The digital revolution has revolutionized missions!
get info...
• Want to know more about our media work? • Want to give to a media project? • Want to get your church or small group involved in a media project? • Want to be an APMM prayer partner? • Want to give a year of your life to media work in Asia Pacific?
Find out more! log on: www.APMedia.org e-mail: contact@apmedia.org social media: facebook.com/Asia-Pacific-Media-Ministries write: 1640 North Boonville Avenue Springfield, MO 65803 call: 417-862-2781 give online: http://s1.ag.org/apmedia or scan the QR code to the right with your mobile device 2
mission
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editor’s view...
D
o you remember your first personal computer? Mine was purchased in Singapore and it
was called a “lunchbox” – something between a desktop and a notebook. It weighed about fifteen pounds and was as slow as molasses, but I was so excited about the potential that box held. The black and white screen was hard on the eyes, but that didn’t matter; I had joined the age of technology. My mind could not comprehend back then the advances in technology that would take place in just twenty years. Who could have imagined that today computers would be essential in our efforts to take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth! In Acts Chapter 1, Jesus instructed us – His followers – to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth, and the Internet allows us to obey this command in ways we couldn’t just a few short years ago. This issue of MISSION focuses on how the Internet is a valid and valuable ministry tool. We are already receiving testimonies of the impact our websites are having, and the potential for future ministry is mind-boggling. The Internet can take the gospel to places you and I can never go, to people we will never meet. It presents the gospel in a non-threatening manner to people who would never step inside a church or attend a community outreach. A website can be designed in a specific language, with culturally appropriate photos and design and content. It can target a specific group of people – young adults, families, teens and others. There are literally millions of websites available on the Internet and if we are to grab the attention of web surfers, our sites have to be top-notch in design and content and they have to be updated continually so visitors will return. I’m glad AP Media is committed to doing it right! The next time you’re online and have time to do a little surfing, I invite you to visit the sites referred to in this issue. You may not know the language, but just visiting the site will give you a glimpse into how we’re using the Web as a ministry tool. And I think it will inspire you to pray for the people and countries we are trying to reach. Don’t forget to visit the AP Media website too. I wish I had kept my “lunchbox” computer – not for day-to-day use, of course, but as a vivid reminder of how far we’ve come in twenty years. And if we’ve come this far, think of where we’ll be in another twenty years…if Christ delays His return! You will be my witnesses…
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to the ends of the earth Acts 1:8
Carolyn Dorsey {Editor}
apmedia.org
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get perspective...
H
ave you ever read a statistic that shocked you? That happened to me recently when I read that over 500
million people in China are now using the Internet. What makes this statistic even more amazing is that in the year 2000, only 22 million Mainland Chinese had access to the Internet. I would call this a “game changer” when it comes to ministry and missions! In response to this growing trend, Asia Pacific Media has increasingly emphasized the use of the Internet as a ministry tool. We have a website specifically designed to provide resources to believers and seekers in Mainland Chinese. Www.zgtai.com is accessible throughout the entire nation. www.zgtai.com It contains over 4,000 hours of audio programming and over 30 hours of video materials, in addition to thousands of pages of print. It’s a searchable website, which means an individual can type in a subject and they will be shown all of the materials available on that subject. Thousands of people visit this site to listen to our daily programming as well as download materials that are reproduced and shared with others. We’re receiving wonderful testimonies from people who are blessed by the resource materials and information available to them on our website.
Your website has changed a lot since I first saw it. The design, colors, overall view, content and userfriendliness have all improved. I can tell you have put much effort and time into it. I’m sure God is using you to bless many people. You certainly touch and edify me.
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—Guangxi Province, China
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We are also using the Internet for evangelism. In the Philippines, our family-focused website, www. usapangpamilya. com, leads people to solutions for family problems www.usapangpamilya.com and also introduces them to dramatic videos we have produced to specifically minister to Filipino families. This website is receiving thousands of hits every month because its content is unique and relevant. Approximately 10 million Filipinos live and work outside their home country and the impact on their families is enormous. Both individuals and families can now find help and hope on the Internet and be directed to a local church.
