International (MNN) – International Media Ministries, based in Madrid, Spain, is dedicated to training national Christians across the globe to use media to tell their stories and share the Gospel. The mission—to get Jesus on every screen.
“Right now, our niche is to create dramas, whether that’s a micro-drama of two-minutes for social media, or a full drama that’s going to be broadcast on a satellite channel,” says Denise Godwin, President of International Media Ministries.
IMM in Action
Currently, IMM has projects in the works which tell the story of the early Church. Godwin says it is important to share these stories because the early Church shaped how we cope with persecution today, how we love one another, and how we cope with outside stresses.
(Photo courtesy of Jakob Owens on Unsplash)
“All of that is really developed in those first centuries. What we’re finding is it really resonates still today, depending on what part of the world you’re looking at, and the news headlines that you’re seeing,” Godwin says.
IMM has a video library with works in 70 languages. The organization intentionally partners with other organizations and satellite channels to reach people in those 70 languages. Some of these partnerships involve translation, product development, and even follow-up work. However, each one of these partnerships has the goal of ensuring that the national church can use the final works for conversations which lead to Christ.
Training With IMM
Through its training, IMM teaches people how to create stories with the tools available to them, like a mobile device. IMM also teaches Christians how to engage with and develop their media outreach by sharing their stories with their people. However, sharing a video on social media is not enough. That is why IMM does strategy training to empower national Christians to strategically use media to share Christ.
“It seems there’s a developing global culture of video-oriented people. But, what we find is story tends to be the thing that draws people a little more strongly than say reporting. We all kind of check in on the news, but we want to sink into a story. And so, training people to tell stories in a clear way, in a strateg[ic] way is really important, and seems to have a really big draw for people,” Godwin says.
(Photo courtesy of Ben Kolde on Unsplash)
Plus, this training is not a one-and-done. Instead, it leads to long-term impact. Godwin says IMM’s founder recently shared some inspiring stories. In the early 80s, some people came to IMM for media and television training. Today, these same people work with national television in Iceland.
Another story Godwin remembered is about a national church IMM trained. This national church eventually grew to have its own radio station and its own TV channel. Today, it is run by locals. These stories are exactly what IMM works towards—Christians who are empowered to use media to share the Gospel in their cultures.
“We’re not involved at all anymore. But, it’s just empowering people to communicate with their own people. And that’s a marvelous tool to give to someone to have in their own culture,” Godwin says.
Will You Join IMM’s Work?
IMM looks for people who can train in media to partner with them. Have a skill-set related to media? Then consider sharing it and some of your time to come alongside IMM in training opportunities.
Another way to join IMM’s work is through prayer. Pray for IMM’s events, training opportunities, and video projects. Pray for God’s hand to cover IMM’s work and to bless it.
To financially support International Media Ministries’ work, click here.
Discover some of International Media Ministries’ work here!
To contact International Media Ministries to access more videos, click here.
Header photo courtesy of Sam McGhee on Unsplash.
