Mission Magazine 2023 Annual Update

MEDIA & MINISTRY MEDIA & MINISTRY CONFERENCE CONFERENCE

MENTORING MENTORING GROUPS GROUPS

NOT ALL OF US WILL GO TO THE NATIONS, BUT ALL OF US HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO PLAY A PART IN MAKING DISCIPLES BY ANY MEANS, IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE.

Vision Statement

We see Christ followers effectively utilizing media to reach every people group in Asia

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Bill Snider

MANAGING EDITOR/DESIGN

Amber Weigand-Buckley

COPY & LAYOUT EDITOR

Tom Young

EDITORIAL SECRETARY

Annette Santos

WEB MANAGER

Patrick Tan

APMedia was established in 1989 as a regional ministry of Assemblies of God World Missions.

Mission Statement

We advance the gospel in Asia Pacific by empowering Christ followers to effectively utilize media and technology

Values Statement

We are a Christ-centered ministry that values:

• Integrity

• Excellence

• Contextual relevance

• Innovation

• Partnerships and teamwork

BILL & KIM SNIDER ASIA PACIFIC MEDIA DIRECTORS

COVID & THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION

COVID was a game changer. As the news focused on quarantines, shutdowns, and countless deaths worldwide, churches were limited for three years on how they could meet—especially in Asia. It was a difficult time. But there is an untold story. An unconventional revival to saturate digital space with the Good News. COVID forced churches to enter into the digital world to focus on discipleship and evangelism. We saw exponential growth in streaming of Sunday services, prayer meetings, and even small groups. Before COVID, only some did this.

Throughout the region, churches saw testimonies of salvation, healing, and restoration of families and relationships due to the reach of media ministry. As a result, demand for church media training is only increasing.

For APMedia, this presented an excellent opportunity to serve the Church. From instructional videos to creating a Media and Ministry Forum to returning to in-person training, APMedia has become the go-to source for ideas and practical instruction.

We are reaching places in the world we could never reach in person. In this issue of Mission you’ll have the opportunity to hear about just some of those ways your partnership is Multiplying His Message like never before.

Releasing Releasing Limitless Limitless Potential Potential

This year, Asia Pacific Media hosted its first ever conference dedicated to training church media workers.

In February 2023, 700 media workers across the Philippines attended “Limitless,” in metro Manila. Dynamic speakers imparted vision to the attendees through the topics of limitless creativity, opportunities and

Originally, we only planned for 200-300 attendees. Those numbers continued to increase until the expected turnout was more than doubled! In fact, on conference day people were waiting outside the venue waiting to get in. Some had even ridden on a bus for 14 hours to

It was a fantastic sight to see media workers, who usually serve God quietly behind computers and mixers in the back of sanctuaries, worshiping God together from the depths of their hearts.

Following the activities and training, participants left with a greater passion and vision for their media ministry than before:

Here’s what some of our attendees said about this milestone event:

Limitless is the best conference I’ve been to. I did not only learn, I had fun, and I know I can apply everything I learned from the conference. Looking forward to next year! —Grace

This conference has given me a clear vision and self-reflection on our

The event was timely as I was reminded that we have a limitless God who can turn things around. —Samantha

Thank you APMedia for opening a platform where church media teams can grow, network and stay focused on the reason why we do what we do. I did not only learn and have fun, I know I can apply everything from the conference. —Bautista

It was definitely a fruitful experience. Definitely learned a lot from the speakers and learned how to be more rooted in Jesus in doing the

Mastering resources is not just about buying new and better equipment. It is also about properly stewarding what we have been

35 YEARS & BEYOND HIS MESSAGE, MULTIPLIED.

Asia Pacific Media has a clear vision.

It’s anchored in this value statement we began shaping 35 years ago, and it works today.

Our Christ-centered ministry values integrity, excellence, contextual relevance, innovation and partnership/teamwork.

Here is the breakdown of these guiding principles:

INTEGRITY. In our productions and communication with you, we will be truthful to the message and honest in our reporting.

EXCELLENCE. The gospel message deserves our best.

CONTEXTUAL RELEVANCE. We want the message to be understood well in the cultures and countries in which we prepare it.

INNOVATION. Digital media itself is very cutting edge, and it demands our best.

