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Impact Media
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Summer 1998, No. 1
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Introducing
'Impact Media'
This is the first issue of Impact Media, a news
and information letter about Impact Media
Ministries (IMM). IMM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization dedicated to implanting action-producing
vision for the completion of the Great Commission
of Jesus Christ. IMM was organized in 1996 with
the goal of motivating people towards effective
involvement in Christian world missions. The plan,
according to founders Scott Powell (now a full-time
missionary in India), Gary Peterson (also a
missionary, in Australia) and Jim Au (president
and only staff personnel, in Portland, Oregon),
is to use media technology as a tool to
communicate the needs, opportunities and
challenges found uniquely in world missions.
Media is esteemed for its motivational,
promotional, training and educational potential.
Personal Glimpse (from the President)
Since 1995, I have completed a total of 35 media
projects for IMM. Out of these, 25 were video
programs ranging in length from 1 minute to a
half hour, and 18 were accomplished since October
1997, merely a 9 month period. Twelve mission
organizations or churches were direct recipients
of these projects. It has been a tremendous
learning experience for me. It's been an exciting
year as well as a challenging one. The Lord is
ever stretching and growing my faith in Him. ---Jim
Au
Church Experiences Growth in Missions
Greater Portland Bible Church has a good
reputation for a strong world missions program.
They practice faith promise giving and support
many foreign missionaries throughout the world.
Recently, they have experienced a noteworthy
increase in their missions program with the
addition of IMM providing visual impact.
During the church's 1997-8 fiscal year, IMM
produced half a dozen short video programs for
their missions emphasis. These videos were
projected during worship services to typical
audiences of around 1,000. Four videos were
specifically designed to boost participation in
the March 1998 missions conference.
The results were favorable. While tracking
missions giving throughout the year, pastor Bill
MacLeod observed a consistently large increase in
giving to missions faith promise whenever an IMM
video had been shown the Sunday before. After the
conference, the annual faith promise commitment
leapt up nearly 150% from the prior year. On top
of that, more than a dozen persons committed
themselves to missions service. Results such as
these had never before been seen. MacLeod noted
that the videos were an integral component to
these results, "I believe it was the regular
consistency and quality of these products,
hitting people between the eyes in a friendly,
non-threatening way that captured our attention,
and helped us to make the right choices with
regards to our response."
Dream to Reality: IMM's Beginnings
(Snapshot 1) It all started in Carl Townsend's
kitchen. That's where Scott Powell and Jim Au
decided to spend their lunch break shooting the
breeze one day late in 1993. "Why is it the
Communists are so adept at using propaganda to
sway their people's beliefs, and we in the Church
won't hardly even touch media? And they do it all
over the Muslim world with public radio
announcements." With this and many other
thoughts, Scott and Jim pondered what
responsibility the Church must have for using
technology to move people towards an appropriate
response to the world's desperate need for the
gospel. Soon afterwards, Jim began studying
computer trade magazines to gain some
understanding of what media technology might be
accessible to the "common man".
Recorded Feedback: Letters
"I received and was able to view your video
samples. What you are doing has a lot of value. I
particularly like the Seven Reasons tape. Keep up
the good work."
---Dr. Malcolm Hiett, president, Mustard Seed
Media
San Jose, California
"I can't begin to tell you how much we all
love your videos and how much we appreciate all
the work you did to get them ready for our
Manipur program. We were impressed with the
beauty of the land and the people as captured by
your wonderful photography, and we just feel so
grateful to you for preparing this marvelous
introduction to the [unreached] Meitei people for
us."
---Harriet Menzel, Mountain Brook Presbyterian
Birmingham, Alabama
"Just wanted to let you know how much I
appreciated all you did to make this year's [missions]
conference the best ever. Thank you for allowing
the Lord to use you to create such compelling
images before our body to motivate them toward
vision for missions and the world."
---Bill MacLeod, missions pastor, Greater
Portland Bible
Portland, Oregon
On the Horizon: A Look Ahead
New projects are underway for the coming 1998-9
season. Efforts are being made to increase
exposure and "product shelf life". One
such project is an updated Powerpoint
presentation for a 3-day leadership seminar
designed and offered by Global Focus of Woodstock,
Georgia. Already, this seminar has encouraged
literally hundreds of churches throughout the USA
to vastly increase their awareness of and
commitment to strategic world missions. It is a
privilege to have been called on personally by Dr.
Larry Reesor, Global Focus' president, to team up
with them for this project.
The Northwest regional office of ACMC (Advancing
Churches in Missions Commitment) has requested a
promotional video for their Fall 1998 conference,
with the aim of drawing young people. This effort
of targeting youth is a first for ACMC Northwest,
as well as for IMM. In addition to these, many
more media projects, over a dozen, are already
planned for the coming year.
Please be praying for:
Successful recruitment of student volunteers in
Fall 1998 to assist in project development,
The Lord to provide much needed technical
personnel, administrative assistants and
financial support,
Media projects will be a tremendous blessing to
the whole Church and the global missions movement.
Frequently Asked Questions
"Why is IMM a nonprofit ministry rather than
a business? Can it operate as a business?"
· IMM was formed in 1996 as a religious
nonprofit ministry when Jim Au sensed a strong
leading from the Lord to follow this path.
Confirmation came through many sources, including
some key mission leaders.
· Over 90% of the North American Church's
resources are spent at home, with less than 1%
actually going to pioneer missions. Full-time
missionaries going to the field are in decline.
Because of this, IMM gives priority to increasing
resources for overseas, unreached and pioneer
missions over all other Christian ministries.
· The need for missions multimedia is great. IMM
already has a long waiting list of organizations
requesting projects. We have limited time,
staffing and resources.
· As a 501(c)(3) religious corporation, limited
business- related activities are not disallowed,
for example, book or video sales. However, use of
IMM's equipment to produce multimedia is not
allowed in any commercial or business-related
endeavor, e.g. wedding video or advertising. To
keep our 501(c)(3) status, it is necessary to
stay focused on truly nonprofit activity.
· Most potential business endeavors would not
fit IMM's mission statement and would not sell.
For example, who would buy a video about the need
in Ethiopia? These are usually given away for
free.
· Commercially, videos and multimedia such as
IMM produces cost around $250 to $1,000 per
minute of finished product. This poses a
significant barrier to many mission organizations
and churches who could greatly benefit from this
technological medium, but find it very difficult
to afford. Doesn't God deserve our best?
· If IMM were a business, we would be focused on
serving those who could afford the product
instead of accomplishing that which is most
strategic in finishing the task of world missions. |
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