months with no rain to replenish the dry ground. Dressed in T-shirts and shorts, we packed two vans full of video equipment, props, and actors, and drove our small caravan of vehicles up the road for a couple of hours to the shoot location, the broken-down ruins of a fortress, perfect for the last scene in Rahab, where she, her family, and the Israeli spies pick their way through the ruins of Jericho.

We arrived in good time, set up the portable tables for makeup, snacks and water bottles, the white canvas shelter to shade the talent and crew during breaks, and we began the process of mounting the equipment and prepping the site so we could roll the cameras when the sun was high. It was a fine day for shooting, and we were quietly going about our tasks with pleasure.

Days beforehand I had been gathering props to enhance the ruins, with the hopes of making the ancient stone feature look as if it had suffered an earthquake and a bloody military invasion just hours before Rahab and family emerged from the broken walls. I had spears. I had fistfuls of arrows, broken shields and pottery, shreds of cloth, ripped baskets, warm bodies, and plenty of stage blood. 

On closer inspection that morning we noticed that a heavy growth of vegetation amongst the fortress stones would betray the illusion of a recent cataclysmic event. So I put on thick leather gloves and began to hack, pull, and saw at the stubborn weeds with the tools I had brought just in case. Sweat soon rolled down my face and into my eyes, but ever conscience of our time-table, I began to steadily uncover and expose these tumbled stones and walls to the day. The actors were being prepped having donned their Old Testament costumes and makeup, the camera crew was making last-minute adjustments to the equipment, and Denise, our director was glancing over the shot sheet one last time.

Ancient ruins newly uncovered, I began to slowly push the spears I had brought into the hard ground. I carefully jabbed bunches of arrows into the dirt and cracks of the wall. The Children of Israel would have been proud. I had great fun hurling clay pots and baskets overhead into the stones, draping bloodied and shredded cloth across the lot. 

RahabFortress.jpg

A sudden comment from the cameraman, Joel, pulled my attention away from my enthusiastic work and I looked to where he was pointing. Dark clouds had appeared on the Northwest horizon. It was hard to tell at first where these clouds were headed, but it soon became obvious that they were headed in our direction. It had not rained for months, literally. Incredulous, we grabbed cables, cameras, and light stands and shoved them into the cargo van, piling the racks of remaining costumes into the trunks of cars, and moved hastily to the simple, white canvas shelter we had set-up next to the ruins.

Twenty minutes later we were being hit with sporadic drops of rain, heavy and thick with summer dust. Heavier and faster the driving rain began to fall. Then came the ice and the wind. The sun vanished. I remember clutching to one leg of the simple shelter, trying to keep it on the ground as it kept lurching towards the sky. I squinted to my right and saw one of our young volunteers, dressed in an Israeli costume and fake beard, face turned to the sky, screaming in astonishment, eyes tightly shut against the ice pellets that filled the creases in his garment. Huddled in the center of the bucking shelter were the actors, none of whom were believers in Christ. The young woman, our Rahab, was sobbing and crying uncontrollably. Denise began to pray quite loudly above the howling wind for their safety.  Arms still wrapped around the shelter leg, I stole a glance to my left only to see my prop work being pummeled and shredded as they danced in the ruins. My heart fell, and I held on.

After a short period, the swift black clouds turned back to gray, the ice stopped, and the wind only whipped in short, sharp gusts. We let go of the shelter and one another and counted the cost. We were all sodden and chilled to the bone. Our actors were in shock. Our rattled crew began to slowly salvage the aftermath.

Reluctantly, I walked into fortress ruins. My props were plastered and blasted across the dark stones. Some spears still stood firm in the ground. I picked up a few loose arrows and evaluated the situation. Angry havoc had visited the site and now it looked… perfect. 

We collected ourselves and proceeded to shoot this final scene under gray clouds, wearing the remainder of the dry costumes to keep warm. The camera was mounted just inside the door of the cargo van to protect it from another unexpected outburst. Rahab and her shivering family, visible trauma in their eyes, stepped slowly amongst the tumbled walls and stones of Jericho.

