Ministry Stories

ReFrame Celebrates Five Years of Ministry

Five years ago Back to God Ministries International re-launched its English ministry under a new name: ReFrame Media. We thought you might enjoy reviewing some of the highlights of the past five years, seeing where God has led and blessed this ministry:

• Our English outreach has expanded from a staff of one to a team of ten creative media missionaries. The ReFrame Media staff members continuously push the edges of technology to find effective ways of sharing the Gospel.
• ReFrame Media produces nine different programs, seven of which launched in the past five years. We have programs for kids, young adults, music lovers, intellectuals, Bible students, and those who speak English as a second language!
• The Today devotional, which we’ve produced for more than sixty years, is available online, and now also through an iPhone app. It’s been downloaded from iTunes more than 40 thousand times in less than a year. There’s also an app for Android and Kindle!
• The ReFrame team developed ChurchJuice, a free consultancy for congregations who want to learn how to use websites, social media avenues and other  communication tools to more effectively minister in their communities.
• Social media sites like Facebook have become central to our outreach over the past two years. Each of our programs has an active Facebook page. We’re even developing a new marriage and family ministry centered on Facebook!  

“That’s a lot of growth in a few years—a testament to God’s faithfulness and we pray a foundation for reaching millions more in the coming years,” observes ReFrame Media’s director Rev. Steven Koster.

Koster added that these five years of growth would not have been possible without the faithful support of donors committed to this ministry. “We’re grateful to those who have entrusted resources to us to create ministry tools like these. It illustrates how the Spirit moves when people give generously. I pray this is a story we can keep telling generation after generation.”

[ReFrame staff pictured, L-R: Jerod Clark (Church Juice), Barb Brouwer (Kids Corner), Mike Geertsma (Walk the Way), Marc Miller (Web Producer), David Trout (Under the Radar), Courtney Schutt (Groundwork), Robin Basselin (Spotlight), Steven Koster (English/ReFrame Media team leader); missing: Todd Hertz (E-Marketing manager), Josh Larsen (Think Christian)]

Family Reunion with a Purpose

One hundred years ago Hendrick and Cornelia Van Kooten emigrated from the Netherlands and settled in Central Iowa, establishing a legacy of faith for the generations to come. And in July, 2010 three hundred of their descendants met for a family reunion to celebrate that “God has truly blessed a journey of faith that started 100 years ago and continues in each of our lives today.”

So why is a family reunion story appearing on this website? Well, this wasn’t your ordinary reunion! As part of the legacy to their grandparents, the Van Kooten relatives brought family treasures to auction off to one another. The profits from the auction were given to Back to God Ministries International in honor of Hendrick and Cornelia, who loved this ministry!

“Our grandparents would be happy and proud of our gift to Back to God Ministries International,” says Connie Overbergen, one of the reunion planners. “They always listened to The Back to God Hour and it was very special to their hearts.”

Among the items auctioned off was an heirloom Christmas quilt, a painting of a Dresden plate Cornelia had brought from the Netherlands, and dolls that were part of an antique collection. Other items were made by cousins, such as stained glass creations, jewelry, and dish towels lovingly embroidered in memory of their grandmother. The family also produced a cookbook as a tribute to the Van Kooten heritage.

In addition to the auction, the reunion included a time of remembering, a dinner at Pella Christian High School, and a Sunday morning outdoor worship at Red Rock Lake, led by a cousin who was inspired by his grandfather Henry to become a pastor.

“Our grandparents came to America led by a vision for religious freedom,” noted Connie. Their family’s generous gift to Back to God Ministries International helps make it possible for our media ministry to continue sharing the Gospel with people who still live in places of religious oppression.

If your family is planning a reunion in the near future, perhaps the Van Kooten family story will inspire you to add the mission support legacy to your time of celebration and remembering.

