UPDATE: A trip to India

In July 2010, we wrote about a project involving Love and Hope Children's Home in East India.

Praise God! All 35 children have now been sponsored through supporters in Europe and North America. But here are two other ways to bless this ministry. First, many of the 35 children have been separated from their siblings, and there are specific ways you can help reunite them. Second, Love and Hope has recently raised half of the funds (roughly $15,000) they need to build a permanent home for these kids. To find out more about how to reunite siblings or give funds toward the building costs, check out the blog we created for them. Thank you for your prayers and interest!

View the Love and Hope Children's Home video here. The password to view the video is love and hope (with spaces).

Meet Tom!

GemStone Media has a high value for professionalism and we make it a priority each year to enhance our media skills with further training. One of the areas we decided to work on this year was increasing our ability to write compelling, short stories for video. We asked a friend of our team, Tom Khazoyan, to lead a week-long workshop on story-writing for video. Tom is from Denver, Colorado, and has had 25 years of film and video experience. He recently produced and edited a full-length feature film called "The Enemy God," which has earned several notable film awards.

The intensive story-writing training with Tom has really paid off, sparking the beginnings of a new video project which we hope can be used in a future Alpha Course setting introducing the topic of forgiveness and reconciliation. We hope to begin shooting this summer!

Thank you, Tom, for your availability and willingness to donate your time to better equip our team!!

"On Any Given Day"

 

"On Any Given Day" is a short video that was created to help believers in Christ think about the reality of the world around them, and specifically the challenge to reach the lost in Europe. So often we get caught up with life and we forget to be concerned about what really matters: people are living and dying each day without Jesus Christ. Christ came to save the lost. He came that man could be connected again to God both now and in eternity. The Bible says that the Gospel of Christ is “Good News.” If we really believe this, then we need to be telling people.

How2Video: "Get it Out There"

"Get it Out There" is the seventh in the How2Video series found on how2video.org, and discusses the best ways to edit and distribute your video.

How2Video: "Shooting 101"

"Shooting 101" is the sixth in the How2Video series found on how2video.org, and offers great ideas for recording your story to video.

How2Video: "Jazz Up Your Shots"

"Jazz Up Your Shots" is the fifth in the How2Video series found on how2video.org, and shares ways to work with lighting, as well as how to use framing and composition when making a video.

How2Video: "Clearing Things Up"

"Clearing Things Up" is fourth in the How2Video series found on how2video.org, and discusses ways to get great audio when creating a video.

Launching the How2Video series

The How2Video website and last four videos are ready for viewing! Check it out by going to how2video.org. As a reminder, the first three How2Videos are:

• Introduction (ways to set up a video shoot)
• Get Your Story Straight (how to write a video script)
• Grab Your Gear (equipment you need to make a video)

The final four videos of the series are:

• Clearing Things Up (how to create good audio for your video)
• Jazz Up Your Shots (in depth look at lighting, framing, and composition)
• Shooting 101 (how to record your story to video)
• Get it Out There (editing and distributing your story)

The How2Video website contains plenty of useful tips and information for creating a great ministry video. There are helpful forums and a place where you can link your own video to share, as well as see what others have done with their videos.

Our prayer is that the How2Video website and series will enable and encourage missionaries around the world to use video story-telling to share what God is doing in their specific areas, which we hope will compel the Church to become more involved in the Great Commission.

GemStone Media annual planning 2011

Armed with chocolate chip cookies, GORMMP (good old raisins, M&Ms and peanuts), and plenty of coffee to keep us going, GemStone Media took time in early March to plan anticipated projects and dream about new project ideas for the next fiscal year. This year we had seven team members on site, and two who skyped in from the U.S. for part of the meeting time. We renewed our desire to see the Holy Spirit lead us in our endeavors as we continue to seek Him in prayer. We are excited to see how God will use us in 2011-2012!

Broken and Beautiful

Earlier this fall, two of our video guys were privileged to be able to attend and shoot a baptism service of more than 30 people in southern Germany. It's easy to see the joy of Christ in the faces of those being baptized, and it is encouraging to witness their lives being transformed by the life-changing love of Jesus. This is what we are hoping and praying that God would do all over Europe... again and again!

