The Lost Sheep

In August, Jim and Walt went on an adventure in Central Asia.  In partnership with another missions agency, they set out to retell the parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7) contextualized for a minority language group who are isolated up in mountains for much of the year.  Getting there was quite a challenge.  

Single-lane road

The "production truck"

Walt shares: "To reach the village where we stayed, we had to drive through the mountains for 9 hours on a dangerous single-lane road, and then hike on foot for 3.5 hours.  All our equipment was carried by donkeys."

The donkey was concerned about his online identity.

The kids love getting to see themselves.

The Glide-cam is really just an excuse for Walt to chase people.

Come to Rome

Watch it on Vimeo

Currently, new staff is urgently needed to come and be a part of God's work in Rome.  Jim and Sara Meyer put together this video to help mobilize prayer and new missionaries to take part.  Have a look.

France Prayer Video

Watch it on Vimeo

Our coworker Walt put this together from an interview and video shots Jim and Sara filmed last fall, while working on the GEM Tour de France video.  It's a great vision for why prayer for France is so important.

The Good Neighbor

During his HMA year in the States, GemStone's Ted Cox produced this 20 minute short film to stimulate small group discussions.  Based on Luke 10:25-37, the film helps us to more deeply engage with the cultural implications of Jesus words.

Once again, the amazing Jeremiah Brewer stepped in to provide the music for us.

This tool is freely available for your church or small group.  We encourage you to check it out.

Resources: 

Facebook Page

Trailer (Vimeo)

Film (Vimeo)

Download (720p)

Discussion Guide

Das Duerre Kreuz — Sten Ruhe Music Video

Das Duerre Kreuz

Last April, Jim and Sara shot a music video with a German singer/songwriter/pianist from Frankfurt named Sten Ruhe. He grew up in East Germany behind the Berlin Wall as an atheist. Now that he has experienced God’s saving grace in his life, he desires to reach other Germans with the timeless message of the power of the Cross. Sten knows no English whatsoever, so the whole filming project was done in German!

Tour de France 7x7 Project

 

Tour de France 7x7 [English] or [French]

From November 2012:

GEM’s outreach next summer is called the ‘7x7 Tour de France Project.’  ‘7x7’ stands for multiple teams of around 7 people per team, whom we’re inviting to come and serve in one of 7 cities along the Tour de France bike route in France, being involved in one of 7 different ministry opportunities.

It’s very encouraging to hear that already the videos are having a very positive impact. French churches who weren’t originally sure about getting involved have now caught the vision after seeing the videos! They are fully on-board with GEM’s plans for the summer outreach in France, even planning events and renting spaces in preparation for teams to come. And the same encouraging vision-casting is happening with churches in North America too. It’s so great to see our work bearing fruit. Thank you so much for partnership with us! We are truly grateful for you.

50 in 5 Cologne

Pray for Cologne

In July of 2012, Ted Cox was in Cologne shooting a quick prayer video for the team there.  Exciting things continue to happen in Cologne, and it's great to be a part of mobilizing prayer to reach this strategic city.

Connect 2012

Jim and Sara Meyer represented GemStone at the Connect 2012 media conference, in Madrid, Spain in April of 2012.  Sara shares: "It was a really encouraging, great networking time for us. We enjoyed spending time with the conference hosts, Jerry & Gwen Gibson and the conference speaker Phil Cooke and his wife Kathleen.  Attendees were pastors, ministry leaders and media professionals from a dozen or so different countries.

We led a workshop on The Power of Storytelling, which was attended by people from Croatia, Romania, France, Spain, Burkina Faso, Belgium and the U.S.  People from many of these countries are wanting to translate and use the videos we produce in their ministry contexts – in the French-speaking world, Norway, Spain – including the head of a Spanish TV station geared to young people."

Billboard Outreach Project

 From April 2012:

The headline basically says “What if what we think is true is false?”  It is a 3-week opportunity for people to see these posters/billboards, become intrigued, go to the web site using the QR code or sending an SMS message, learn more about the gospel, and say that they would like to be contacted to receive more information and go through a Bible correspondence course. We’ve heard that the ministry there is getting a handful of responses already in just the first few days.

Here are a few photos on-site that have been taken ...  Please pray that as thousands of people see them, God will tug on their hearts – to become curious and want to know more. The ministry there which we have created these posters and billboards for is very excited and anticipating great things!

The Voice

Click here to watch The Voice.

Share on Facebook

Tweet: #voicestory

Download: HD/720P | SD/iPhone

We flew to Bulgaria with no idea what was coming. What we stumbled into, was challenging, forcing us to stretch our tiny understanding...

At first glance, Hari seems unique. In simple obedience to a voice no one else can hear, he boldly shares his faith with everyone he meets. But Hari is not so different from us. He has made a choice to pursue and trust God completely. It is a choice each one of us could make. We could each be like Hari: genuine, obedient, bold and faithful.

This is your chance. The voice is speaking to you as well. You may never have a vision, but God reaches out to each of us in a way uniquely suited to who we are. What is He saying to you? What were you created for?

We have no clear distribution plan or strategy for this story, but we believe that God does. Watch the video, share it with your friends on facebook, or tweet about it. Feel free to download it and show it to groups you are a part of, or use it to start discussions.

More video training and partnership

GemStone Media partnered with several other ministries to provide essential video skills training to workers from all over the world – many from closed countries – who are strategically positioned to share the gospel through media. One of our video producers, Ted, represented our team and partnered with other video teams to present workshops for the training. The focus was good story telling, and using video to tell stories in a culturally relevant way. The students were provided with instruction, opportunities to evaluate existing films and videos, and a chance to write and put together their own project and share it with the group.

