Mission Magazine Digital | 2017-2018 Special Edition

MEET OUR NEWEST TEAM MEMBERS 2017-2018 Annual Update

His Message. Multiplied THE WAR ON DRUGS—

FREEDOM STORIES

Former addicts’ testimonies reach over 4 million people

MAKING HISTORY IN MYANMAR!

AP Media Japan—

A Culture of Silence

WE ARE REAPING —Galatians 6:9—

THE HARVEST

Because of Your Faithfulness!

Letter from

Bill

BILL & KIM SNIDER ASIA PACIFIC MEDIA DIRECTORS

The Call for First Responders As I write this letter, I’m in the midst one of those epic God moments that Kim and I have experienced in 30 years of ministry.

I’m in Yangon, Myanmar, with an AP Media team for a weeklong Multiply Training in social media and video production — the first social media training in the history of the country.

We anticipated 25 leaders from Myanmar to attend this weeklong training — the actual turnout was almost 80!

Because of your support, as we train these indigenous leaders in Myanmar, we are exponentially MULTIPLYING the Asia Pacific Media team by 80-FOLD in just ONE WEEK — to use the power of media to take His Message further than we could on our own.

This special annual issue of Mission magazine highlights just a few of the incredible resources and training opportunities that AP Media has been taking center stage in over the past year.

Yes! The harvest is great, but with your help, every day God uses our training efforts to MULTIPLY the workers in the Buddhist world of Myanmar and greater Asia Pacific — so that none might be lost!

Thank you for helping us lead the way!

2017-2018 Annual Update [3.]

THE HANDS & FEET OF MEDIA STEWARDSHIP —Peter Banzon— In my years working as a pastor in Metro Manila and with the ministry of AP Media I realize more than ever — Christian media is a vital platform for the Church.

Media multiplies messages, especially the Message. If we don’t use it, we’re rejecting something that God has given the church to steward.

It’s like if you’re traveling and you can take a car or walk.

You don’t even have to think about it. It’s not rocket science. If there’s a tool you can use, why not use it?

That is Christian media.

Asia Pacific Media’s DigiTracts have always been a key player for young people in our church because they get it. When I preach, I can show a short DigiTract, and they [4.] AP Media MISSION / apmedia.org

get it. I can use that illustration to make the message of the gospel memorable.

On a bus trip filled with reformed drug addicts on their way to a retreat, we showed one of the Freedom Stories. The counselors traveling with them were able to share the gospel more freely. One tool has multiple uses; essentially, the possibilities are endless.

And if you take it one step further to MULTIPLY the WORKFORCE, Christian media that is produced by indigenous workers in Yangon, Myanmar, can reach Burmese people anywhere in the world.

Media resources produced in the Philippines can reach our kababayans (fellow Filipinos) out there in Saudi Arabia or the whole of the Middle East. Things produced in Thailand equip all the Thai believers worldwide to sow seeds of the gospel.

These stories are AMPLIFIED by the power of media like film, radio and print materials. Now, through the internet, they have an immediate ability to impact lives globally. That’s where God is taking His Message, so all may HEAR and BE SAVED. 2017-2018 Annual Update [5.]

3

ways AP Media is N

AP Media’s Usapang Pamilya (“Family Talk”) DVD series has been retooled into website format with digital sharing capability.

The web repackage of the series puts this resource, which provides a healthy living perspective for individuals, relationships and families, at the fingertips of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) across the globe.

watch

“Abrod”

What struggles does an OFW family face, and how can their family best surOFWs often see their chilvive the years of absence? dren only a couple times “Abrod” sympathetically a year and face the added portrays this modern Filipino challege of parenting via issue. Get practical advice on text message and cell how your family can stay concommunication. nected and prosper during an Go to apmedia.org to check OFW experience. out these episodes in our digital issue. —UsapangPamilya.com— [6.] AP Media MISSION / apmedia.org

Nuturing Healthier Relationships

watch

watch

“Silip”

“Balisa”

Pornography can be a rather shameful issue, and sometimes we avoid discussing the addiction with our family members.

Watch how the family in our story gets released from the bad influence of pornography. Learn how those you care about can be free as well.

With Gina’s help as a dressmaker, she and husband, Jim, are able to support their family’s needs. But Jim’s diabetes and the possibility of her son losing his scholarship caused Gina’s worry to turn into conflict.

Find out how this family was able to restore their relationships.

2017-2018 Annual Update [7.]

Watch Renato’s Story

Novem

freedomXMultiplied Can you imagine the power of story as a former drug user shares how Jesus set him free from the bondage of addiction? What if those stories had the capacity be viewed by over 4 million addicts?

That’s exactly how many people saw the first two installments in our Freedom series. That number continues to climb every day!

Thank you, partners. Your prayer and support for Asia Pacific Media have made this possible!

