Evangelism Right Out in the Open...

Every year about this time, the staff at radio station HCJB begin to move into high gear. The excitement level raises. Staff members are seen running around the station. Decorations begin to fill the conference rooms. E-mail activity begins to increase.

Quito Day Concert Choir and Orchestra

It's not the Christmas season that does it. It isn't Black Friday or even Cyber Monday. It's a sign that two of HCJB's biggest events of the year are coming. The first of those is a concert called The Quito Day Concerts and it is happening this weekend.

Radio station HCJB has been presenting this annual event since the 1960s. It is a celebration that the city of Quito hosts in honor of their founding by the Spanish in 1534. The leaders of HCJB saw this time as an opportunity to show our host city what we are all about... the gospel message... and what better time to do that than right before Christmas?

Quito Day Concert Orchestra

In recent years we have mixed drama, video, humor and dance into the concerts, which all help to point the concert goers toward our Lord and Savior. The choir consists of some 80 volunteers from the community. A live volunteer orchestra also accompanies the choir. One of those volunteers is our son Daniel. Daniel was invited to play in the orchestra by the conductor of the choir who also happens to be his band teacher at school.

Please remember to pray for all those who will be attending the concerts. Pray that they will see a clear presentation of the gospel and decide to put their faith in Jesus Christ. Pray for Daniel as he plays  his saxophone alongside other volunteers from the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Pray that Daniel will play well and also be able to keep up with his school work this weekend.

Thanks,

Doug & Ruth

The New Media Moves Fast!

Well, it has only been a few weeks since our return from Home Ministry Assignment in the USA last summer. And boy did we hit the ground running. Seems everyone is getting the "new media bug" and my little department and I are getting inundated with requests for help. That is good news... but it also caused my managers to realize that I needed more time to dedicate to new media. So, about a week ago I was relieved of my responsibilities over ALAS (satellite network) and SERVIR (radio agency). I will still be involved with partner relations for both, but I am greatly relieved to be able to concentrate on just new media initiatives.

Web page www.radiohcjb.org

So what kinds of opportunities are coming our way? We currently have four web pages that are in various states of re-design. We act as consultants for other HCJB Global ministries who are launching these pages, giving them suggestions for how to make their pages better, web page navigation tips, ideas on how to present their information, tips on how to make them interactive, etc.

About two weeks ago, I was also asked to take the leadership of a new internet initiative to reach Latin American youth who are on the fringes of the church. These are kids who have grown up in church but have been disheartened by what they have seen and are moving away from the church as an institution. We are still forming the approach that we will use to reach these kids, but this is completely new ground for HCJB Global in Latin America.

Facebook page for "HCJB La Voz De Los Andes"

We are still involved in Facebook initiatives. Last week we tested a live video stream that we were able to add as a tab on one of our Facebook pages. I even did a "remote" shoot of the "Open House for the Bible" event HCJB hosted last Friday and Saturday. We hope to eventually connect the live video from my iPhone to the stream that our fans can see on the Facebook page.

Then just this week, another missionary stopped by to "chat".  Together we shared our respective dreams to start producing video content for the use on the internet. Although he will do most of the video production, this effort falls squarely under new media because we will use the internet for distribution.

So you can be praying for my team and I as we try to keep all of these balls in the air. Currently I have three half-time people working with me on new media. Pray that we can prioritize our efforts well and get the most out of each opportunity for God's glory...

Thanks,

Doug

A Good Rest?

We always get asked after our Home Ministry Assignment (HMA) if we had a good rest. If you ask most missionaries, they will tell you that HMA is not a time for rest... It is usually more stressful than living in your country of ministry because of the disruption and constant visiting that HMA requires. Personally, I get a lot more rest sitting on a beach in Ecuador with good friends. So how would I characterize our HMA?

"Crazy" is the first word that comes to mind. It was a crazy summer for many reasons, including Ruth and I spending 6 of our 12 weeks in different places. For 4 of those, we were in different continents. We also drove from Indiana, to California, and back again, which is crazy any time. Finally, Ruth was studying for much of the summer, taking the second level of classwork toward her certification as an educational therapist.