(Photo by Dan Vander Beek)

Volunteers Make Ministry Happen

Each week, as many as 2,500 people walk through the doors of Back to God Ministries French ministry center in Kinshasa, Congo in response to our media outreach. People are responding to the Gospel and desire to learn more about the Christian faith. “We cannot do discipleship without our volunteers, just because of the sheer numbers,” notes Rev. Paul Mpindi, French ministry leader.

A network of 225 trained volunteers in several places throughout Africa—pastors and church leaders—serve as mentors to new believers and seekers enrolled in our Bible study correspondence course. On average, more than 5,340 students enroll in the Bible study course each month, and these volunteers provide ongoing supervision as students work through the lessons.

Several volunteers deliver Bible study materials to people who live too far away to come to our ministry centers for lessons. Other pastors provide spiritual counseling for those who come with deep needs. “We set up appointments and several pastors come every week to provide individual counseling,” Rev. Mpindi explains.

“This also creates an important partnership between local churches and Back to God Ministries International,” he adds. “We connect with these church leaders through our training conferences. We serve them first by providing biblical teaching, and in return they volunteer to serve with our ministry. Most of these volunteers do not have money to give in support of our ministry, but they joyfully give of their time.”

Rev. Mpindi repeats, “We could not do this part of our ministry without our volunteers.”

In fact, more than 750 volunteers serve Back to God Ministries International around the world, multiplying our outreach and discipleship capacity. The ways these volunteers offer assistance are varied, but essential for providing effective media outreach for each of our ten language ministries.

• Volunteers assist in our Chinese and Japanese ministries by providing the voices for audio broadcasts. Fifty volunteers assist the Chinese ministry with distributing discipleship materials.
• More than 200 partner churches throughout Brazil provide volunteer staff to follow-up with people who request prayer or spiritual counseling in response to the DisquePaz (Dial Peace) ministry.
• At least 170 volunteers throughout the Middle East quietly disciple seekers who want to know more about the Christian faith.
• Since the 1980s, volunteers in West Michigan and Iowa have faithfully delivered up to 40,000 Today devotionals to area churches and businesses, providing God’s Word for people in many communities. A volunteer team in Nigeria helps distribute 5,000 Todays throughout villages there. And we’ve learned of people in China and Cuba who, on their own initiative, have been sharing BTGMI devotional booklets with people hungry for biblical instruction.

Rev. Bob Heerspink, Director of Back to God Ministries International emphasizes, “Because of the nature of media ministry, volunteer staff in many places throughout the world are crucial for carrying out discipleship ministries with those who contact us with questions about faith and Christian resources.”

If you are interested in volunteer opportunities with BTGMI, visit our website at BackToGod.net/get-involved/for-you. We would love to partner with you as an online mentor, prayer partner, or various other opportunities.

Witnessing in a Facebook World

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn. For some people, these social media systems are passing fads. Others use them to keep in touch with family and friends.  But suppose we think of these revolutionary communication advances a different way—as a means to build the Church of Jesus Christ.

Kei, a 40-year-old government employee from Hong Kong, is one of nearly 9,000 Chinese-speaking people who receive daily encouragement from God’s Word through Facebook.

“Life in Hong Kong is very busy and hectic,” says Kei, who contacted Back to God Ministries International (BTGMI) Chinese media team. “So I make good use of my one hour bus ride to read the Chinese Today devotional each day.”  

Kei previously used the printed Chinese Today booklet. Then in June 2010, Kei was excited to discover the Chinese Today Facebook page. “I immediately joined this Christian community,” said Kei. “I found this community very precious. Fans share their faith each day, and greatly encourage each other… and I am proud to be one of them.”

The BTGMI Chinese media team launched facebook.com/ChineseToday in April 2010. “We want to build a Chinese Today community through which fans can share and encourage each other in their Christian faith,” explains Rev. Jimmy Lin, BTGMI Chinese ministry leader. “Through the viral effect of Facebook, we hoped to reach our audiences and expand outreach to their friends, directing them to the chinesetodays.org website.”