AP Media continues to equip the Church to respond to the War on Drugs taking place in the Philippines with number three in our series — Renato’s story.

Renato is an artistic designer who creates art pieces and sells them to art lovers. His addiction to alcohol when he was 14 years old led him to to experiment with drugs. Caught in a drug bust, Renato landed in jail, where his lawyer gave him a Bible. He encountered Jesus in the Scriptures and experienced true freedom from his addiction.

Renato is now a certified counselor and resource speaker at Serenity in the Steps in Baguio City.

Through Life Risponde, the program he spearheads, Ranato is also working toward partnering with the Philippine National Police in their program to rehabilitate drug addicts.

Each Living Free video costs our ministry about $1200 to write, film, produce and distribute.

As you support AP Media, you enable us to provide video and print materials like these to supplement mber/December drug 2016 e-Issue [9.] rehabilitation workshops arranged by Global Teen Challenge in the Philippines.

2017-2018 Annual Update [9.]

—AP MEDIA INDONESIA REPORT—

THE NEW FACES OF FACEBOOK MISSIONS God is moving through the power of media missions in the fourth largest country in the world — INDONESIA. With your support, AP Media can multiply workers by training church leaders like Gatut, AG Indonesia Home Mission Director, to use this technology to fulfill the Great Commission.

“We have the largest number of unreached people in our nation,” Gatut said. “So, if you think about it, training these disciples to use media to share Christ is the most rapid and efficient way to reach many people in this country, especially in reaching the young generations.”

To effectively target the over 100 million Indonesians who are active social media users, we have helped the national Church launch AP Media Bahasa on Facebook.

This Facebook page is specifically designed to provide downloadable and shareable resources for Indonesian believers. We are providing every relevant AP Media resource in our media library translated into Bahasa, the language of Indonesia, for this exciting project.

Gatut said, “We are excited to partner with AP Media to learn to learn better how to utilize these tools to spread the gospel in our country, taking it further than its ever gone before.”

2017-2018 Annual Update [11.]

Letter from

Keith

KEITH & DELSEY GARNER ASIA PACIFIC MEDIA—PHILIPPINES

A Return to Our Heart Land Growing up in a pastor’s home, I was enthralled by the stories of the missionaries that we hosted. Through those stories I heard God call me to the mission field at the age of 12.

My sophomore year of playing college basketball, my team took a tour of the Philippines. During halftime, one of the team members would share a testimony. Then later that evening, two of us would return with the pastor from a local church and preach a salvation message. Thousands responded and several churches were planted as a result.

God accomplished three things in my life through that trip.

First, He expanded my view of ministry. I learned God could use something like basketball to reach the lost. Second, I fell in love with the people of the Philippines. Third, I met my future bride to be — Delsey.

After meeting, Delsey and I became pen pals. I graduated in 1996 and went to minister as a youth pastor on the Island of Saipan.

Delsey joined me there as my bride in 1998. There, our hearts expanded for the people of Asia Pacific.

We returned stateside in 2000 to serve both as youth and lead pastors. Now, 17 years later, God is opening the door for us to return to missions in a region close to our hearts.

We are excited to be working with Asia Pacific Media. Having volunteered with a local Christian TV station, we have witnessed firsthand the cultural influence of media. We want to see His Message, Multiplied as we continue producing relevant, highquality resources and training up Asian media missionaries to reach their homeland and beyond.

[12.] AP Media MISSION / apmedia.org

HIS MESSAGE, MULTIPLIED Through AP Media’s digital ministry tools and training, we are expanding our reach into Indonesia, Mongolia, China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Philippines and Nepal. Most of these resources can also be accessed by Filipinos living in many nations of the world, including the Middle East and Europe.

Filmmaking

Web and Social Media

Print Publication

Radio Ministry

Video Production

Media Training

REACHING ASIA PACIFIC

April/May 2017 e-Issue [13.]

[14.] AP Media MISSION / apmedia.org

Letter from

Jonathan

JONATHAN & MELISSA LOWRANCE ASIA PACIFIC MEDIA — JAPAN

A Culture of Silence JAPAN — It’s a nation rich in beautiful expressions of culture that are unlike anything we had ever experienced. But with those wonderfully unique aspects of culture, there is something that casts a shadow over this country.

At first glance, it’s something that many visitors marvel at, passing it off as exceeding politeness. It’s a culture of silence, a silence that covers the country like a thick blanket, choking out the voice of truth. It’s extremely evident during morning commutes, as nearly complete silence envelopes a train where 300-400 people pack each car like sardines in a can.

As a byproduct of this silence, a wall stands between the people of Japan, preventing relational connections. This dynamic has made evangelism, for foreigners and Japanese alike, exceedingly difficult.