After capturing the scene, our cold and exhausted team, all wearing dry Old Testament robes, vests, and cowls, drove our caravan to the nearest KFC, piled out of the vehicles, and made camp in the booths. Our presence caused more than a few heads to turn. “What roving band of nomads is this?” people must have thought as we casually invaded their normal space. We ate a bit too ravenously perhaps, and the shivers subsided before we got back into our vehicles and returned to IMM. 

The next day my eyes swelled completely shut. It seems that I had an allergic reaction from wiping the sweat away from my cheeks with the same rough leather gloves I had been using to pull the stubborn weeds from the stones. 

Much later in the week, I kept reliving and considering the spiritual implications of this event. Our IMM team was not unfamiliar with spiritual pushback in our media missions work, but that Saturday morning had been terrifying.  After some investigation, I discovered that the ancient ruined fortress we chose as the perfect spot for the Fall of Jericho was the ruins of a Moorish citadel constructed as a defense along the frontier between the Muslim and Christian Kingdoms which, at that time in history, were battling for dominance. 

How naively we stumbled into that hot confrontation. What had we uncovered and exposed to the light that day? 

This week we have learned that this particular story of Rahab, the final scene having been shot on those Muslim ruins, will be translated into Farsi and broadcast into Iran and surrounding areas, via our satellite broadcast partner Pars7. It has already been translated into Arabic and broadcast in a similar way. It is the story of Rahab. A woman in the line of Jesus Christ.

Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Joshua 1:6

Share

Lily

Share

Lily

Last week we had the privilege of working with a colleague whom I’ll call Lily. Lily is a believer, has lots of media experience, and sometimes translates our scripts into her native language. But for me, the most notable thing about Lily is how genuinely humble she is. I’m not sure how many times she thanked me last week (not to mention how many times she thanked other IMM members), but it was certainly more than I deserved. She had spent hours working on her feet, while I sat doing a simple task. She is affectionate like a mother, hugging you gently or smiling warmly at the smallest compliment or “gift” of food shared with her. Lily prayed in her native language at morning devotions, and even though I didn’t understand the words, I could hear the deep conviction in her voice that Jesus heard every word.

2021 02 16 blog 1.jpg

This isn’t just a big brag fest for Lily. This is a challenge to me and hopefully to you. During our time in the studio, Lily became emotional at one point. A line in the script reminded her of when she was on trial for being a Christian. “These aren’t stories,” she said about the court scene we were working on. “This isn’t history. This is going on today.” I couldn’t help but shed a few tears. True persecution--being physically endangered or harmed because of my faith--has never been my reality. Lily went on to tell us that when she was on trial, she was asked three times if she believed in Jesus. She was given three opportunities to deny her faith, much like Peter after Jesus’s arrest. She told us that each time she boldly proclaimed her faith in Jesus; she didn’t back down, even though she knew the consequences would be less severe if she simply said no. The most powerful part was when she told us, “I couldn’t have done that [stood up for Jesus] in my own strength. That’s how I know it was the Holy Spirit. I couldn’t have spoken with that much power.”

I’ve heard stories like this before. Often they’re second-hand: a preacher retelling a story he heard from someone he met while doing ministry. Other times I’ve seen them in print. Usually, they leave me feeling like a lightweight Christian, to be completely transparent. Even though they all say “It was all Jesus,” I just don’t know if I would have what it takes to look near-death in the eyes and stand my ground. But to look Lily in the eyes and see someone completely human: sweet and silly with her own set of idiosyncrasies...it shook me.

Lily’s kind of faith is not reserved for Christians in court trials. Her story and her attitude radiate an awareness of and a dependence on a strength that is not her own. How much time do I spend depending on my own strength? How many seconds do I squander, thinking that an outcome rests solely on me? I’m not in any imminent danger for being a Christian, but even in this moment today I can start consciously “shifting my weight” onto His strength instead of mine, with the big things and the small stuff. May I stop thinking I can do it all and be enough on my own. 