PARTNERSHIP/TEAMWORK. We multiply this message because we’re willing to give it away. We train others in countries around Southeast Asia so that they can produce messages that reach their own people. It costs about $120 to train one media missionary outside of the Philippines, and your partnership makes it possible. Thank you for your faithful prayers and financial support of Asia Pacific Media which is seeing His Message Multiplied more than ever.

d training, we Bangladesh, nam and the ccessed in t and Europe.

CHURCH MEDIA CONFERENCES

SHORT FILMS

In today’s fast-paced world, our attention spans are decreasing and stress levels are rising.

This can create a barrier to effectively sharing the message of Jesus with others. One way to help break through this barrier is by using visuals —lots of them! This helps us capture people’s attention and immerse them in the narrative we’re presenting. Images can be powerful tools for spreading the love of God.

The ‘Yan Si Hesus (That’s Jesus) video series aims to demonstrate, with the power of engaging black-and-white visuals, that Jesus is everpresent in our lives.

Whether we need emotional support, someone to understand us, or a source of unconditional love, Jesus is always there for us.

Through these emotive videos, we hope to open hearts and minds to truly comprehend the value of having a relationship with our Savior. As people spread these videos on their social platforms and among their peers, they’re contributing immensely toward more meaningful spiritual conversations.

APMedia’s ‘Yan Si Hesus social-media evangelism campaign seeks to start conversations about weighty topics such as Heartbreak, Failure, Success, Betrayal, Weakness, and Burdens.

We hope that, through this project, individuals, churches, and Christian organizations will have the necessary resources to saturate social media with a message of hope.

We pray that these conversations would lead people to accept Jesus as their Savior, step foot inside a church, and become connected.

This project speaks to the mission and vision of Asia Pacific Media. We are committed to equipping Christ followers to use media in evangelism: ‘His Message, Multiplied.’ The work wasn’t done just by our paid staff. Many members from our online community lent their voices for voiceovers and submitted photos to help tell this story. Ultimately, however, we owe the success of this project to *’ Yan Si Hesus!’*

“Media is irreplaceable in Vietnam.”

These words from a church leader capture the partnership that APMedia has with the Vietnam Assemblies of God churches.

In 2017, prior to COVID, Pastor Samuel contacted me in Manila. We had been friends for almost 20 years. He asked if APMedia would help the church. He had a vision to tell stories of God’s work in people’s lives using YouTube and to have a presence on Facebook.

We responded later that year and have continued to work with churches and his team in Ho Chi Minh City for five years, minus the years when COVID kept us from in-person contact.

Vietnam is wide open for digital ministry. Over 90% of adults 18 and older are on Facebook. Church workers are young and motivated. They want to learn.

Since 2017 we’ve done four workshops in Vietnam, three in the south and most recently, one in the north.

Our second in-person training session took place in Haiphong and was attended by an incredible group of young individuals and numerous churches who participated enthusiastically.

During the session, we encouraged media missionaries to create posts for our social media page, and every pastor recorded a two-minute video message. The content generated was impressive, particularly considering it was their first time.

The church in Vietnam is seeing their outreach grow. Some of their media team leaders are now beginning to train smaller churches in using social media ministry. They have learned that social media and stories can reach beyond the congregation and bring lost people to faith in Christ.

Long-term relationships with leaders develop into long-term ministry that influences the direction of a church. I’m thankful for God’s favor on 35 years of ministry through Asia Pacific Media—your partnership has made this kairos moment possible!

THE GOOD NEWS IS SPREADING...

reaching japan

In Japan, there are few believers, but the Church is beginning to use social media to expand its reach.

We were proud to take part in this initiative, providing online training for leaders and workers over the past two years due to COVID restrictions.

In February 2023, APMedia was invited by the Japan Assemblies of God to Tokyo for an in-person church leadership training session—a first for APMedia!

Our participants, mostly in their 20s, were able to use their creativity to apply themselves to launching outreach initiatives. Through the training they saw successful learning and growth in their confidence that God can work through digital mediums like Facebook pages, Instagram and YouTube channels. It’s exciting to watch them progress. As a result of this training, the Church leaders in Japan began an online Media Forum in April. Also, we have been asked to return to Japan in early 2024 for follow-up in-person training.

