After many years of life and ministry, there are people who stand out in my memory. These are people who have a passion for their life and their work. They are spiritually minded and discerning. They may live in difficult circumstances, but they remain positive about their calling and optimistic about the future and what God is doing. They are pursuing God’s agenda for ministry. Seeking God’s agenda for ministry takes patience and endurance. We started Asia Pacific Media in our living room in 1988. Starting something was exciting; staying with it was hard work. Seeking God’s agenda involves growth and flexibility. Usually God’s agenda, His plan, comes in embryonic form. It did for us. We didn’t fully see it, nor do we really comprehend the details that will be involved. The dream forces us to grow. It will stretch us beyond what we think we can do. Drama and movies were not [2] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org
part of the original dream for Asia Pacific Media. That was not my training or background. This is where shared vision and partnership came into play. Working with Sword Productions and others, we’ve been able to see indigenous dramas produced for several nations, most recently for Nepal. We were able to create the “Usapang Pamilya” (“Family Talk”) video series, which led to a Web site and most recently into children’s dramas. Media professionals were attracted to this project and became instrumental in seeing it come to pass. Seeking God’s agenda also involves integrity and humility. Without personal and ministry integrity, the pursuit of the dream will unravel. God wants to speak to us, to guide our lives’ work. It all begins with an encounter with God. You become passionate about His call on your life. You walk out the vision, and, in the process, develop patience and endurance. You share the vision and form partnerships with others. You
care for the core, your walk with God and integrity in your dealings with others. Over a decade ago Rick Warren wrote the book, The Purpose Driven Life. I believe he touched a nerve that lies in the back room of all of our lives. We want our life to mean something. We want our time to have made a difference. God will not leave us in the dark. His Spirit is our helper as we navigate life’s challenges. This issue of MISSION is simply the story of people who have tried, at times imperfectly, to walk out God’s agenda. Acts 13:36 says, “David had served God’s purpose in his own generation” (NIV). That is the goal!
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“I believe media is a powerful tool in sharing Christ,” says Revo Avarientos, a contributing writer for Asia Pacific Media (APMedia), a ministry that has been reaching lives for Jesus for 25 years, continually developing and growing with each passing year.
Nepal, Myanmar and the Pacific Islands to effectively use media to spread the Message of hope found in Jesus to people who need Him.
Beginning in 1988, in the home of Assemblies of God missionaries Bill and Kim Snider, with only one staff member, the ministry, originally known as Asia Project 2000, now operates, with 14 staff members, from the Ortigas Center in Metro Manila, Philippines.
At first, APMedia concentrated on training urban radio broadcasters, with the first training seminar for radio broadcasters held in 1989 at Immanuel Bible College, Cebu City. They conducted additional training seminars at Bethel Bible College, Valenzuela City. APMedia began producing radio programs aired in Metro Manila, such as “Hope for You,” “Hope for the Family,” and “Moments for Mothers.”
Though based in the Philippines, APMedia covers several countries in the Asia Pacific region, training Christians in China, Indonesia, [4] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org
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APMedia radio training gradually extended to the provinces, employing different dialects, such as Waray, Ilonggo and Ifugao. APMedia didn’t stop with radio, but began breaking into other media formats in the early ‘90s. Expanding on its mission to train others to develop and use media tools, in 1991 APMedia launched the Institute of Media Ministries, a four-week intensive training program in partnership with the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary in Baugio City, Philippines. The popular summer program continued for several years. APMedia also began producing materials in other media formats, including video, audio and print, for church planting, evangelism and discipleship. Some of the most current projects include the magazines, MOMS and MIP: Men in Progress (both targeting Filipino readers); video series “Family Talk” and “U-Kids”; and
feature films “Tolbo” released in Mongolia and “The Last Letter” released in Cambodia. APMedia was also the main producer for “Rebound”, “AMAAnak” (“Father-Son”), “Ang Sugo” (“The Sent One”) and “Bijay” (“Victory”). Now fully in the digital information age, several Web sites under the APMedia (apmedia.org) umbrella, speaking in the various voices and languages represented in the Asia Pacific region, are there to answer the call to keep up with the pace of cyber traffic, technology and media transmission. The ministry also has a presence on social media, showing up on Facebook and Twitter. “The next years are going to be so exciting,” says Bill. We are in - continued -
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production with a new series for kids—‘Usapang Kids (U-Kids).’ People will love this one. And we are committed to more widely distributing the materials we have already made. The best is yet to come.”