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get perspective...continued
www.journeyanswers.com
In May of this year, we began working in partnership with Network 211 to launch a Filipino version of “Journey Answers,” an evangelism website popular with Filipinos in dozens of nations around the world. The site, www.journeyanswers.ph, is tied to local believers who provide follow-up counseling to people who click on a request for help on the site. Just a few years ago this type of ministry seemed impossible, but today it’s almost a necessity if we are truly going to reach the masses with the gospel. Keeping our websites interesting and interactive is no small task. It’s literally a full-time job! Fresh content is added every week and pictures are changed. It takes skilled staff to do this. We have a web designer in Manila and will soon add a web designer
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to our Hong Kong staff to maintain the website for China. Several other staff members assist in keeping the content fresh, giving people reasons to visit again, and promoting the websites through social networking channels. But the time and expense required are worthwhile when you realize people from as far away as the Middle East are spending time on our sites.
We are in the middle of a digital revolution. Whether it is through a smart phone, a tablet or a computer, people around the globe are on the Internet every day. It is a tool God has given us to use to share His story with the world.
Bill Snider
{Director}
apmedia.org
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it’s a calling, not a job
Director Bill Snider recently interviewed Patrick Tan regarding his work as web designer for Asia Pacific Media Ministries. Patrick shares his perspective of Internet ministry today and in the future. Snider: Patrick, when did you get personally interested in web design? Tan: Actually, my interest began when I was in college. I was studying architecture, but in my second year I started playing with Photoshop. Some friends were also interested in design and we started learning together. Eventually, we learned how to create websites. As a Christian, I believe we are to use the skills God gives us and also to give back to God. So I use design and web design to create tools that will expand God’s Kingdom.
Snider: Did you see when you were starting down this road that the Internet was something that could really be used to reach people with God’s message?
Tan: Back then the Internet was a bit simpler than it is now, but I could see that there was great potential. Even today the Internet continues to evolve and increase in potential for Christian ministry.
Snider: Describe for our readers what you’ve been doing for AP Media with regard to the Internet.
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Tan: I started with APMM in 2010 as a graphic designer and web designer. Regarding my work with the Internet, I’ve helped develop tools that engage people with the gospel. For example, we created websites like usapangpamilya.com as an extension of the Usapang Pamilya videos. People can check out the site and get information on relevant topics related to family matters. They can also submit prayer requests and have access to our videos. Another thing we’ve done recently with the Internet is develop a Philippines version of the Journey Answers website. The Philippines has the third highest number of visitors to their site, so it seemed natural to develop our own version. On the Philippines site, journeyanswers.ph, we localized the video presentations and developed our own content.
Snider: The amazing thing to me is that the Internet makes the gospel available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere in the world.
Tan: It’s very accessible to anyone, anywhere. It has the potential and opportunity to engage millions, if not billions, of people – even those from areas where the preaching of the gospel is restricted.
Snider: Where do you see the Internet going in the future? What do you project it will be two years from now, and what are the things you see coming that may be useful in our ministry?
Tan: With the increasing speed of the Internet, I think there’s an opportunity for us as Kingdom builders to bring more creative content to our websites. Videos, for example. The Internet is accessible by the majority of people in the world and is now the major venue for content distribution. There seems to be no limit to the amount of Christian content we’ll be able to get to the masses through this venue.
Snider: Thank you, Patrick, for the great job you’re doing for AP Media and for using your talents for the Kingdom. And thank you for sharing with our MISSION readers.
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get news...
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While the invention of movable type in 1450 by Gutenberg enabled books to become affordable to people of modest means, today’s digital revolution is pushing more and more books, including Christian titles, into the electronic realm. The tablet revolution is not limited to North America and Europe. The government of India, in October 2011, announced the launch of the Aakash tablet, which will be sold to students for $35 and the public for $60, a fraction of the cost of the iPad and other devices. The goal: to give students a way to read books and other items digitally, as well as to be connected to the larger world.
Pentecostal Evangel, March 25, 2012 edition
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As one of our evangelism teams tested a DVD player in a local village, using the video Bilanggo [one of the Usapang Pamilya, or Family Talk, DVDs produced by AP Media], a man who happened to be there cried after viewing the counseling segment and confessed that he was experiencing family problems. He received counseling from the volunteers and now attends the church plant in his village.
Gil Kapote, Philippines
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Brother Sun, Shandong Province, China
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No one introduced your website to me. I accidentally found it when I searched the Internet for a book. Thank you for supplying so many materials. I am preparing myself to be a vessel of God and I like to study God’s Word. I come from a village house church. I’m 26 now but I was saved at age 16. I have been trained to be a pastor for a short period of time. Our church has about 100 members.
