Digital Strategy Guides
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Policies and Procedures for Sexual Integrity
The Sexual Abuse Around Us
The Ravi Zacharias sexual scandal has been a sobering experience for us all. Here’s a man we all looked up to; an insightful author, a winsome speaker, a beautiful family, a picture-perfect marriage, children who worked with their dad in his ministry.The list could go on and on.
Yet, now his family is humiliated and they’re forced to apologize for the sins of their father. His life’s work has been dismantled, his books recalled and discontinued, his once rich Christian witness now a stain upon Christian testimony.
And yet his situation isn’t uncommon.It’s only the most recent and high profile.
AniMissions Seminar Update
Create Taiwan
As of today, the 2021 AniMissions Seminar has been underway already for one week. Fourteen students from seven countries have jumped into this adventure in learning animation for the purpose of frontier missions. This is our first ever online school, so you can imagine a lot of issues had to worked out during the first week. Thanks to Keegan, the designer of the Campfire site, things are running relatively smoothly.
A Nudge
One of our hopes in transitioning to an online program was to expand our training to reach those who are working on the field and would not have the ability to travel to Taiwan. We are delighted to see this hope being fulfilled already as two teams working in the 10/40 window are participating, along with other individuals from the Global South.
In fact, all fourteen students are either involved or are preparing to be involved in missions, so we are already more effectively reaching our target audience. The recent pandemic and especially the closing of the Taiwan border gave us the push we needed to move quickly into this online learning venture, and we are grateful to God for this.
A Foundation
Last week, the students learned about culture and contextualization, story structure, scriptwriting and storyboarding. These are all foundational teachings on which we build the main 3D graphics and animation section of the course. They were also introduced to our main software tool, Blender, and ended the week with a tutorial on how to build and animate a simple rocket. This week, they will dive fully into learning the Blender modeling process, so things will get a bit more complicated.
“The recent pandemic and especially the closing of the Taiwan border gave us the push we needed to move quickly into this online learning venture, and we are grateful to God for this.”
We are already talking about our next seminar, which we plan to run in Spring 2022 from April to the end of May. Several students that couldn’t get into this seminar will be doing the seminar at that time. If you have an interest in learning to create animated short films to bring the gospel to the world’s unreached people groups, consider joining us in 2022!
– Dave H.
Digital Dialogue – Daring to stay relevant in an era of information overload
Digital Dialogue Daring to stay relevant in an era of information overload Author: Andreas Ernst (2021) Effective media is not about the right products or numbers,… Read More »Digital Dialogue – Daring to stay relevant in an era of information overload
Which Audio Player
Which Audio Player?
Listening to the translated Scriptures: a review of today’s digital audio players
Fourth Edition – Revised for 2019
It is not hard to convince those involved in Scripture access and Scripture engagement of the value of listening to audio Scriptures. We want to assist communities in making strategic choices about how best to make them available and how best to encourage people to engage with them. One of the ways people listen to the Bible today is using a digital audio player. But since there are so many different audio players to choose from, how do we make a good choice?
This in-depth review (66 pages) compares a range of today’s digital audio players including the Proclaimer (from Faith Comes By Hearing), the Envoy 2 (from MegaVoice), the Audibible K1 (from Kivah Distributors), the Papyrus and The Torch (from Renew World Outreach), the Kulumi Mini and Lost Sheep from Hope Tech Global.
Using Wi-Fi boxes at large events.
Digital Distribution Strategy for Bible Dedication Celebrations
A Step-By-Step guide for using Wi-Fi media boxes at your event
“While stacks of the newly published Scriptures awaited eager buyers, those embracing the digital age were not forgotten. Five Wi-Fi hubs had been set up at various locations around the stadium. A large vinyl banner promoted the availability of a free Bible app and other Scripture resources for those who connected to these units.”
Using Your Wi-Fi Media Box
28 ideas for digital distribution
For years, Missionary Aviation Fellowship’s pilots carried a box on planes containing Bibles and Christian literature. When they landed, these resources would be offered for sale. Eventually, due to the popularity of smartphones and the weight of books, they switched to carrying less printed resources. Instead, a Wi-Fi Media Box was often substituted. It weighed almost nothing and could hold more resources than a physical box.