"Ministry" is the second word that comes to mind. I had the opportunity to speak or teach in the Spanish service and/or Sunday school classes at Church of the Open Door (COD) all summer long. Ruth participated in the Spanish Women's Bible Study. We spoke at a missions dinner at COD along with several other missionaries. Daniel and I played basketball with the high school boys on Mondays and the men on Tuesdays, and Daniel played indoor soccer on Thurs nights with the Spanish ministry, all of which were outreach ministries to the community. Daniel had the opportunity to translate for a High school outreach trip to Mexico. While there, he was asked to play piano for the high school worship team and for the Idrafoje (I'D RAther FOllow JEsus) camp for 3rd thru 5th graders. What a privilege to be able to minister to those who support us day in and day out, month in and month out!

"Social" is the last word that comes to mind. Even with the craziness we did get to see many people. We were able to see people in both Indiana and California. We hosted a supporter desert in Indiana. We met many new people at COD. We met with many supporters in California, Colorado and Kansas. We spent several days at the Grand Canyon with Ruth's family and we returned to Indiana in time for a family reunion on Doug's side of the family. We also got to spend some great time with other missionary families from COD.

So was our HMA restful? No... Was it a good HMA? Yes... It was a time to remember all of the great people who stand with us in ministry. It was a time to thank many of them personally. It was a time to share with new acquaintances about what God is doing in Latin America. It was a time to give back to many of those who give to us every day, month, year. So thanks... Thanks for standing with us. Thanks for praying for us. Thanks for supporting our ministry. Thanks for being part of the team...

Doug & Ruth

(If you want to be part of the team, write to us...)

The ALAS Satellite Radio Ministry

As promised, I want to talk a little bit today about what the ALAS Satellite network is, and maybe what it isn't. First of all, it is not a satellite network that you can listen to directly on your car radio. The ALAS network depends on local radio stations to broadcast our programs. This is unlike the satellite networks in the USA and Europe where listeners can buy a satellite radio receiver and listen directly to the network. We currently have just over 100 affiliate radio stations who use our programs as a regular part of their broadcast day.

So who are these local radio stations anyway? Well they are mostly little Christian stations that are run by small churches or small groups of believers who have a heart to reach their communities for Christ and see radio as a strategic tool in accomplishing that goal. They are scattered all over Latin America, the USA and even Spain. Some are in very remote, mountain villages where internet technology cannot reach them. Oh, we have a few affiliates who are large stations located in some of the largest cities of Central and South America, but that is the exception, not the rule.

These stations have a problem though. They don't have a lot of money. Oh they have lots of vision, but lack the resources to realize that vision. It's expensive to produce quality radio programs and either they don't have believers who are trained in radio to help them, or they can't afford to hire the talent they need to effectively reach their community. That's where we come in. We provide a 24 hour satellite feed that these stations can use whenever they wish throughout the day or night. Many will play the ALAS network all night long or even all weekend long. That helps them focus the limited resources that they have on their local "prime time" audiences.

HCJB Global does a lot to promote Christian radio around the world. We help believers start their own stations through Radio Planting. We help them prepare their staff by providing Radio Training so that the talent they do have can maximize their impact. Then we also help them by providing quality Christian programming that makes them sound professional all day long until they have the resources to do that themselves.

Doug

Misión Compartida 2010

The very next weekend after the Extreme Response Christmas party and the Quito Day concerts, we jumped right into the annual fundraiser/share-a-thon/open house for our two local radio stations. Radio HCJB in Quito ran their share-a-thon from Friday thru Sunday while HCJB-2 in Guayaquil ran theirs from Thurs thru Sunday.

Here in Quito we open the doors to the radio station while at the same time inviting them to give to the station. And they do come. This year we estimate that 5,700 people passed through our gates. They come to see their favorite producer. They come to leave their donation. They come to express their appreciation for the ministry our producers have had in their lives. This is a time of sharing together.