When you give to IMM, you give us opportunities to work with some amazing people--many of whom have risked it all to follow Jesus. Many are from countries where privately-shared media is one of the only ways people can learn about Jesus. And how rich and rewarding these opportunities are. Working with Lily and similar colleagues has only served to bolster and encourage me as I help put Jesus on every screen--so that others like Lily can hear about Him and know that they are not alone. Lily told us numerous times what a blessing it was to work with us, and at one point she said, “I wish I had heard this story sooner. It would have strengthened me so much.” Praise God for what He is doing here at IMM! Your prayer and support truly are changing the world one soul at a time.

Share

God’s Glory is in the Margins

Share

God’s Glory is in the Margins

unnamed.png

I remember when I was 11 years old. It was my first time in Ecuador as a missionary kid. The church went on this group outing. We sat on this long bus ride that was overly warm and had broken down several times along the way. We went to a snow-capped volcano called Cotopaxi. We were supposed to stop at a parking lot about 700 ft. below the second refuge and then head up the path to have hot chocolate, play in the snow, and sit around the fireplace in the lodge. Supposed to… At one point the bus was slowly making its way up the heavily rutted path when a group of people decided that it would be “faster” to climb from that point rather than wait to reach the parking lot. So, it was decided that we would get out there, make our way up the mountain, and then meet up with the bus later. My dad and I went with that group. As we were hiking up the mountain, it started to snow. Mind you, I was not in cold weather hiking gear, I was in knitted mittens and a knit snow cap, jeans, and a coat not designed for snowy weather on a mountain. As we got higher, the path got harder. It was easy at first, but the last bit was the roughest. Eventually, we made it to the parking lot where the bus (and those who decided to stay behind) were waiting for us. We re-grouped and from the parking lot to the refuge the path was even worse. Every two steps you took, you would slide back a little in the soft volcanic soil. It was a TRUDGE as our steps sunk into the ground. I finally made it to the second refuge at 15.900 ft., just below the snow line.

2021 02 blog 2.jpg

After a brief rest, the group (most of whom had remained on the bus) decided to hike 15 more minutes to trek the 500 ft. to the snow line to play. I was not up for that and I did not care about anything at all at that point other than being tired, cold, hungry, and not having as much fun as I was led to believe this hike was going to be. I sat down and promptly refused to move. It was there I fell asleep for several hours while everyone else went up to the snow line to play in the snow. I may harbor a small regret that I did not have the will power at 11 years old to forge ahead and end this story with how I got to play in the snow at 16.400 ft. up in the Andes on a snow-covered volcano, but instead have to settle for the less exciting ending of how I slept at 15.900 ft. at the second refuge on a snow-covered volcano.

In attempting new things and new adventures. The way can often seem like you are battling against a constant TRUDGE of two steps forward and then slide one foot back, or that with every step you sink into the ground a bit and have to pull your foot out to then take the next step. It can be exhausting to maintain that and a smile on your face. And when you get to a warm area, you may feel like stopping and just falling asleep instead of pushing on to have fun in the snow 500 feet away. It can feel like all you want to do is pack it up and go home. We all have these moments where the David and Goliath or Gideon stories resonate with us, but that is when you are looking back on it from a safe distance of a couple of decades. In the middle of it is not as easy to see God in the midst of working things out, but we know and have faith that He is there.

2021 02 blog 4.jpg

Sadly, it is my time to leave IMM. I have been in the process of becoming a fully appointed missionary so that I can come back to work with IMM. However, after all the pushing and TRUDGING, I have to stop to take care of some paperwork that will ultimately delay things by as much as a year. Now I could choose at this point to simply stop and say, “here and no further” and be pleased with the effort I have made to this point for God’s Kingdom. However, I am no longer an eleven-year-old boy. And so in spite of the setbacks, I will continue to forge ahead. I go now so that I may come back as quickly as possible. 