GemStone Media participates in ICCM

Two of our GSM team members participated in ICCM (International Conference for Computing and Mission) in the Netherlands in February. Sixty-five people representing 31 different organizations attended the conference. Ted and John not only attended ICCM, but they also had the opportunity to present workshops: "Building a Server Attached Network on a Shoestring Budget" (Ted) and "Web Design for Techies" (John). It was a great opportunity to encourage and help others in various ministries across Europe!

ICCM brochure

GEM's eDOT team is helping to organize the International Conference on Computing and Mission (ICCM), which is being held in the Netherlands in February. ICCM is a great opportunity for people in the ministry fields of computers and technology to network, discuss new technologies, share resources, offer encouragement, and fellowship together.

Our print team was asked to help them develop a brochure that could be used over several years, and point people to the ICCM website for registration, logistics, and other helpful information.

Two of our GemStone Media team members are planning to attend and lead workshops at this year's conference.

"Creation to Christ" visual story-telling aid

"God Sends Jesus"

"Jesus, the Perfect Sacrifice"

Intern Jen has been hard at work on her big project while she's here: illustrating and designing a visual aid for the Creation to Christ (or C2C) gospel story used by missionaries and church planters around the world. C2C is a 15-minute gospel presentation told in a simple way, specifically geared for people who are unchurched. We are thrilled with Jen's creative work and are looking forward to seeing the printed piece. Until then, Jen has placed the illustrations on the web for people to use electronically (for cell phones, ipods, tablets, etc.).

You can download a PDF of the C2C story here.

"First Steps in the Faith" discipleship book

We're excited about how God might use Primeiros Passos na Fé (First Steps in the Faith), a discipleship booklet we were asked to design for a church planter in Portugal. The booklet will be used as a follow-up tool for the My Hope gospel program beginning there in early December. My Hope is a televised version of the Billy Graham Crusade. Christians throughout the country have been trained and encouraged to invite family, friends and neighbors into their homes to view the program on three different nights. When the program is finished, they will share brief testimonies and give people a chance to receive Christ in their living rooms. Those who accept Christ’s gift of salvation will be followed up with Bible studies using discipleship booklets like Primeiros Passos na Fé.

Pray for this event, that many Portuguese would be led to faith in Christ and grounded in His Word!

You can learn more about Portugal and My Hope here.

Video trip to Bulgaria

Two of our videographers, Ted and Walt, recently returned from a video shoot in Bulgaria. In August, we learned about Harry, a Bulgarian artist, who God is using as an evangelist because of his willing obedience. After several email and skype conversations, Ted and Walt flew to Bulgaria earlier this month to spend eight days interviewing Harry and his wife, and others who know him, as well as to follow Harry around to watch firsthand how God is using him in his region.

Our video team is currently working on producing a documentary-style short video that we hope will encourage and challenge Christians around the world. So stay tuned!

Update: Read a video guy's perspective on what he learned in Bulgaria.

Welcome Jen!

 
Meet Jen, our 2011 fall intern, and a recent graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University. She will be here with us for three months, helping our graphics team out with some strategic projects. Jen is eager to gain more experience in graphic design and working with a team, and in the process, she hopes to discover what her future might look like.

We are thrilled to have Jen here with us, and we look forward to seeing what creative and new ideas she has to offer! Welcome Jen!

Thanks to the Art Factory!

GemStone Media would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the Art Factory ministry and its directors, Rick and Mary Beth, for providing so much help with our recent "Reach the World" video project. The Art Factory building was the location for many of our sets, and Rick and Mary Beth provided countless props, including large pieces of furniture and rugs. They let us completely reorganize their space, and shuffled their own scheduling to accommodate us. Their passion for coming alongside artists and giving of their resources without expectation of gain enabled us to do our best work.

If you are not familiar with the Art Factory ministry, please check out their website, or watch their video.

Reach the World

        Click here to watch Reach the World
        and then come back to learn more... 

The details: We were asked to make a video highlighting the needs in Europe for GEM's website. The reality is that there are millions of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and spiritualists living all across Europe, many of whom are immigrants from unreached countries. We created this video to challenge Christians who are thinking about ministry to unreached areas, but may not have considered the enormous potential for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to immigrants right here in Europe.

We're excited about how God has put Reach the World together. All the hard work of planning and preparation has really paid off and we're pleased with the result. We hope that this video will be the first of many non-verbal short videos exploring topics that will challenge people where they are. Feel free to pass the Reach the World link on to people in your network who would benefit or be encouraged by it. Let's get the word out about Europe's potential!

Making of "Reach the World"

GemStone Media produced three different videos this year challenging believers to consider ministry in Europe. The On Any Given Day video was produced to show the great need that exists to share the Gospel here. What Would It Look Like? was produced to connect people with their personal potential to have an impact. Currently we're in post production on the final of those three pieces, Reach the World, which speaks specifically to the broad cultural diversity that exists in Europe and the potential to have an impact for Christ all over the world by having an impact in Europe. Bryce, our intern this summer, did a fantastic job putting together a behind-the-scenes look at this final video as it was being produced. We hope you'll take a look. The finished Reach the World video is currently in final production and we'll post it soon...

Summer Video Production

The video team has been busily working on a new video that will focus on the large variety of immigrants living in Europe. Production has included creating several interior sets, multiple mornings shooting in the center of Basel, gathering a large number of props and costumes, and finding a handful of actors to play the various roles. It has been a huge project so far, but we're expecting a good return on our time investment! Stay tuned...

ZBCS video project

Two members of our video team, Jim and Ted, spent a week in Ukraine shooting footage for a promotional video about the online classroom for Zaporozhye Bible College and Seminary. It took a lot of preparation and hard work, but the school was pleased with the end result!