Mission Magazine | Mar-Apr 2015

March/April 2015

His Message. Multiplied A Return to: pg. 4

Family Values pg. 12

Digi Tracts

TRUTH FOR THE DIGITAL AGE

UPDATE:

China pg. 8

RESTORING

Hope for Arnaldo pg. 10

Behind the Scenes

with Rhoda Chan

Editor

Letter From The

a culture and ask hard questions, felt needs present themselves as a starting point for a gospel message. We have seen results!

BILL SNIDER, Director ASIA PACIFIC MEDIA

A few years ago in a seminary class on encountering other religions, I was challenged by this idea: our job is to find “landing strips” for the gospel message.

Imagine with me, nations of people that do not have access to THE MESSAGE or understand the “good” in the Good News.

A “landing strip” is a point of contact, an access point, where our message makes sense and speaks to the needs and fears, as well as the hopes, of a people.

We are living during an era where communication technology is exploding. The tools, whether they be DVDs, MP3 downloads, the internet or smartphones, offer us access. But the challenge is to find the connection point, where the gospel finds good soil, where the message relates or “lands.”

Over the years, we’ve discovered that families, with their struggles and hopes, are “landing strips.”

The gospel speaks to family needs and relationships. We’ve discovered that as we learn about [2.] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org.

One such media tool that addresses a felt need of the culture is our movie, “The Messenger,” about spiritism and the occult.

The movie, which has had over 180,000 views on YouTube in the past few months, offers a life changing truth: Jesus is more powerful than any spiritual force or fear in your life. The drama found a “landing strip.”

This issue of Mission magazine is focused on our efforts to reach, heal and restore families in China—one of the largest mission fields as well as the fastest growing Church in the world. Please continue to intercede with us so we can find new “landing strips” for the Good News in Myanmar and Indonesia—a strategic APMedia focus the coming year.

All of this has only been made possible because of your prayers and partnership over these years.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to help APMedia make a difference for families in Asia, in Jesus’ name!

STORIES

“(APMedia’s U-Kids) videos help the children understand better topics like: how to pray, be thrify, patient, responsible ...

For me as a teacher, these videos have everything I need .”

—Jessa Manalo Sunday School Teacher

Watch bit.ly/storiesjessamanalo

JESSA’S STORY at: apmedia.org [4.] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org.

March/April 2015 [5.]

IMPACT

Watch bit.ly/youthforumpromo CHINA YOUTH FORUM PROMO at: apmedia.org

CHINA UPDATE “There has been a huge growth of Christianity in China in the last 15 years, however there are very few trained pastors.

APMedia is equipping Chinese believers understand these things, and are discipling people who are discipling others.”

—Bill Snider, APMedia Director

[6.]

Thank You APMedia Partners for your investment in China!

We have an immediate need for $16,000 (U.S. dollars) to continue weekly video production.

APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org.

APMedia China, and its predecessor China Radio, has existed for more than 30 years. Originally a radio program was broadcast from Macau into Hong Kong and the southern tip of China. Today, APMedia broadcasts in Mandarin using digital audio-streaming websites and small MP4 players which contain the entire Bible and teaching materials onto a 2GB hard drive. Materials are updated daily to resource China.

I regularly make trips to Hong Kong to meet with APMedia—China team members Our primary work is to prepare, create and distribute discipleship and evangelistic materials mostly through websites. We produce a daily, four-hour, audio-streaming radio station that features teaching and commentary, as well as music.

Secondly,on the website you can search any topic and immediately be linked with related audio or video.

It’s a great web resource.

Thirdly, we’re produce multiple video shorts every month for individuals and churches to download and watch. These video shorts deal with church issues such as how to be a better pastor or how to teach the Bible, as well as family issues. Some videos include short youth-focused dramas about peer pressure, how to treat others and testimonies on how the gospel is changing young people’s lives.

This new material is being added to the abundance of resource already

available on the China website.

We are excited that this website gets hits and views from every province in China!

Each of these video shorts costs approximately $400 to produce.

We produce about one a week so more than 40 videos will be produced on leadership and family relationship topics this year!

At APMedia, we know we must be focused on reaching as many people in this part of the world while we still can! Will you help empower the mission?

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS GROWING MINISTRY: 1. That the Lord would call additional workers who are young, media-savvy and biblicallygrounded to join our team, so that we may produce more relevant material. The next generation has to continue to step up to deliver the gospel and we need workers.

2. For the funds to produce the videos. Each video costs $400 and we anticipate making at least 40 this year—approximately $16,000 (U.S).

3. For opportunities to partner with like-minded ministries so our tools would be used effectively by other organizations as well.

4. Pray for the APMedia foundational funds so we can continue to grow the ministry in China.

March/April 2015 [7.]

STORIES

[8.] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org.

“When I started attending a video Bible study called ‘Life Journey,’ (from the APMedia Family Talk series) my lifestyle changed and I began treating my family better. I gave up the things I did that hurt my family.”

—Arnaldo Villegas

Watch bit.ly/storiesarnaldovillegas ARNALDO’S STORY at: apmedia.org March/April 2015 [9.]

