A report of the conference of media ministries associated with TWR in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Cassius Smith, TWR's acting president, emphasized TWR's global mission as he welcomed ministry partners from around the world. / Photo: [link]TWR[/link].
September is a big month for TWR's Europe and CAMENA (Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa) regions. TWR's national partners, leadership and staff gathered from these regions for the annual National Partners' Conference to discuss "Innovations in Ministry."
TWR International Director for Europe Dirk Müller set the expectations: "May God utilize our gathering to grant us fresh insights, innovative ideas, align us with his plans, strengthen our partnerships, and connect us on a personal level."
On day one, TWR's acting president, Cassius Smith, gave warm greetings from Lauren Libby, TWR's president and CEO, who remains hospitalized. Smith reminded us of TWR's mission: To reach the world for Christ by mass media so that lasting fruit is produced.
[destacate]Smith reminded us of TWR's mission: To reach the world for Christ by mass media so that lasting fruit is produced.[/destacate]Alexander Chmut, director of TWR Ukraine who was able to join us in person, spoke about media ministry in times of crisis. "We come to you from a different world," Chmut said. "Why is it a different world? In the world where you live, people have the right to live the way they want. To speak the language they want to speak. To rest and go for a walk… to belong to their own nation. Ukraine does not have that right anymore. We don't have the right to live where we want. We can't live where we want to live. We can't speak our native language because Ukraine today is experiencing very challenging times."
Yet, Chmut spoke about looking to the future. His team has decided to go even deeper into Bible studies and refer listeners of other TWR Ukraine programs to the Bible studies. They continue to create short videos to reach younger generations, translate all their programs into Ukrainian, and create Bible study plans for YouVersion. Pre-war, TWR Ukraine was able to sustain their own staff financially, but today, they are left with only a third of those original funds. The team expressed their sincere appreciation to the global Christian community for their continued financial generosity and prayer commitments.
[photo_footer] Some members of TWR Ukraine's dynamic team were able to attend the conference. / Photo: TWR [/photo_footer] Simon Diercks, head of communications and media at Allianz-Mission e.V., Germany, spoke about digital discipleship. He described it as a way to connect content creators with digital communities, intentionally shaping encounters. Diercks ended his presentation with a question: "To which spaces and places should we take the gospel?"
We also heard about four pillars of digital ministry from Tyler Church, TWR's vice president of digital ministry: content creation, digital channels, audience engagement and promotion. Church compared paid promotions on digital platforms to amplifiers which can enhance our digital presence. "I usually refer to promotions as rocket fuel," Church said.
[destacate]We should be wise with how we engage with AI, prompting it after filtering the information through ourselves and engaging with the Holy Spirit[/destacate]Several people provided advice on using AI as a tool for ministry. Tyler Church encouraged people to think critically when using a new technology. We should be wise with how we engage with AI, prompting it after filtering the information through ourselves and engaging with the Holy Spirit. The Farsi ministry director warned that restrictive governments declare that they will think on behalf of the people. AI also offers to think for you. It is important to think for yourself and use AI as a tool that is subservient to us.
The highlights from the TWR Europe region included an outreach initiative in Paris, a testimony from Albania that was released in September as part of our Reach the Last series, and a Bible chatbot called Nicodemus.AI developed by ERF Germany.
Under communism, religion was banned for more than 40 years in Albania. The government held rigid control over the press, yet in 1980, Capt. Albert (Berti) Dosti heard a voice on the radio say, “If you want to find out more about God, we will meet again tomorrow.” While monitoring the airwaves to help prevent any entry of hostile transmissions into Albania, Capt. Dosti heard TWR’s 15-minute Christian program that was broadcast into Albania every night. Dosti’s compelling story shows the power of the gospel to change lives and produce lasting fruit.
Phare FM in France gave an update about their GamesTalk outreach initiative, praising God for nearly 80 interviews with Christian athletes and Christians working with athletes and sports associations. The broadcast reached half a million listeners. Through Phare FM's Living Bus, the team conducted interviews and engaged with various initiatives around the city. Phare FM shared TWR content with Parisians and tourists on the street and heard amazing testimonies.
[destacate]Highlights from the TWR CAMENA region included new content for the Kurdish Kurmanji dialect and animated programs for deaf communities in Central Asia[/destacate]The highlights from the TWR CAMENA region included the creation of new content for the Kurdish Kurmanji dialect, animated programs for the deaf communities in Central Asia, a 24-hour online radio station for Farsi-speakers called Persian World Radio, a new program airing next month for Kabyle-speakers in North Africa, and a thriving digital ministry for Arabic speakers in the Middle East and North Africa.
Overall, the National Partner Conference encouraged one another through prayer, fellowship and learning how to best utilize new innovations to reach the world for Christ by mass media so that lasting fruit is produced.
[analysis]
[title]One more year[/title]
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[text]At Evangelical Focus, we have a sustainability challenge ahead. We invite you to join those across Europe and beyond who are committed with our mission. Together, we will ensure the continuity of Evangelical Focus and Protestante Digital (Spanish) in 2024.
Learn all about our #OneMoreYearEF campaign here (English).
[/text][/analysis]
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