IMM has also been going hard to put the gospel of Jesus on every screen and yet we have setbacks with finances, staffing, and health. BUT, this is not where we stop. This is where we dig in and fight harder. This is where we are reminded that God told Gideon that triumph was not due to the numbers of people or the weapons used. This is where two people, Jonathan and his shield bear go up the face of a mountain “to see what God will do” against thousands of enemies of Israel. It is here that we are reminded that God’s glory is in the margins. The greater the margin between your best effort and the success of that victory, the more God’s glory fills in and His glory can shine through your faith that you are not alone. Now is not the time to settle in, sit back, or fall asleep. The battle is still raging on and people are dying by the thousands – people who have not yet heard that the one true God loves them so much that He sent His only Son to die for them. This is why I want to come back, this is why I push on, this is why I support my bosses in their vision. This is why you should not weary in all that you do and this is why IMM needs you now, more than ever! Stand up and let IMM know that you are with us, heart and soul! 

2021 02 blog last.jpg

Victory may only be only 500 ft. away!

Share

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year... Or So the Song Goes

Share

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year... Or So the Song Goes

We have just finished Thanksgiving and now we are on that slippery slope to Christmas and New Year’s. A time where we are reminded that relationships are important. And Christ´s birth is the reason we celebrate. A reminder that His grace for us is to be extended through us, to all our families, friends, and even people we do not yet know. This year, friends, and family have been severely divided on so many issues. I want to take a moment to address that the grace that was extended to us while we were yet enemies of God, is the same grace that should be practiced to those around us. We are called to love God and to love others. This is the whole reason that Jesus came to earth, to restore you to a right relationship with Him and with each other. This is WHY we at IMM has been working so hard through one of the strictest lockdowns globally. To light up people’s world with Jesus and His Love!

2020 12 07 blog 1.jpg

To better understand some of the people we are reaching, I started reading a book called Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. It had an interesting take on the Christmas story in the first chapter. There are two points that I would like to address in this blog as we go into this holiday season.

Hospitality

We are all familiar with the Western idea of the birth story of Jesus…but what if we are wrong?

In the book, they outline that in the culture of the time and even now, there is absolutely no way that Jewish/Middle Eastern townspeople who pride themselves on hospitality as a culture, in the City of David, would let two people of the line of King David and one of them pregnant stay in a cave or barn. When it says no room in the Inn, it was understood that the guest house was full and so they would not have the honor that would normally be accorded them as the guests of the lineage of David. They would have to stay with the family in the common room with the animals.

Why does this matter?

I think that this changes the way we should treat Christmas. This was not about letting people suffer in the cold by themselves or separating them out from everyone else. Rather it was thought that no matter what was going on, more room was made in the house. So, no matter what is going on, this is the season we are to make a place in the main house of our mind and heart for family, friends, and even strangers.

Togetherness

The other idea was that the shepherds were the first to be told and see the babe Jesus! Shepherds in that culture, over the course of hundreds of years, had gone from being a highly regarded profession to the lowest of the low. And yet those are the people whom God sent the first tidings of Good News to on earth. The least of the peoples on Earth.

What does this mean?

I think that this year, we have lost sight of communication and sharing in this thing called life.

If God sent the first cloud-based message to people who did not even count as regular people among the normal populace, then who are we to close ourselves off to friends and families because we do not agree on current ideas. When did we decide that our opinion was more important than being the face of God to share Good News to all people?

Hark…

These are just two quick points to highlight that as we go into the season of Christmas. Remember to look for the loving ties that bind us together over seeking the difference of ideas that divide us. May we choose in this holiday to see people as the image of God to be redeemed and not the enemy of our opinions.

May God´s grace be upon you, as you reconnect with those you love and those you will learn to love. For if you truly believe that He is the reason for the season, then how can you choose to celebrate by rejecting those around you based on how you differ. Are you not called to honor them where they are and still love on them with the grace that God extended to you while you were still his enemy.

