Innovation in Mission
10 Mar 2021
Meet ‘Beni’
I’m thinking of Beni. He’s not a real person – just a ‘persona’, an imaginary member of a real unreached people group. ‘Beni’ is unemployed, and 25 years old. His life is full of problems and he feels hopeless. The government is hostile to Christians, and he has never heard the good news or met a believer. He hides from his problems by playing mobile games and scrolling Facebook. He has lots of doubts about his religion but doesn’t know who to talk to. He doesn’t know yet, but the Bible and a host of other media have been translated into his heart language. Beni is just a few clicks away from some very good news!
My Journey into Media
News of COVID was making headlines and I was boarding a plane to Asia. I was searching for an opportunity to serve in Beni’s town. A few people had warned me in advance – “the ground there is hard” and “those people have always resisted the gospel.” On my last day in Bein’s town, a worker off-handedly shared a gospel presentation produced in the local language. He shared that it had not yet been used.
A week later, I arrived home in time for lockdown. I sat in my room imagining Beni, laying on his bed, losing himself in Facebook. A friend happened to share a video with me about making gospel ads for the media platform. I quickly set up an account and posted that gospel presentation in the local language. I paid $14 to advertise it… and waited. A few days later, the post had been watched thousands of times, and liked and shared by hundreds. It turns out Beni “liked” being told about Jesus! God had given me a COVID project – broadcast the gospel to this least reached people!
People became increasingly responsive to the posts. One particular post would mark a turning point – a simple video-ad on prayer, inviting people to message me. More than a hundred unbelievers started chats with me, asking to learn more about Jesus! I sent a screenshot to some workers on the ground saying, “all these people in your town are asking to learn about Jesus! Help!”
Media to Movements
A week later God brought us together as a team. What do we do? We simply advertise the gospel on social media in local languages. We find people of peace through chat and comments. So far, hundreds of people have asked to learn more, or to receive prayer. Many thousands have watched the Jesus Film. The challenge is to take the conversations deeper, and ultimately, disciple face-to-face. We want to see Beni become the start of a disciple making movement!
It’s a strategy that some people call Media to Movements. It looks novel, but it’s not. We’re just doing what Jesus did – going to the lost and making disciples.
Want to learn more? Visit kingdom.training
Is God calling you to join the mission field? Get in touch.