Sticks & Chisels 3.3

We're closing out a missions emphasis period here at WestWay and had a guest speaker yesterday. Dave Robinson is a Bible College professor, an elder here at the church, one of my lifelong friend's dad, & my wife's uncle. More to the point, he's also very passionate about missions, having given several years of his life to translating Scripture for the Mbore speaking people of PNG (and many others to helping English speakers understand the Word as well). During Dave's sermon yesterday here at WestWay, he mentioned how we have to be faithful to the message of Christ AND creative in using every resource at our disposal to communicate that message. His statement reminded me of a paper I wrote a few weeks ago that I had intended to post here. I never got around to posting, but now I will... Here's what I think I think about using media in ministry.
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... And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, “Be reconciled to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.             -Paul

The church has been entrusted with the greatest message known - that the reconciliatory love of our Maker has been offered to humanity in the atoning death of His own Son, and that the power that affected His resurrection is the same power available to work transformationally in our own lives. By any measure, that is a hugely consequential message to carry to an innumerably vast and diverse audience. Eternal life and death are at stake, so we should make the most of every available resource for the communication of that message. That is the essence of media ministry.

The word, media, is used to talk about a means of communication. Media is simply a conduit for the transference of a message from the giver to the receiver. Media ministry, then is not about the shiny, new toys of technology. It is about the effective communication of Christ. This is a key issue to effectively leading the media ministry of a church. It’s too easy to become so distracted by Dells and pixels that the technology can actually hinder our communications efforts. First and foremost, the media ministry must always keep in mind that their function is to enhance the church’s communication (internal, as well as external).
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I'll post the rest of the paper later this week, but for now:

• What are some creative uses of media you've seen? 
• How are you making the most of the resources available to you to communicate Christ's message?