When we talk about someone who is always thinking and planning faster than us, we make a chess analogy that they always seem two moves ahead. It should never be a surprise that God is 1,000 moves ahead (or more) and yet, God still always surprises me.
As we began to think and pray over the launch of oneMESSAGE.tv, there were many ways we could see God using the tool of video Bible storying to remove obstacles so everyday Christians could reach people around the world. First and foremost, we knew that so many of the 3,200 unengaged unreached people groups have not heard God's word in a way that they can understand. But when the indigenous people see and hear themselves in the Bible stories, that barrier can immediately be breached. And it will be accomplished when believers with generous hearts join the Holy Spirit where He is working.
We knew in this age of technology, that once the Bible stories were created on mini-SD cards those stories would know no bounds in finding their audience. Those stories would travel by phone, by the internet, and by app, and nothing could prevent them from finding the listening ear who needed to hear and see it. Those are the moves that we saw.
But God was playing chess and we were playing checkers. Here are some things that we did not know. Before the videos were ever edited, while we were still just capturing them, the unreached in our South American people group were already hearing and seeing the Bible stories. As they were serving as our actors, they spent the day with our missionary partners, getting to know them and building a relationship with them. Shortly after our video production team had left, there were already people making commitments to Jesus Christ and being baptized.
Last week, we learned yet another way that God was using video storying in South America. Watch the video below to learn more and to pray about an exciting opportunity THIS WEEK!