Three Thousand is too small

By Jerry | Published: March 5, 2010

Three thousand, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! It took a minute for the impact of that number to sink in. Three thousand is a very respectable number if we are talking about the number of people in a church. It is an excellent number if we’re talking of new churches planted last year in most countries of the world. But what I was being told was that the nation of Turkey, with a population of over 72 million people, has just 3000 known followers of Jesus. JUST 3000.

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul

Gwen and I recently returned from Turkey where we had the opportunity to see, first hand, the challenge being faced by Christian workers on the ground. I can tell you, our AG personnel are doing a stellar job! We were able to meet with a very courageous crew of media people who are producing and BROADCASTING Christian programming 4 hours a day in the Turk language. Among the programs being used are “The People Who Met Jesus,” one and two, programs produced by IMM. I am also pleased to tell you that, within the next month or so, two more of our programs, “The Parables of Jesus” and The Path of Jesus,” will be aired in Turk all across that country and Europe. While Turkish talk shows proclaim Christianity to be a polytheistic cult with 4 holy books, our partners there are telling the story that changes lives.

Thank you for standing with us this past month in support and prayers. Together we are shaping hearts and minds to consider the message of Jesus Christ. Believe with us that one day 3000 will be the number of thriving churches gathering to celebrate Christ.

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Media is hitting the mark

By Jerry | Published: February 8, 2010

I sat in utter amazement as these people shared their experiences of social and physical persecution, imprisonment and in one instance, death, all because of their witness of Christ and his power to change lives.

Gwen and I were in meetings last week for a consultation of ministries working in North Africa and the Middle East. I can tell you God is doing a very special work among the people of these nations! While radical religious ideas are motivating this persecution, for a multitude of others there is a spiritual hunger, which will not be denied!

What I was particularly pleased with through these reports was the repeated expressions of thanks for those doing media and broadcasting “the story that changes lives” into this region of the world. Time and again, references were made, by national leaders, of how media was making an impact. People are becoming open to hear the gospel of hope and love and salvation because the seeds of faith are reaching them via the Internet, satellite broadcast, and DVD distribution.

Samir Youssef, one of our media partners, used “The People Who Met Jesus”, “The Parable of Jesus” and “The Path of Jesus“ to illustrate 32 “It’s Time for Miracles” programs (Gospel focus). Currently, these programs and others are aired on four different channels over 40 times a week! Samir reported the following responses in 2009:

Response Type

# of Responses

Top 6 Countries

# of Responses

Email

20,684

Egypt

10,348

Phone

10,892

Saudi Arabia

8,416

SMS

8,754

Algeria

8,034

Letters

6,071

Sweden

5,034

MSN

2,633

Tunisia

4,709

Morocco

4,297

Other

8,196

Total

49,034

Total

49,034

We are thrilled to partner with people like Samir and we are grateful to God for the opportunity to work with a team here at IMM who are creating these video segments to “tell the story that changes lives.” We are also grateful to each of you who are standing with us in prayer and support. We simply could not do it without you!

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The voice of the people

By Jerry | Published: December 17, 2009

I recently had the opportunity to visit the port city of Rijeka, Croatia. There is, tucked away just inside the old gate of this ancient city, a marble, rectangular stone with the Latin words engraved upon it “Vox Populi,” meaning “Voice of the People”. I got to stand on that box recently.

IMM is giving voice to the people of Croatia

In this same city, I met Pastor Milan Spoljaric, who has been ministering in that city for 20 years. In the midst of persecution and prejudice, Pastor Milan has been faithful to share God’s Word, “Vox Dei,” with his people. God has blessed those efforts over the years and today they have a small but vibrant church meeting in a building that is completely paid for and property on which they can build. They need that property too, because their little sanctuary can only hold a maximum of 90 people. They currently have 70-80 regular attendees.

Just over a year ago, God put in the heart of Pastor Milan the desire to begin a radio broadcast for the people of his city. He approached a local rock music station and asked if he could buy time on their station to share a message of hope. God granted favor and Pastor Milan was able to secure a 15-minute, weekly program.

When I arrived in Rijeka, just a few weeks ago, Pastor Spojaric and his son, Ivan, showed us their simple but effective little studio where they record the “Voice of Hope” program every Wednesday. Ivan is an incredibly smart and resourceful young man with a passion to use media for God’s purposes. The program plays on Sunday mornings about the same time that their church meetings begin. The radio manager told me that, while pastor Milan is preaching to 70-80 people in his building, his voice is being heard by 10,000-15,000 people all around that city!

We went to Rijeka because they now want to see how God might open doors for them to put programs on local television. With the help of IMM, this next month Ivan, Pastor Milan and others are working to translate and record our programs for local use. It is exciting to know the city of Rijeka will be able to view, on local television, segments of our program “The Path of Jesus: The Christmas Story” in Croatian. They hope to follow up with more of these programs provided by IMM and translated with Croatian hosts.

It is because of your faithful support that we can provide these materials and guidance. Let’s stand together to bring His voice (Word) to this world.

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