Rev. Tomomitsu Shibuya, executive director for evangelism for the Japan Assemblies of God, said this:

“We had three online seminars in the past, which was very fruitful, but holding this kind of workshop and having people gather is very different. We were all eager to hear from the team. All the classes were practical and easy to understand.

What struck me was the team’s passion and spirit for the mission and evangelism. I want to thank APMedia for sacrificing a lot and coming to Japan for this workshop. I thank God for the future of Japan and for reaching out to the people for His Kingdom through media.”

THE LIGHT OF

HOPE IN MYANMAR

Believers in Myanmar continue to struggle with the upheaval because it is not as easy to get around.

COVID has been very bad in the country at different times. Several pastors and church workers have lost their lives to COVID, and until recently, they didn’t have the vaccine.

The Church has increased its online presence in the past few months. In that time, their Facebook page has grown 30 percent. The page is close to 14,000 followers.

Our APMedia team member and his family live in a General Council office—a fivestory building designed as an office building, not for a family to live in. But because they can’t find a place to live and because finances are so tight, they live in that place with their two children. Here is a message he wanted me to share with you:

MyanmarAssemblies ofGod leadership assigned me to do media ministryforthe church in Myanmar. So I went to Asia Pacific Media headquarters in the Philippines to increase myknowledge and skillinvideo production. I gainedvaluable insights on creating greatvideos.

Thankyou forallyou do to support this greatworkwhich is reaching the countryofMyanmarwith the Message ofHope! I had the opportunityto expand myknowledge invideo production thanks to the team atAPMedia. I learned howto create high-quality videos, aswellas howto edit and export differentvideo formats.

The teamwas extremelysupportive, offering guidance and assistance along theway and supplying uswith allthe resources we needed, including cameras, lighting, and even the studiowhere we could work from.

Itwas thanks to theirhelp that Iwas able to gain the skills and knowledge necessaryto produce greatvideos that reach the people ofMyanmarwith the Message ofHope.!

DID YOU KNOW?

99.2% of the Philippines’ total internet user base (regardless of age) used at least one social media platform in January 2023.

40% of the time spent online by Filipino internet users is spent on social media.

4.76 billion active social media users across the globe as of January 2023.

Over 56% of social media users reside in the Asia Pacific region.

Internet users in Thailand spend 8+ hours online daily. While internet users in Japan spend under 4 hours online daily.

The daily average use of social media globally is 2 hours and 31 minutes.

Pray for Asia Pacific Pray for Asia Pacific

1) We have successful reports and from on-site training in Japan and Vietnam in early 2023 and already have requests to return.

2) The response to LIMITLESS, our first media ministry conference which took place in Manila in March, was more than double of what was expected.

3) The ’Yan Si Hesus social media evangelism campaign has launched in the Philippines to positive response.

4) For the growth that we are seeing as the Lord enables us to continue building teams of media workers across Asia Pacific.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1) Please pray for our growing APMedia team in the Philippines and Japan and for teams we work with in Myanmar, Vietnam and other nations in Asia.

2) Pray for God’s open doors for training. Our workshops will help churches and train leaders. Pray with us for guidance in responding to opportunities.

3) Pray with us for growing financial support. As we serve more places, costs go up. In 2023 we will add new team members. Your partnership makes growth happen.

4) Pray for creativity. Social media and video are constantly changing. We must be on the cutting edge if we are to attract people who have no relationship with God.

5) Pray for Asian national churches to incorporate media ministry into their plans and outreach.

AI & CHURCH

In this webinar, Pastor J.P. Arceno, a postgraduate student in digital theology, shared an insightful message about AI and its relationship with the Church. He shared three significant points that were correlated with theological principles such as Creation, the Fall, and Redemption. Like every single thing, AI was also created. It was created with an amoral purpose, which means that this technology’s purpose is dependent on its user. Moreover, due to abuse of users everywhere, AI has somewhat met its downfall and has become utilized to produce unethical and immoral results. However, like man, there is still hope for redemption for this exceptional technology, that is for Christians to utilize it in advancing the Gospel to all nations of the world, both literally and digitally.

EXPLORING AI GRAPHICS FOR MINISTRY

Martin Körber, the graphics and web designer of Asia Pacific Media PH, shared an informative talk in this webinar. Martin introduced the various programs and applications which can be utilized by users to create graphics with ease. He explains how each program is different from the other. This gave an opportunity for the listeners to assess which program best suited them. The purpose of this webinar is for listeners to equip themselves with more skills in creating graphics for their respective churches and be able to make use of available technology for better efficiency and convenience.

