Using Media Missions

It is finally a reality! MediaLight will open its doors from January 5-March 21, 2010, at our base in Chiang Rai, Thailand. This is an intensive 10 week program for those who are serious about being a light to this dark world. We will cover personal life management, spirituality for ministry, the core teachings of Jesus and what it means to be a Christian leader.

Half the time and energy will be spent on learning how to be a messenger through modern media, especially video made for the Internet. Room, board and tuition for the first session will be only $2,500. Students from developing nations can benefit from a $1,250 tuition discount. All Asian nations, except Singapore, Japan and Korea, qualify for the developing nations scholarship.

* There are only 25 slots in this special, hands-on program and only 12 are left, so if you are interested you need to sign up soon. Contact Jacki Quinley at info@emergenetwork.org. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it, who is serving as our registrar.
* We have an outstanding slate of teachers from the Philippines, America, South Africa and Thailand, including Graham and Dianne Vermooten from Media Village in Cape Town, and also Paul Richardson from Path of Palms, a full-scale media production house.

These ten weeks could change your life!

~Chuck and Sherry Quinley,
Missionary to Thailand
Project Number 0600031

Social Networking Missions

Most of us can remember when E-mail was considered the most cutting-edge means of communication available. In recent years, the prevalence of social networking sites like Myspace, and particularly Facebook, have broadened the means for electronic communication.

Why would people elect to communicate through Facebook rather than E-mail? For many users, Facebook is an invaluable tool for gathering information in a timely manner. "People tend to log onto social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace before they check their own E-mail nowadays," says Brandon Spell, graphic designer for the World Missions Media Team. "Because of this, Facebook has become a great way to share and gather information quickly."

Vernice Blackaby, secretary to the assistant director, agrees. "Surprisingly, many missionaries send me official requests through Facebook instead of through E-mail," she says. "Many of the missionaries post their newsletters and blogs on Facebook."

Along with posting blogs, articles and photos, many social networking users communicate by sharing information through their "status updates," where users share a sentence or two about their current activities. According to Blackaby, sharing information in this way is useful for maintaining closer, more immediate contact with missionaries than would be possible through E-mail or telephone. "My favorite part about using Facebook is keeping up with [missionaries] and their families since everyone uses Facebook to write what is going on in their personal lives," she continues. "I like to know them not just as missionaries, but also through their personal every-day family lives."

Social networking sites like Facebook make it easier to connect with other users quickly in critical situations. Yvette Morales, WM projects secretary, shares, "For me, Facebook has been very useful for getting in touch with our people in the field. When attempts at gathering urgent information through E-mail and telephone contact are unsuccessful, I generally receive replies to Facebook messages in less than 15 minutes.

"This is a very effective tool and it really does make my job easier," Morales concludes. “I’m grateful for the role social networking plays in helping to reach the lost around the world.”

~ Lisa Campagna, World Missions staff member
Lisa is also part of the heart, vision, action team of World Missions