Within the first month, 2,000 Chinese-speaking people had become “fans” of the Chinese Today Facebook site. As friends shared with friends, that number multiplied at a surprising rate, and by February 2011 more than 9,400 people had become fans, and an average of 400 people each month were leaving comments about how the devotionals were making an impact on their lives.

Those who visit the site were also offering encouragement to others struggling with faith or life issues. Traffic on the Chinese Today website increased by 30% over last year as a result of the new Facebook site: from 77,624 visits in April through October 2009 to 108,314 visits in the same time period of 2010.

If those numbers blur your eyes and mind, then think of it in terms of the 30,690 additional Chinese-speaking people who now have access to daily biblical teaching and encouragement.  

“Of course we are excited about the growth of our readership and participation (comments, etc.),” notes Rev. Lin, “but we are even more excited to see these evolving pockets of “virtual” communities of faith. While we understand this can never replace a physical community of faith like a church or a Bible study group, it is very encouraging to know that we are providing a platform for sharing and encouragement. The Lord is blessing our outreach using social media, but at the same time we are challenged with our changing role as a broadcaster in this new and exciting adventure.”

Social Media Evangelism and Discipleship

So can social media be used for God’s glory and the increase of His church? The experience of the BTGMI Chinese ministry suggests it can be used very effectively as a mission outreach tool.

“There is a digital skin forming around the world that is rapidly connecting people together in ways we never thought possible,” says Rev. Bob Heerspink, BTGMI director. “If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest country in the world. Claiming the digital world for Christ allows us to share the gospel and nurture faith in ways that transcend geographical boundaries. We’re committed to using social networking tools to evangelize and disciple the ‘country’ of Facebook.”

Back to God Ministries International began using social media several years ago in Japan, where Christians are isolated and technology is popular. In fact in 2007, the BTGMI Japanese media team developed its own social networking site called “Pajapaja.” (The Japanese name for “Pajapaja” is created from two simple characters that are easy to access by phone or website.)

“Social networking is effective and useful both for connecting people and encouraging each other, without interference from unknown outsiders,” explains Japanese ministry leader Rev. Masao Yamashita. “For the first five years after we launched our website we had tried to communicate with website visitors by using online chat rooms and a bulletin board system, but we experienced some trouble. Sometimes the chat room became a battlefield between Christians and anti-Christians, more of a place for arguments. Such situations often prevented people from coming to our website. So we found social media ideal for our purpose and developed Pajapaja.”

Rev. Yamashita asked Pajapaja members to tell how this ministry has encouraged their faith walk. Shuji left this comment: “A good thing about using Pajapaja is that I never felt lonely. I’m encouraged by the fact that I'm connected to Christians all over Japan through social media.

Teruno added, “It’s been a very nice place to meet other Christians. When I have a bad day and write about it, I get encouragement and prayer. And I can do the same when others have bad days. I always felt alone but now I have a sense of belonging. I’m thankful for that.” Teruno also discovered our Japanese program Gospel Wave through a link on Pajapaja, and now listens to the teaching program faithfully. 

Teruko, who gave her life to the Lord at one of our summer camps, told us, “My family is Buddhist. I was baptized on Christmas 2001, but only recently told my family. They were very surprised. They still don’t understand about me and my belief, but I’m hoping they will one day. I hope that through the internet more people would know what Christianity really is.”

And Ryo added, “Everyone on Pajapaja is my wonderful family.”

BTGMI Indonesian and Arabic ministries are in the early stages of using social media to engage young people in faith conversations. “Social networking is becoming more popular in Indonesia,” reports ministry leader Rev. Untung Ongkowidjaya. “It is a powerful and inexpensive way to connect with people. I see our users strengthening each other with Scripture. They are able to express their heart more openly on this site.”

Share YOUR Faith through Social Media

"Ministry is all about relationships, either in person or through media, so social media was an obvious route of expansion for us,” notes Steven Koster, director of ReFrame Media, the English outreach of BTGMI. “The whole point of social media is to engage more conversationally with people and their friends, so we consider it a key channel for all of our programming. Social media is a part of everything we do.”

