ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–Men studying about missions in Southern Baptist churches soon will have a new video resource designed to promote missions awareness and involvement. Through “Missions In Motion,” men will see missionaries share in their own words — and demonstrate as the camera follows them — how God is working.
In the premiere issue, for instance, a high camera shot follows a caravan of recreational vehicles driving down the highway. The group is headed for a Baptist association in West Virginia where they will do construction work and minister in a local housing development. They are Campers on Mission, the featured topic for the January segment.
“We call it a vacation with a purpose,” said Sylvia Freeman, one of the volunteers, from her seat in the motor home as they travel to the site. The cameras then follow the volunteers as they minister and share Christ.
The fast-paced video segment for January also includes an overview of the work of Southern Baptist resort missionaries and a story on a fishing tournament in South Carolina designed to provide opportunities for men to share their faith. Regular features include video prayer requests from missionaries in the United States and around the world and suggestions for getting involved in missions personally. A printed Missions In Motion magazine serves as a leader’s guide for the men’s meeting, providing further opportunities for prayer and discussion.
The February segment, also included in the pilot release, focuses on the Mississippi River Ministry, a project coordinated by seven state conventions that is also the subject for the 1998 missions study of the North American Mission Board (NAMB). Future issues will focus on other work involving NAMB and the International Mission Board missionaries and volunteers.
Missions in Motion is actually a replacement for the “Missions Today” magazine for men’s missions education produced by the former Brotherhood Commission. In addition to the video component, a key difference is that “Missions Today” was designed to be used by individuals while “Missions In Motion” is for use primarily by the group leader.
Under the recent reorganization of the Southern Baptist Convention, the North American Mission Board now has responsibility for equipping churches in promoting missions education and involvement among men.
Tim Seanor, director of mission education for NAMB, said Missions in Motion is an example of how the board’s expanded video production capability has made missions education resources more effective. A similar video component for Royal Ambassadors, “X-treme Missions,” also supplements supplement traditional printed curriculum materials in younger age groups.
The pilot issue of Missions In Motion includes materials for December, January and February, although the January segment is the first to include the video component. It was mailed free of charge to all churches who ordered other missions education materials through the Baptist Sunday School Board, which now handles distribution for NAMB materials. For further information on ordering Missions In Motion, call 1-800-233-1123.