[8.] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org.

by Marilyn Luce Robertson

BEHIND THE SCENES Rhoda CHAN

Giving the Gospel a Voice in China

Based in Hong Kong, Rhoda Chan has worked with China Radio and APMedia China for nearly 25 years. Coming on board right after her graduation from Bible College, while China was still a closed country, she felt an urgent need to share the Good News with the people of her country. At the time, the only way to do that was through radio, so she began sharing broadcasts and becoming [10.] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org.

more and more involved in media ministry, embracing God’s call on her life, and serving the desperate spiritual needs of her beloved homeland.

APMedia: Media has changed so much since you began working in the field 25 years ago. Would you describe some of the changes you’ve seen in relation to China?

Rhoda: At the time I started, many people listened to our radio programs. They had to listen to God’s Word in secret. They were so hungered for God’s Word, they would often write and ask us for Bibles. There were no pastors in China at that time, and the Christians had to find ways to grow in the Lord on their own.

They would write letters to us with so many questions, and we were grateful for every piece of mail from them because it was difficult and dangerous for them to send letters. They would have to be handwritten and then delivered by hand over the border.

APMedia: In the last seven to eight years, there have been massive changes in China. Can you tell us about a few of the changes you’ve seen in your ministry?

Rhoda: Yes, we have witnessed dramatic changes in media. Now, we get emails instead of letters. It is so much easier to communicate back and forth, and more and more Chinese people are using social media, like QQ (China’s version of Instant Messaging) and texting. One of our team members spends time every day on QQ, carrying on conversations with people in China about their spiritual needs.

APMedia: When people email today, what kind of needs are

they sharing with you?

Rhoda: Nowadays, there are so many resources they can find online, but they still seek a person to ask questions, whether about the Bible or living their daily lives as a Christian. We have a QQ group with lots of uploaded interactive programs, and we can share ideas and have an ongoing dialog, just like a discipleship group.

APMedia: What keeps you motivated in doing this work over these many years?

Rhoda: I think it is the calling from God that inspired me to spend all of my youth and young energy on this ministry.

It’s our calling to fulfill the Great Commission, that the gospel must be shared with the over 1.3 billion people living inside China. It’s my hope that one day my people will have their own discipleship from inside China, and that the church can grow to reach other parts of the world also.

Watch bit.ly/impactchina IMPACT: CHINA March/April 2015 at apmedia.org.

[11.]

PROMO Watch bit.ly/promodigitracts PROMO: DIGITRACTS at apmedia.org.

by Heather Van Allen

DIGITRACTS— Truth for the Digital Age “[Teens and young adults] are the people using smartphones in creative ways.”

—Bill Snider, APMedia Director

[12.] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org.

Keenly aware of the popularity of digital devices amongst the younger generations, Bill and the APMedia team are tapping into tablet and smartphone technology, to creatively get the Message of hope out to a generation that is digitally plugged in.

The resource is DigiTracts, free downloadable short video clips, available on apmedia.org and YouTube, that students can view online or on their handheld devices. The video topics are the common issues that teens and young adults face, such as peer pressure, fears and acceptance.

Through the clips, students can get biblical perspectives as they face the issues that come up in their daily lives.

“Most DigiTracts use humor as the vehicle for communicating a simple truth statement,” Bill says. “They are thought starters— messages that someone can use to start a conversation on a spiritual subject.”

Students are able to watch the videos with friends and share them on their social media sites.

This has become an effective way to start a greater dialogue about these issues with their peers, and

a mode for sharing truth.

Bill says students find them easy to share and a great way to insert their faith into daily situations.

In the process, the Truth of Jesus’ unfailing love spreads, as students find the courage to follow Christ despite peer and cultural pressure.

“We are the first ministry in the Philippines that has attempted this type of approach, in sharing the gospel using cellphones and tablets,” Bill says.

Since DigiTracts is a new endeavor, the continual challenge will be to engage more and more students into using them, Bill says. However, so far, the response from those using them, such as Chi Alpha (college campus ministry) workers, has been positive.

Through DigiTracts, APMedia continues to multiply His message to those who need to hear.

To learn more about the four new DigiTracts which have just been released for March, go to apmedia.org.

March/April 2015 [13.]

Coffee@Home

Reach Hurting Families One Cup at a Time Let me introduce you to Faith (pictured below). She lives in the Philippines.

Her family was reached with the gospel using materials produced by APMedia.

APMedia produces many free resources to support families like her’s everyday. If we can reach a family member, we influence a home with the gospel.

We give many resources away free because family budgets are limited.

But producing these life-changing resources are impossible without your support.

Whether God is nudging you to take a step to help through prayer or finances, we need your support today!

We need 84 foundational partners to support APMedia with a commitment of $50 per month. It is vital that we have immediate response to this need in order to secure our future.

But if a $50 a month commitment is not doable, consider this: It just takes $5 to reach one family. Would you give up one cup of coffee and donate that $5.00 to APMedia? What if that effort was multiplied and you gave up one coffee each week over a whole month? It is possible!

No matter if you’re only able to give that $5, or your able to multiply it to make a $10, $20, $50, $100 or more one time or in a monthly pledge of support—it will all go towards meeting our monthly $10,000 a month operating budget that spans across the Asia Pacific. Let’s see souls impacted for the kingdom!

Take time to prayerfully look over the information on p. 15 and consider what you can do, then give something today. You can allocate your one time or monthly re-occurring gift at www.apmedia/give.

A little goes a long way to help us reach families across the Asia Pacific, in Jesus name!

Thank you for helping us see His Message, Multiplied!

[14.] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org.