ReFrame Media first ventured into social networking in 2007. Realizing the potential for increased outreach, ReFrame hired Todd Hertz in the fall of 2009 to oversee and execute social media expansion for all its programs. This enabled the ministry to provide consistent and strategic social media ministry.

“We now consider our Facebook pages as crucial to our overall outreach as radio itself,” says Rev. Koster. “Radio is a one-way medium, but Facebook allows conversation—conversation between us and fans, and conversations between our fans and their friends."

You can be part of that conversation and introduce your Facebook or Twitter friends to faith messages using these discipleship tools. Rev. Koster explains, "We’ve included social features on every ReFrame Media website so that our content is easy for our listeners to share."

Hertz adds, "The chief ministry for most of our social media venues is disciple-making. The best way we can do this online is through knowledge and relationships. We want to gather believers--from various points on their paths of faith--into a virtual room, giving opportunities to interact and sharpen one another as iron sharpens iron. We want to create communities that discuss, encourage, challenge and inspire its members."

These online faith communities are growing! On the Walk the Way Facebook site, for example, fans of the page have grown from 517 fans to more than 10,000 in one year and interactions between fans has increased from 19 per month in 2009 to more than 1,200 in 2010. Other programs have also seen phenomenal growth, such as the Facebook pages of Under the Radar (with more than 7,700 fans) and Spotlight—the International English program—which has more than 5,000 fans!

“Beyond conversations on Facebook, we’ve also seen direct ways we’re helping people grow their faith,” Rev. Koster reports. “On our Today [devotional] Facebook page, Alicia L. has commented several times about the redeeming side of Facebook. ‘I am reading more of the Bible than I ever have. I’m now using Facebook for God’s glory instead of letting it rule my life negatively.’”

Koster summarizes social media ministry: “To share God’s story in people’s lives, we embrace new communication channels. And as our projects continue to grow, we know it’s not about us, but all about God using a tool like Facebook to bring people closer to him. Will you continue to pray that our ministry projects will reach more people through social media? And if you’re on Facebook, will you be part of the conversations? We’re so thankful for all the ways you support our ministry!”

Gospel Communication in a Facebook Age

Facebook. Twitter. YouTube. LinkedIn. Some people think social media networks are passing fads. Others use them to keep in touch with family and friends. But is the virtual world a good thing or bad?

We live in a fast-changing world of media. So what are the implications for communicating the Gospel?

Back to God Ministries International Director Bob Heerspink presented a live webinar on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 to discuss the incredible opportunities we have for sharing the Gospel through media. The webinar, entitled “Gospel Communication in a Facebook Age,” explores the revolution that is under way in media, and what it means for the Christian community as we share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Bob addressed issues such as:

• how communication has changed over the years.
• the Church’s use of media to proclaim the gospel.
• engaging people in faith conversations through social media
• how local congregations can link with our programs to enhance their own ministry and website

If you missed the webinar, or want to hear it again, you can see the online presentation by clicking on the graphic below. Learn about the continuing revolution in 21^st century media, and what it means for media ministry—what it means for you and the ways you communicate.

A Mission Heart Fulfilled

Have you ever wondered what international media ministry looks like “up close and personal”? John and Adri VandenDool from Picture Butte, Alberta have long nurtured a passion for missions, and in summer 2010 they had the opportunity to travel to Indonesia, where they spent time with Rev. Untung Ongkowidjaya and visited three Listener Communities near Yogyakarta.

The Vanden Dools, who have served as mission advocates for Back to God Ministries International and Christian Reformed World Missions, have often hosted missionaries in their home—including Rev. Untung. The idea to visit Indonesia sparked after Rev. Untung’s visit as he told them about the work in Indonesia.  

Meeting people who are coming to Christ through the Indonesian media ministry, especially those being discipled through the Listener Communities, made a deep impression on the Vanden Dools. “The poorest of the villages (Gunung Kidul) was up a mountain on a one lane road,” John recalls.

