“Media is not THE strategy, but it needs to be a PART of every strategy.”
—Rich Sheeley, Executive Director, GNPI

What does this really mean? First, let’s look at what media is. One definition of media is “the means of communication, including radio, television, Internet, newspapers, and other publications that reach or influence people widely.” You are reading this because there is a form of media at work.

Media is a non-threatening tool that can break up the hardened soil of a heart, preparing it for relationship—relationship with another human being and relationship with our Creator. In the US, most of us are barely aware of the forms of media that surround us. But, if it were suddenly gone, how would our lives be different? What would life be like without media?

1. You would not have a Bible.
2. Your worship services would not have PowerPoint or hymn books!
3. Your minister would not have handouts for his sermons.
4. Your Youth Minister could not email the youth group.
5. Your kids would have no Christian music—or any music.
6. You would never hear Christian teaching from Max Lucado or Dr. Dobson on the radio—you would not even have a radio.
7. You would have no teaching material from great teachers like Beth Moore or Don Dewelt, and Christian publishers like Standard Publishing would have no VBS or lesson materials.
8. You would see no evening news, no billboards, and there would be no coupons to clip in the Sunday paper.
9. You would never take your kids to a library.
10. You would have no Ipod, no Internet, and no GPS.

Get the picture?

Media can go where people cannot. In places like North Africa or places in Asia that are closed to Christian missionaries, or in India where there are few leaders available, media makes the Bible accessible. Media becomes the evangelist. Media becomes the salt and light that Jesus talks about.

At the heart of every culture are the unwritten rules by which that society abides. Media can change those rules merely by suggestion—one book, one radio program, or one movie can start a tidal wave of change. Remember The Passion of the Christ? Media cannot be a stand-alone solution to reaching a culture, but it should be a part of every strategy the church uses to bring the world to Christ! In many countries outside the US, the impact media can have is ten times what it is inside the US simply because those countries are media hungry. Why invest your mission dollars in GNPI? Because GNPI designs culturally relevant media with missionaries and Christian leaders to use as part of their strategy for the culture they serve.