Scripture Engagement Guide
We exist so that local communities everywhere are engaging with Scripture in transformative ways.
We empower communities to make informed and sustainable decisions for their future. The journey isn’t ever a perfectly linear process – instead we come alongside communities as they try an idea, evaluate the results, and then take their next steps. This is more about the process than the products that may be created or utilized along the way. The journey through the site can be expressed in four general stages:
Facebook Ads for Scripture Promotion
How to leverage the power of Facebook Ads to promote the translated Scriptures and other Scripture media This is a series of eight training videos, showing… Read More »Facebook Ads for Scripture Promotion
Script Fit Videos
In 2019 I went to Southeast Asia to oversee a video dubbing. The team there assured me they had prepared the script to fit the video’s timing, and it was ready for recording. But when we began to dub the video, we realized that, in many parts, segments were too long. In other parts, as we watched the video, we realized that we could often see the actor’s mouth moving but nothing was being said in the dubbed language. We spent many hours of several days adjusting the script to achieve a good dubbing. We needed a translation consultant to approve every change. Precious recording time was lost and the dubbing took days longer than planned.
When I returned to IMS-Waxhaw, many of my colleagues told me similar experiences they had had on the field. Something needed to be done to help prevent the “script fit blues.” All the instructions for preparing the script are in the Shell Video Manual (Step Five), which every field team receives when they apply to dub a video. But the manual can be a difficult read, especially for non-English speakers. And many people think that when it comes to script fitting, they already know everything they need to know. So I wrote the scripts, and we assembled a team to create two animated videos explaining the why and how of script fitting. Read More »Script Fit Videos
Media Training & Certification
IMS Media Training & certification
IMS (SIL International Media Services) offers you a selection of core and specialized training modules to choose from, allowing you to be better equipped for the specific ministry context you are in.
If you are wanting to be certified as a Media Specialist, our obligatory four core modules are: Audio Production, Video Production, The role of media in ministry & holistic development, and Facilitating media. In addition to this, we offer a range of additional specialized courses for those seeking to become Media Consultants such as Dubbing biblical films, Using social media effectively, App building or Participatory radio drama.
Our training helps you…
Women: Record The Bible
During many long hours of commuting in heavy traffic and listening to lots of great audio books, we noticed a silent space in the audio book world when it came to the Bible. Women’s voices were missing. her.BIBLE brings the Word of God to life through a multi-ethnic U.S. women’s narration of the New Living Translation in English. We pray that as you listen, you will connect with the heart of God on a deeper level.
Do women’s voices make a difference? We believe they do. When we think of women as a people group, wouldn’t we want to reachout to them in their heart language?
Our goal is to produce a great audio Bible using women’s comforting voices—as if your mother is reading to you. We also want women to feel their value to God, grow in faith through hearing, and fully engage in his kingdom work.
Ethnoarts Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #11 & #12)
Ethnoarts Part 1
Ethnoarts Part 2
Episodes 11 and 12, recorded on December 4th, 2020, will focus on ethnoarts. Ethnoarts is all about joining with community artists in working toward a better future… one of justice, peace, joy, physical safety, social continuity, and spiritual wholeness. This participatory process draws on years of experience and insights from ethnomusicology, ethnography of communication, performance studies, participatory community development, and other fields.
Our guests include Dr. Robin Harris, chair of the Center for Excellence in World Arts at Dallas International University who also serves as the president of the Global Ethnodoxology Network, and Matt Menger an Arts Consultant with SIL who has worked in Southeast Asia for the past 12 years. Matt has his master’s degree in music and is just beginning work on a Ph.D. in World Arts at Dallas International University.
— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/emdclive/message
Read More »Ethnoarts Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #11 & #12)
Recording God’s Word by Any Means
Imagine: You live in a secluded village on an island in the Pacific. You have only ever known the religion and rituals of your community, but you know in your soul that there must be something more. You yearn for truth and peace. Once, a foreigner brought a book in the local trade language and tried to tell your people about God, but your heart language does not have a written form. Only a few of your family members and friends can read the trade language to a small degree. The book that the foreigner brought contained complex wording that made no sense even to them. You eventually resign yourself to the fact that if there is a God, He doesn’t care about you enough to speak His truth in your language.
…Until one day, your neighbor shows you an interesting device. Emitting from it are words you recognize. Your neighbor tells you that at last, because of this device, your community can hear God speak—in your language.
Faith Comes By Hearing strives to ensure that every last person has the chance to hear God’s Word, no matter where they live or what language they speak. To carry out this work, we employ a variety of methods in recording and providing Scripture to more people.
Free software every disciple maker should know about
Connecting for discipleship.
In August of 2016, someone put me in touch with Fatima for the first time. I got her phone number and a few days later we sat down in a coffee shop together. Fatima described herself as open minded. I shared the Gospel with her, gave her a New Testament, and we fruitfully discussed what it means to follow Jesus. A decade earlier, Fatima watched a series on TV about the life of the Messiah and found Him compelling. In the weeks that passed I periodically sent her an SMS but she got busy and stopped responding. Fatima remained one of dozens of contacts in my phone with a similar story… a seemingly one-and-done Gospel conversation.
Read More »Free software every disciple maker should know about
Orality & Storytelling Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #9 & #10)
Orality & Storytelling Part 1
Orality & Storytelling Part 2
Episodes 9 and 10, recorded on December 18th 2020, will take us out of the world of storytelling mediums through film, audio and web and introduce us to some ministries designed to equip Christians to better share their faith using communication strategies referred to as storying and orality. In these two episodes you’ll learn from representatives of Simply the Story and Storyweavers, as well as get to know a bit about the International Orality Network.
— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/emdclive/message
Read More »Orality & Storytelling Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #9 & #10)
5 more reasons why Google can’t translate the Bible
Google can do so many things: resolve dinner table arguments, magically change its logo on the daily and even anticipate what question I’m going to ask next.
But one thing Google can’t do is translate the Bible. We’ve already looked at five reasons why it just doesn’t work (see previous blog), and now it’s time to explore even more reasons why Google and other computer programs can’t come close to replacing the work of human translators.
Read More »5 more reasons why Google can’t translate the Bible
5 reasons why Google can’t translate the Bible
There are a lot of things I don’t understand: physics, the general logistics behind air traffic control and why I turn down the radio when I’m driving so I can see better.
Another skill my brain has never fully been able to grasp is the ability to learn different languages. It’s always been a challenge; just ask my high school and college French instructors!
Artificial intelligence translation programs like Google Translate are used all over the world to interpret everyday conversations, website content and more. But what you end up with can often sound closer to one of my second grade attempts at writing poetry than intelligible thoughts.
The work of Bible translation is complex, and it requires teams of passionate and talented individuals working through unique scenarios on a daily basis. Don’t just take my word for it, though! Here are five real-life reasons why human translators, not computer programs, are needed for clear, accurate and natural Bible translations.
Which Wi-Fi Media Box?
A detailed comparison of the ConnectBox, LightStream Pocket, MicroPi and BibleBox Pi
How do you get digital resources into the hands of people who aren’t connected to the Internet? How do you distribute apps, videos, audio, documents, and images to people who can’t afford the data it would take to download those materials? What if those people live in remote areas where they don’t have access to a cellular network?
What is EthnoArts?
Communication is happening all the time, all over the world, and it’s not just limited to spoken language. We connect with other people through the arts such as song, dance, stories, movement, and a variety of other media. The arts are a powerful way to communicate important messages that often go beyond words to speak more deeply to the heart. Unfortunately, all too often outsiders have neglected or, even worse, rejected local culture and arts outright as valuable methods of communication. Misunderstanding has resulted either in outright rejection or in misuse of these expressive forms. In the field of EthnoArts, we believe that communities have unique cultural gifts and artistic expressions that are an integral part of their identity.