While Japanese are silently commuting to their jobs, most stare at their phones. In fact, they spend 3-5 hours a day on the internet.

Through the power of media and technology, we now have the opportunity to be a voice breaking through these walls of isolation.

What an incredible platform with which to share Jesus!

In 2014, after working in many areas of church ministry, God called Melissa and me to Japan. Along with our two daughters, London and Finley, we are joining with AP Media to train, equip and empower Japanese churches to effectively do media ministry.

Using the power of film, we look forward to telling stories which will reach the Japanese people with the love of Christ.

Thank you for interceding for the people of Japan and this new ministry opportunity, that God would send more indigenous media missionaries to help us accomplish this vision!

2017-2018 Annual Update [15.]

Multiply Training —Social Media

A HISTORIC MOMENT IN MYANMAR! —Bill Snider—

IMAGINE living in a place where you didn’t know one Christian, and the likelihood of speaking to a Christian this year was slim at best.

This is the Buddhist world of Myanmar.

Five short years ago, internet access was not available to the citizens of Myanmar. Now AP Media is at the forefront of instructing indigenous media missionaries to use this technology to fulfill the Great Commission!

In September, I and several other AP Media trainers, traveled to Yangon, Myanmar, to teach the VERY FIRST social media workshop in HISTORY of the country! Almost 80 media workers, representing many urban areas, were chosen [16.] AP Media MISSION / apmedia.org.

by their church leadership to attend this training session.

As we conducted our sessions, there was no doubt that the timing for this training was GOD-ordained!

God is MULTIPLYING workers for the harvest LIKE NEVER BEFORE, so ALL the WORLD might HEAR the GOOD NEWS! “This is the right time to conduct the media training country of people who have yet to hear.

During this special training session in Myanmar, we actually used students to produce a short film testimony of a former Buddhist monk who is now a committed Christ-follower. for our young people,” said Aung Moe Tan, pastor of an Assemblies of God church in Yangon. “It is very effective and will help us share the good news and advance the kingdom of God.” Media workers like those pictured above have the potential to create resources to take name of Jesus across a

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

-Philippians 4:19 (kjv)

Bong’s Story—

OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKER FOLLOWS GOD’S CALL TO MINISTRY —AP MEDIA STAFF— We are excited to share Pastor Bong Lagmay’s story, the next in our short film series to address the needs of our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

Following the economic crisis of 2006, Bong and his wife, Margie, had lost their businesses. Because of debt pressure, the couple decided together that Bong would take an architect job in Dubai. Regularly scheduled Skype calls kept the family bonded as a family.“However, I realized as the children got older, they needed their father,” said Margie.

Find out how God used this period in the Bong’s life to call him to leave his job in Dubai and follow His call to ministry.

Go to apmedia.org to check out the video above in our digital issue of Mission Magazine.

2017-2018 Annual Update [19.]

Fall 2016 / Summer 2017 Special Edition [19.]

PRAY AN HOUR We are seeing a great harvest unfold in Asia Pacific. But God’s Message is clear — We must not grow weary in the task. Prayer is key to every idea, every resource, every media missionary we train and every open door we walk through.

Time is better invested, finances go further and fewer problems occur when people are praying consistently and fervently! We need you to commit to pray for just 2 minutes a day for the next 30 days specifically for Asia Pacific and the staff of AP Media.

GIVE AN HOUR In 2017, in order to respond to the War on Drugs in the Philippines alone, AP Media continues to produce resources that tell

true stories of drug abusers who have found freedom in Christ. Instead of hopelessness, the Church can be a place hope. It has been our privilege to help equip the body of Christ to step up.

To meet this growing need, your faithful prayer and steady monthly support are required. Your partnership allows us to engage this opportunity while not losing sight of the ministry’s momentum in other countries like Myanmar and Indonesia and in the Middle East.

Please help us be fully equipped to meet these challenges in the year ahead: $50 will help support an hour of ministry, $400 a day, $2,500 a week, and so on. Any investment, no matter the size, will multiply God’s work across Asia Pacific. Also, if you have extra resources this month, please consider a special offering on top of your normal monthly commitment today to help invest in our ministry as we focus on making future productions in the Living Free series. Each $1200 video production will help us share that abundant LIFE is possible through Jesus Christ!

You can mail or make your donation securely today at apmedia.org/give or by texting APMEDIAGIVE to 95577 (U.S. only).

God is opening many doors to reach Asia Pacific with the gospel. Thank you for helping us walk through them with your faithful support.

[22.] AP Media MISSION / apmedia.org.

For $50 an Hour You Can Multiply Hands & Feet in Asia Pacific

Fall 2016 / Summer 2017 Special Edition [21.]

JOIN ASIA PACIFIC MEDIA Mobile U.S. Connect —Text APMEDIA TO 95577