• In 2008, an APMedia-produced feature-length film won the Gideon Flame Award at the Philippine Christian Film Festival. • The first issue of MOMS maga- zine went out to 10,000 readers in January 2004. Currently, the circulation is 55,000. • In 1993, APMedia did the first Asian Institute of Media Ministries. Several graduates lead media work in their nations today. [6] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org
• APMedia China launched a resource Web site for believers in China in 2010. • As of 2012, over 1.7 billion people living in Asian countries access the Internet. (internetworldstats.com)
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APMedia: Josie, how did God speak to you about you being involved in ministry to China? JOSIE LEUNG: I had a very specific call to China ministry when I was still in college and God gave me a vision. I heard Him speak to me very audibly, in a missions convention, asking me what can I do for my own people. And He also gave me the verse in Ezekiel, asking Ezekiel to speak to his own people, and so that’s how it began.(See Ezekiel 2:7.) APMedia: What happened next? You actually spent some time in China? JOSIE: I started out first doing some research. During that time, China had opened its door, and I began to learn more about China--the condition of - continued -
[8] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org
the churches in China during that time. Then I was given an opportunity to visit China to be a Bible courier. In 1988, after my husband and I finished our Bible School study, we went to China for a year to serve as missionaries before we came back here to the Philippines. APMedia: How did you get connected with APMedia? JOSIE: It happened while we were missionaries inside China. We met Christian leaders there. One time I spoke to some brothers that came from the rural areas, and I asked them how they were receiving spiritual feedings. They had smiles on their faces and said, “Oh we usually receive our spiritual feedings through the radio.” When I was on the plane coming back home to the Philippines from China, I was in my heart praying and asking the Lord, “Now that I’m going back to the Philippines, how can I be able to continue the vision that God called me to, to minister to the Chinese?” Immediately the Lord reminded me of my conversation with this brother, and the Lord said, “You can still be involved in China ministry even though you are in the Philippines. You can be involved in broadcast
ministry.” And it just so happened, when we came back to the Philippines, I met you, and it was the opportunity to be able to connect and…start the China broadcast ministry. APMedia: How do you see that China has changed in the past 10 or 20 years? JOSIE: China was a persecuted church in the 1960s and 1970s, until it opened its door and there was a great revival that swept the country. In the 1980s, there was Christianity fever, when a lot of people came to know the Lord. People thought that because China’s door was closed, there were no more Christians inside China. But when China opened its door, we found not only have Christians survived, but that there were more who were interested and hungry for the Word of God. But lately, there’s even a greater change, and this started the last five years. Not only is there tremendous spiritual growth inside China, we’re also seeing increasing access, more ways to be able to reach the people. APMedia: Tell me some of what APMedia China is doing? - continued March/April 2014 [9]
JOSIE: At present, APMedia China is aggressively improving our Web site, zgtai.com. Today there are over 650 million internet users in China. We not only offer a daily web broadcast on our Web site, but we are looking at how we can develop more relevant materials in video, as well as in audio, to reach the younger generation, reach the urban areas, and at the same time to be able to give more spiritual teaching to the Christian leaders and churches inside China. APMedia: Is there still a need in China for Christian materials? What do believers or seekers need these to have? JOSIE: Yes…there’s a need for solid, biblical teaching and, most importantly, a need to understand our Pentecostal theology. We have a lot of contacts inside China who would like to understand more the works of the Holy Spirit. There are people looking for answers to practical issues like how to handle their marriage relationships and how to be able to raise their children. The strength of zgtai. com is because of the long-term relationship that we have with our [10] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org
listeners…. They know that whatever they get from our Web site is something that is really from the Word of God, that is teaching them truth. APMedia: Tell me the story of one person or a family that we have been able to help. JOSIE: One person that comes to mind is a 70-year-old military man who became a Christian. He’s right now in a very remote place in Northeast China. He is one of our faithful listeners of our radio program. [He] records our program from the radio broadcast so that he will be able to distribute it to other people. Now that we have a Web site, even though he’s advanced in age, he learned to use the computer to download all our radio broadcast programs and copy them on CDs. He distributes them to friends and to all brothers and sisters that he knows. Not only is he able to grow in his own spiritual life, but God also gave him the heart to be able to share the Message [of hope with] many people.