DIGITAL OUTREACH USING VIDEOS

Coming from the launch of the ’Yan Si Hesus campaign, this webinar by digital missionary Ace Pendon was very timely, useful and encouraging. During the webinar, Ace shared a strategy on how to effectively use videos, specifically ’Yan Si Hesus videos, in sharing the Gospel with other people. He also encouraged the listeners that, despite being challenging, digital outreach using videos is still fulfilling, rewarding and definitely worth doing.

In 2022, Media & Ministry Forum grew to over 5,000 members on Facebook alone and added Mentoring Groups to maximize one-on-one support and training. They are committed to providing small-group support to media workers as they create Messages of Hope to reach the online world.

This year your faithful support continues to help us Multiply His Message in new ways by equipping more workers to develop their skills and utilize an ever-advancing technology.

Here’s what our mentees are saying:

I appreciate APMedia establishing this mentoring program. It is a huge help to those with a deep passion for the ministry. —Paolo Miguel Ordonio, His Life City Church

I joined APMedia’s Mentoring group because I saw the need to improve our (church) Facebook page and make it work in reaching out to more people. Our mentor showed us the literary styles in the Bible and how we could emulate them as we communicate with people. As a result, I gained confidence in crafting my message for my audience by applying it to myself! —Queen Christine Manal, Antipolo Assembly of God

APMedia helps connect our ministry with the world. Our media team of seven people are mostly youth. Little by little, we apply what we learned from APMedia Mentoring Groups. We’re upgrading our computers and video system to improve live streaming. —Pastor Rey Fernando, Seeds of Jesus Full Gospel Church

Our church is close to the Payatas dump site and has been here for almost 22 years. We found the pandemic a big blessing to our church. Through the forum and mentoring groups, we saw our church grow through social media; we see the Word of God spreading through social media to encourage many to serve the Lord. —Dwight Ril Maputi, Jesus Christ for You and Me Community Church

APMedia is an ever-growing ministry; as technology continues evolve, we are committed to helping churches utilize it to multiply the harvest. It’s thrilling to see what happens when our training is put into action and one church media ministry starts training mentoring others. Your investment in these lives is growing the church exponentially, so all may hear!

YOUR PARTNERSHIP HAS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE

As we complete our 35th year of ministry, YOU are essential to helping APMedia's influence across Asia Pacific grow above and beyond what we ' ve imagined You have continued to allow us to expand our online training capacity and return to in-person training Thank you for multiplying the work of the Digital Church.

THANKS TO YOUR FAITHFUL SUPPORT, HERE’S WHAT YOU'VE HELPED US ACCOMPLISH!

WE CONDUCTED THE FIRST IN-PERSON TRAINING SINCE THE PANDEMIC this summer We met with 80 pastors and church workers in Vietnam who took a step forward in their online ministry.

WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT APMEDIA MYANMAR WITH RESOURCES

to reach almost 20K followers through their Media for Hope Facebook page Producing and broadcasting these videos continue to offer Good News during this time of prolonged political unrest.

WE ENGAGE, MENTOR AND TRAIN CHURCHES ALL ACROSS SOUTHEAST ASIA to utilize ever-advancing digital technology for Digital Evangelism, Outreach and Discipleship

WE CONTINUE TO CREATE RELEVANT DIGITAL RESOURCES to address different topics such as forgiveness and grief as well as other Messages of Hope.

WE INVEST IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF CHURCH WORKERS casting a vision for media ministry from the local church and added online mentoring groups to enhance our support of digital missionaries

PARTNERSHIP MATTERS

His Message,Multiplied

God is multiplying the digital harvest through partnership—and as we work together we are seeing results like we had never experienced before in 35 years of ministry. The training and resources we provide are only possible because of YOU! Thank you for your faithfulness, in the months and year ahead.

______ Yes, Bill! I would like to make a $65 APMedia partnership commitment to cover an hour of operations x hours as a one time or monthly reoccurring gift to assist with growing and resourcing the Digital Church in Asia Pacific (44)

_____ I would like to help provide $120 to train a media missionary in Southeast Asia x missionaries with my one time or monthly reoccurring gift of $ (44)