In another village, Pohim Kaliorang, they met with several people in the Listener Community. “There Rev. Untung introduced us to a woman who had been caring for her husband for eight years. (See photo) Very little health care was available to the people, yet people are happier there than in our country.”

Rev. Untung asked Adri, a nurse, to pray for this woman and her husband. “When I prayed, he didn’t translate,” recalls Adri. “He told me that God can figure out the language and the prayer concern.”

They also visited the Listener Community in Bantul, where Back to God Ministries International has distributed radios and developed libraries as a tool for outreach. “They speak a different language so we didn’t understand the testimonies, but we could tell they were happy with the radios. One woman told us she was thankful for batteries because she can carry the radio with her to work and others can listen to our programs.”

John and Adri also learned that 1400 Indonesian immigrants living abroad access the radio podcast each month, and Rev. Untung gave them samples of the five devotionals and DVDs of the two television programs his team produces.

The visit was truly a blessing for the Vanden Dools, who have supported Back to God Ministries International for many years. “It is wonderful when you see the Gospel brought, and the people are so happy to listen,” said Adri. “It became so real for us to see ministry happening.”

Even if you are unable to visit a mission field, you can take a virtual tour through this website (see Home Page and Global Ministries). Your prayers and gifts to support Back to God Ministries International make it possible for our ministry leaders to “Tell His Story…Share His Love” with people worldwide. Please consider giving a gift today.

Global Leaders Gather in West Michigan

Back to God Ministries International leaders from around the world met together at Maranatha Bible Camp in Muskegon, Michigan for prayer, fellowship and strategic planning for future ministry. From September 25-29, 2010, BTGMI ministry leaders representing ten languages and outreach in more than 189 countries shared ideas for more effective media ministry around the world.

“It is remarkable how by God’s grace we were able to assemble such a diverse and talented group of indigenous leaders who shared their common commitment to the Reformed faith and expertise in media ministry,” notes Rev. Bob Heerspink, Director of Back to God Ministries International. “Again and again we saw how God is working through this relatively small denomination [the Christian Reformed Church] to make a significant mission contribution to the greater evangelical church around the globe.”

In addition to sharing  stories of how God led each of them to media ministry with BTGMI, the ministry leaders—many who work in isolated situations—prayed together and encouraged one another through a time of fellowship.

The main focus of the conference was to learn from each other and look for better ways to create collaboration and synergy in their respective media ministries. “The amount of media expertise around the table was remarkable,” Heerspink added.

Indonesian ministry leader Rev. Untung Ongkowidjaya shared his strategy for developing listener communities for isolated believers and seekers in remote areas of Indonesia. Stephen Paul, the newest member of the team who heads up the media ministry in northern India, also uses a listener community strategy, often working in remote mountainous regions of the Himalayas to create Christian communities that encourage and support its members.

Leaders also discussed the benefits of SNS (social networking services) as a way to interact with and disciple listeners. In the Middle East, where it is often dangerous for believers to gather, or seekers to ask questions, text-messaging conversations are effective means to connect with listeners who want to know more about the Christian faith. Rev. Masao Yamashita, ministry leader in Japan, shared that last year Japanese listeners used their cell phones to download more than 84,500 devotional messages and nearly 340,000 sermon texts. Isolated believers in Japan also connect with one another through a Christian online networking website developed by BTGMI’s Japanese ministry.

“Conversations with leaders from Christian Reformed World Missions, Words of Hope [the media ministry of the Reformed Church in America], and Timothy Leadership Training institute opened up new partnership opportunities for media outreach and leadership training in global ministry,” Heerspink reports.

Ministry leaders expressed appreciation for the opportunity to gather for a time of prayer, team-building, and planning. “It’s important,” notes Rev. Heerspink, “that even as we seek to build the church through media that we build among ourselves the Christian community which energizes our work.”