NEWS BYTE:
For more than 10 years, Asia Pacific Media (APMedia) has published MOMS magazine, a quarterly publication targeting Filipino mothers. Created to strengthen and disciple families, the magazine features articles that challenge and encourage women with parenting, financial, physical and spiritual help. MOMS also tells real life stories of struggle and restoration while unashamedly speaking of Christ. Today, APMedia distributes more than 55,000 free copies to churches, women’s prisons, abuse centers, schools, Christian bookstores, convenience stores, doctors’ offices and YWCA centers. “I didn’t know how to handle my salary before, but when I read an article in MOMS magazine about how to save money, I was enlightened. I realized I shouldn’t squander money but save out of my income,” reader Myrna Celada-Goseso says. “By God’s grace, I now have a sari-sari store, and we have two houses. I don’t often go
to the shopping malls anymore. I was an impulsive buyer before. Now, my salary extends until the next payday. I also give MOMS magazine to my neighbors and church mates. When I went home to the province, I also gave copies to my church mate who is a radio announcer, and my church mate says it was a big help, too.” Many stories tell how women have overcome challenges in life and encountered God, and their lives changed dramatically. Founder Kim Snider says a story written by a local writer was the most impacting. “Unquestionably, the article one my Filipino writers did concerning homosexuality,” she says. As for the future of the magazine, Snider says she hopes “to increase circulation, increase our pool of Filipino writers and inspire others to produce Christian publications in print and online.” March/April 2014 [11]
NEWS BYTE:
Most of the time, Asia Pacific Media is creating tools to tell the story of Jesus in the language and culture of the people. But during a disaster, their role changes to turning on the camera and showing the church responding, caring and supporting those who have suffered great loss,” says Bill Snider. This became true once again when Typhoon Haiyan hit the central Philippines on November 8, 2013. Many saw devastation in Tacloban City. CNN and others turned their cameras on, and it became a story. Stories of survival and loss; stories of relief efforts and challenges in reaching people in remote areas; all of it became real because the world saw it. But APMedia was able to tell the rest of the story. Stories of people who reach out to those who have lost everything. Answering questions that are not reported on. [12] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org
Within days of the disaster, APMedia sent a videographer to document the losses, to talk to people who survived, to hear stories of faith and courage. “Thank you for helping us to be here for 25 years, both in good times and in times when we have the opportunity to use our skills to turn a light on, to show the church responding to needs,” says Bill. Here’s a link to the “Rebuilding Together” video APMedia produced about the typhoon and its aftermath: http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=hTqYtgyurvk —MISSION Staff
“I was able to attend the scriptwriting training of Asia Pacific Media, under J.C. Powers. I attended that workshop because I needed to learn this. What we are producing are not just plain videos—these videos impact lives. This is what we want to do—produce and tell stories. Stories from the regions, or people who were changed because of what God did in their lives.” – Pinky Mayshle, Producer, World Missions Communications of Asia Pacific —— “My training with Asia Pacific Media helped me in developing my skills and all my knowledge in media, specifically in video production. It enhanced my fundamental skills in doing cameras, 14.
lights and audio. Most importantly it helped my story telling ability—how to connect with your audience by moving images that will impact people’s lives.” —Ervin Tia, Video Production Staff, World Missions Communications of Asia Pacific —— “We have been using APMedia materials since we launched our ‘Biyaheng Buhay’ (‘Journey of Lives’). One of the groups in the church wanted to start an outreach program for tricycle drivers, and thought of coming up with 10-week session. So they asked me what to teach and what to impart to the people. It’s wonderful for them to watch the [‘Usapang Pamilya’] videos, because it confronts each - continued March/April 2014 [13]
issue in a non-threatening way. We were able to get positive results.” – Sur del Rosario, Pastor, —— “The advantage I have as a writer for Moms magazine is so fulfilling because I can minister to other people not only in my country but overseas as well. Those articles have a great impact to the lives of people who I do not know. It’s a meaningful experience for me.” – Revodem Abarrientos, writer, MOMS and MIP Here at Asia Pacific Media, we recognize the impact of media ministry as a powerful tool in sharing Christ, reaching people on the other side of the world with a message of hope in just seconds. We are a regional ministry of the Assemblies of God World Missions-USA based in Manila, Philippines whose mission is to empower national churches in Asia and the Pacific Islands to use and produce media tools for evangelism, church planting and discipleship of believers. Our videos are used in a variety of ministries and outreaches throughout the region, and are impacting people for Christ. They contain powerful, life-changing lessons shared through dynamic, real-life dramas and follow-up group [14] APMedia MISSION / apmedia.org
discussion formats, providing ministry leaders with ample opportunities to offer biblical solutions to the everyday issues faced by the people in their communities. We would like to thank you for joining us with your support of this dynamic, life-changing ministry to our friends across the globe. Your faithfulness enables us to continue developing effective outreach tools using convenient, contemporary tech-
nologies that provide practical, easy-to-use, and, most importantly, effective biblical resources that produce spiritual results. We at Asia Pacific Media appreciate your continued support, and if you’ve not been able to give monetarily in the past but would like to start, we invite you to visit p.15 or apmedia.org for instructions on how to contribute. Thank you for being a part of Asia Pacific Media!