What place does media have in ministry?

The word media alone creates emotion.  When you hear that word, what comes to mind?  For some, the first thought would be the news media.  Others hear the word and become overwhelmed with a concept that is over their heads and about which they understand very little.  Increasingly though, there are many who simply get excited about the possibilities of media today.

What is media and what place does it have in churches, missions or even in our families?  Media can be defined as the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet), regarded collectively.  Clearly, each and every “invention” has the potential for improper usage.  Take, for example, the invention of the automobile.  When used improperly, it can be used to drive into a crowd of people in France and kill many innocent victims.  When used properly, it can bring many people to a church service and hear about the love of Jesus.  Media of course has the possibility of negative, but it also has the possibility to be a huge positive and help get the gospel to the world.

So let’s ask the question again: what place does Media have in Ministry?  Well, here some current numbers or facts about the day and age in which we live:

The Internet has 3.17 billion users.

There are 2.3 billion active social media users.

91% of retail brands use 2 or more social media channels.

There are 1 million new active mobile social users added every day.

Facebook now sees 8 billion average daily video views.

78% of people watch online videos every week.

Let’s be clear, media is where people are today.  Every form of media is valuable to eternity if used wisely.  Television, radio, social media, and even distribution of printed materials like Bibles and gospel tracts can be defined as media.

At Christian Media International we firmly believe it is possible to achieve the command of Mark 16:15 when Christ tells us in Mark 16:15, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  Our goal here at CMI is to record national pastors preaching dozens and even hundreds of sermons in the major languages and then air those messages across the globe.  We believe that using media in 2017 for the sake the gospel is not just a need but a must.