When departing Manila early that morning, I brought along a copy of our latest movie The Sent One at the last minute. I didn’t know until I was on site that a team of workers had planned an outreach for that night in a tent city where thousands of people were staying. When the group realized I had the movie, they borrowed a player, set up a screen and I watched in amazement as 500 people stood in the dark to watch this movie with a strong evangelistic message. Captivated by the story, no one moved. At the end, many people responded to the call to follow Christ.
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Earlier this year I visited an area of the Philippines devastated by flooding. Over 1,200 people died and entire villages were washed away.
Bill Snider
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The Nara and Grandpa Choy radio programs are complete and on the air. The music has been recorded and is in distribution as well as being played locally on the radio. Artwork and curriculum for the accompanying Sunday School programs were completed in the first half of this year. Printing was completed in August, and distribution and teacher training sessions began in September.
Troy Tabor, Cambodia
One-third of the world cannot read the language they speak and another third choose to learn through non-written methods. That means two-thirds of the world’s population are oral learners. Most will not read, but hear, the life-changing news and truth about Jesus Christ.
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An evangelistic organization recently contacted us about using recorded Think a Minute messages and parables in an ongoing outreach to the billions of oral learners in the world.
Pray that God will guide and provide what is needed in the coming months to maximize this new means of reaching the lost.
Jhan Hurst
apmedia.org
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get on your knees... • Pray for believers in China who often face great obstacles when they decide to serve the Lord. Pray for them to grow strong and steadfast in their faith. • Pray for many Chinese speakers to find our website. There is a great need for Bible-based teaching and resource materials like those found on our website. On the Internet, people can read or hear Christian teaching without fear of documents being seized and destroyed. • Pray for Filipinos around the world to find our family-oriented website and be ministered to by the teaching they find there. Our desire is to nurture strong Christian families that will influence their nations. • Pray for APMM staff that will be in Nepal from mid-October through mid-November to film a Christian movie for that nation. More news about this exciting project will be forthcoming, but we need prayer for God’s anointing on every member of the crew from the first day of filming. • Pray that God will provide an increase in funds for AP Media in the remaining months of this year. There are exciting opportunities on the horizon, but we must have an increase in operating funds in order to move forward with these projects. Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24
Coming Soon!
Butterfly A full-length Christian movie for Nepal. One life transformed by the gospel leads to transformation in many more lives. 12
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get insight...
1+ billion
Internet users in Asia
30
%
of all websites (worldwide)
are in English
513 million Internet users in China—more than any other Asian nation.
56% world’s population living in Asia. 30 million Internet users in the Philippines.
14
%
Chinese language websites worldwide
Statistics obtained from internetworldstats.com. apmedia.org
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get involved...
Here’s the situation: The Internet is a valuable and effective ministry tool. Through it, we can • share God’s love and gift of salvation; • offer hope and encouragement to individuals and families that are struggling with difficult issues; • direct people to local churches; • educate new believers with the truths of God’s Word; • provide Christian resource materials in audio, video and print that can be heard, viewed or read and then shared with others; • and much more.
Here’s what you can do: • Visit each of the websites mentioned in this magazine to see the quality of content and presentation. • Pray for the people that will visit the websites to find what they’re looking for and what their heart is longing for – whether they know what that is or not. • Ask God what He wants you to give to AP Media to help us continue this important ministry.
Here’s what we need: To develop, maintain and keep our websites fresh and interesting, requires:
$60 per day; or $420 per week; or $1,800 per month Will you support our Internet ministry for a day…a week…a month…or perhaps a year? The people your gift will help us reach are too numerous to count!
Give online @
http://s1.ag.org/apmedia or mail your gift with the coupon on the next page. Your gift to Asia Pacific Media Ministries is tax deductible as allowed by law. Contributions exceeding stated needs will be used for similar ministry opportunities.
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AND
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Name Address City State/Zip
E-Mail If you are an individual or business but would like for a specific church to receive World Missions giving credit for your offering, please provide the following information: Church Name Church Donor # (if known) City / State METHOD
OF
PAYMENT:
Check or Money Order (payable to Asia Pacific Media Ministries) MasterCard Visa Discover
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Signature Here is my/our gift of… $60 for one day of Internet ministry
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$______ for ______ days / weeks / months of Internet ministry
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$_________ to help AP Media minister to people through the Internet
(68)
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600-001-3120797
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mission
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Empowering Christian leaders to use and produce media to effectively spread the gospel in Asia Pacific.
Assemblies of God World Missions 1445 Boonville Avenue Springfield, MO 65802-1894
Asia Pacific Media Ministries
General Council of the Assemblies of God