Listeners can pledge their donation by calling us or they can come to the station and leave their donation with us. Then they can enter our "live studio" to see how radio is made from behind the scenes. Much of our music is also performed "live" during the event. Many listeners will come to see their favorite musical group in person. This year we invited the group "Blest" from the USA as well as several local groups from Ecuador.

The children can be dropped off in the "Children's tent" where a local church volunteers to entertain them with face painting, coloring, games and presentations where clowns teach the kids about Jesus. We also have inflatable trampolines for the kids when the presentations are not going on.

Misión Compartida is about connection. It is about connecting with our listeners. It is about our listeners connecting with us. It is about financial support for the station. It is about sharing in the mission of reaching Ecuador and the world with the good news about Jesus Christ. This year our listeners pledged over $215,000 for the station. Unbelievable? History shows that here in Quito, our listeners will likely give more than they have pledged. This is a testimony to the work our producers do on the air. Our listeners give out of gratitude for the ministry they receive every day over the airwaves. That is why we are so excited about the ministry of HCJB in Latin America. Thanks for being a part of that ministry through your prayers and support of our family in so many ways.

Doug & Ruth

Summer Missions

I have had the privilege, the last couple of weeks, to spend some time with HCJB Global's summer missionaries. What's a summer missionary? They are typically college students who have completed their junior year in school and who want to spend their summer overseas as a missionary. Many times they are here to see how they might be able to use their future profession in service to the Lord.

The students this year are from all over the USA. They come from Wyoming to Boston. Several of them are preparing for nursing and are working in our hospital. One is working in administration. Another is working at the same orphanage that Becca hopes to volunteer with this next year. Two more are engineers who are helping out with clean water projects for communities that don't have a clean water source.

I was able to share with them some stories of how God has protected us while we have been here. And I also encouraged them to realize that everyone they come in contact with is in a process of knowing God. And we never really know how God will use some little thing that they say or do to bring someone closer to him. We don't always see the fruit of our labor. But God can use even the little things to bring someone one step closer to Him.

Many of these students will likely return to missions after college, not only with HCJB Global, but with other ministries too. What a great opportunity we have to introduce these young people to missions. Won't you pray for our summer missionaries and ask that God will work in their hearts during their time with us?

Thanks,

Doug

Facebook in Ministry?

I got to work a little early that day. I knew it was going to be a busy day and I wanted to get an early start. I turned on my laptop computer and the radio in my office. I often listen to our radio station throughout the day, but today, listening would be especially important. We were giving away free tickets to a popular Christian concert. We had been giving away tickets all week, but today the tickets would go exclusively to fans of our HCJB La Voz de Los Andes Facebook fan page. If they were not already a fan, they could become one, but they had to write a certain phrase on our "wall" in order to enter the drawing. My job was to keep track of the people who entered the contest and write them a quick reply, confirming receipt of their entry. By the time we selected the winners, 76 people had written the proper phrase on our wall.

This is an example of how we are trying to use the new digital media technologies to touch our audience in new ways. The world is becoming more social in the way it uses technology and we hope to capitalize on that trend. Facebook is an internet based social network in which "fans" can communicate with us interactively. They can now ask questions of our radio hosts, live on the air. They can inquire as to what song we just played on the air. They can send us testimonies of how God has used one of our producers to say just the right thing at just the right time for them. We can also use the network to share news and information about other HCJB Global ministries in Latin America. For instance, we were able to share pictures from our medical team as they ministered in Haiti recently. We can also share videos, have open discussion forums, share links to useful web pages, and many more things.

We now have 5 Facebook pages in Latin America, each one with a specific audience in mind. Three of those have been launched since our return to Ecuador in late January. I am responsible for updating only two of those pages, but I spend a lot of time helping other HCJB Global staff learn about Facebook and think through ways that they might use it to better communicate with their target audience. We are certainly not experts on social media, but we are learning as we explore new ways to reach out to our audience.

You can follow our English regional fan page by clicking on the HCJB Voz Global fan button in the right hand column of this blog. Thanks for praying for us as we seek new ways of reaching out to people in Latin America with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Doug