Click here to see the baptism video "Broken and Beautiful."*

*Song written and sung by Mark Schultz.

Open House at the EMC

GemStone Media, along with the GEM field staff who work in the Europe Ministry Center (EMC), held an open house the last week of November to thank God for the office complex (formerly a barn), and to thank our neighbors, the local community, and the contractors for their support and welcome. Each ministry in the EMC was responsible for providing a table or display in their office area, and throughout the day, a short program explaining the Thanksgiving holiday was given in the EMC conference room. About 175 people showed up to celebrate with us, including a town official, the building architect, and two area pastors. What a wonderful opportunity to honor God in His provision and blessing for the ministry of GEM!

You can check out a slide show of the EMC in its many stages over a period of several years here.

Great Hope

Although the statistics can seem daunting, God’s Spirit is moving and He is working in remarkable ways in Europe. God is opening people’s eyes to who He truly is and He is bringing people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus. The recently completed “Great Hope” video shares some encouraging ways God is working through GEM missionaries to build His kingdom across Europe and beyond.

To see the "Great Hope" video, click HERE.

Why Europe?

For centuries Europe was considered a Christian continent, even the “cradle of Christianity,” as God used men like John Wesley, Martin Luther, John Calvin and others to make a big impact for Jesus on the continent. Today, Europe is a much different place spiritually. It’s amazing to realize that many countries in Europe are less than 3% Christian. In some European countries, less than 1/2 of 1% of the people are true believers in Jesus! GemStone Media has recently finished a short video entitled “Why Europe?” which explains the spiritual state of Europe today and why it is important to reach Europeans with the gospel.

To see the "Why Europe?" video, click HERE.

Quale Via? Quale Verità? Quale Vita?

Just off the press, Quale via? Quale verità? Quale vita? (Which Way? Which Truth? Which Life?) is an Italian Bible study that explores what the Bible has to say about basic foundational topics such as Jesus Christ, God, the Holy Spirit, sin, faith, grace, prayer, etc. This 64-page booklet was written by a field worker in Italy because of the difficulty he had in finding something like this already written for an Italian audience. It was really fun (and challenging) for us to help make this project a reality!

Meet Laura!

Our newest intern, Laura, will be working with our video production team this fall. Laura enjoys photography, and is currently studying at John Brown University, majoring in digital media and intercultural studies. Welcome Laura! We're so glad you're here!

Welcome Erik and Shannon!

We're excited that Erik and Shannon, appointees with GEM, have come for a couple weeks visit. Erik will be joining the GemStone Media team to work as a website builder/designer and graphic designer, while Shannon joins Crescendo Arts' local team to work with the Art Factory, an art outreach ministry. Erik and Shannon hope to finish their support in time to move to Europe next summer (2011). They are a fun couple – full of enthusiasm and creative ideas – and we can't wait to have them here with us full-time! Learn more about Erik and Shannon here.

Help for the hurting

We were asked to create a brochure for a non-profit organization that is just getting started in Bulgaria. Focusing on two very relevant social issues facing Bulgaria, and with a vision to address other issues, this organization hopes to begin strengthening the communities it has come to serve, both educationally, and spiritually. The website is being developed by our team as well. Coming soon...

On the radio!

One of GemStone Media's video producers, Ted, is currently in the U.S. along with his wife and three children raising financial support so that they can return to Europe and continue working with our GSM team. Ted is a key part of our team, and we are praying that God will provide for them, and allow them to return to us soon!

On Monday, August 9, Ted had the privilege of being interviewed by Hugh Hewitt, a well-known Christian radio talk show host in the U.S. Ted was able to share about his ministry with GemStone Media. Check out Hugh Hewitt's comments about the interview on his blog. Listen to Ted's 12-minute interview here.

If you are interested in learning more about Ted, his family, and their ministry with GemStone Media, click here.

Partnering with a local art ministry

We were approached not long ago to help a local European art ministry with a logo and a printed informational card (above). They also asked us to create a video, which is not available yet for public viewing, but below are some stills of the video.