So whether you are with people or choosing to isolate, wearing a mask or not, voted one way or another, may we all show the love of Jesus this season and remember that hospitality and togetherness require you to put others ahead of yourself and love them as you love yourself.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good end to 2020!

Share

Migrant Workers

Share

Migrant Workers

A couple of years ago my wife and I attended an annual meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. We were there at the invitation of broadcast partners who share the Good News via satellite into areas of the world openly hostile to Christianity.

One evening over dinner, we conversed with a couple who told us about a group of Filipino men who donated a large sum for an Arabic translation of a particular Gospel program. This Arabic language translation was going to be aired via the satellite network we were all partnering with. Our new friends described how these Filipino were part of an informal church of migrant construction workers, helping to build high rises in this very wealthy Arabic speaking nation.

I was taken aback. “Guest workers” laboring for little pay in that part of the world frequently suffer long hours and abuse at the hands of their contractors. Many live on company campsites set aside for. If there is a layoff, finding food becomes an issue. Yet, these men knew that their host country needed to hear the Good News, so they took up a collection and invested it in the Eternal Kingdom they hoped to see.

 When I picture the daily challenges these migrant workers faced, I imagine slaves hauling massive stones up a ramp to build a megastructure, a tomb, perhaps a pyramid. Today, the construction materials are different, jackhammers and tower cranes have replaced copper pickaxes and granite hammers, but the vision and hope these Filipino Brothers put into action is timeless, and often referred to in the Bible. 

 As a media missions “migrant worker” of sorts here at International Media Ministries, we feel the pinch of being far from home in a foreign land. However, these Filipino men stand very tall in my eyes. Their selfless act is a testament and a witness to the true Kingdom being built by Believers, who push the boundaries outward because they love the true and worthy King.

Share

Unqualified

Share

Unqualified

Back in the eighties, my dad got a job in computer programming by accident. He happened to be in the right office at the right time. He wasn’t there looking for a job, but the man he was there to talk to needed a position filled, so he offered him a job on the spot. Though my dad would go on to take classes, read books, and practice coding in lots of different languages, at the time, he had no experience. He had taken a few community college classes and was really interested in programming, but he definitely wasn’t qualified. Have you ever felt like that? You know there’s someone better equipped for the task, but for whatever reason, you’re the one who was chosen.

Recently, we were filming The Heritage Project in Moroccan Arabic. We had to work with the translator on some parts of the script that needed to be adjusted. As we were adjusting these parts, though, we also had to take into consideration certain editing restrictions. On top of that, the translator didn’t speak English; she spoke Moroccan Arabic and Spanish. So on top of thinking like an editor, I had to speak Spanish (which I’m far from fluent in!) I was well aware of my inexperience in both those areas, and I felt completely unqualified to even be in the room working on the task at hand, but for whatever reason, there I was and I had a job to do.

I think God loves to put us in situations like this, where our feeling of being “unqualified” is undeniable. Why? Because despite our lack, He shows up. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God tells Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” When we know we can’t do something in our own strength, we tend to rely more willingly on God. It’s a simple truth, but in the moment of feeling unqualified, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and forget. Often, we don’t breathe that peaceful sigh of relief until everything “works out” and we see the end result.

But in the second part of verse 9, Paul makes a proactive decision: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” I’ll be honest. Paul’s resolution to boast and be glad about his weakness is not one that comes easily to me. I think it looks different for each of us, but there are always areas of our lives where we would prefer not to feel weak or unqualified. Obviously, being strong, prepared, and in control feels much better! But God is inviting us to embrace the uncomfortable truth that we are never truly in control. Things will go much better if we release what’s out of our control into His hands and put our confidence in Him instead of ourselves.

As IMM navigates this crazy year and all the struggles that come with it, it’s easy to feel uncertain about the future. We are praying for more team members, continued support, new opportunities to share our programs, and direction. With the small team and big goals that we currently have, it can be easy to feel uncertain about the future. But I believe this a season for IMM (and perhaps for you) to lean into that uncertainty, boast in our feeling unqualified, and more heavily rely on God.

Share