Do you work in the journalism or media fields, and have a passion to serve others and spread the word of Christ? If so, CrossRoads Missions’ Storytellers program could be right for you. Nathan Holt, who is part of our Storytellers team, told us more about the Storytellers program and their recent trip to Haiti:
Storytellers is about partnerships. We are a group of multimedia professionals that partner with missionaries, churches, and organizations working around the world to take the Gospel to those who have not heard. We come alongside them to help tell the story of what Christ is doing through the partnership they have formed with their stateside senders back home. Connecting those in the pew to the ministry being done on their behalf around the globe is key when building lasting and fulfilling connections in today’s missions world.
Storytellers recently went to Haiti on behalf of two partnerships we have formed with Haitian Christian Impact Ministries (HICM) and Tennessee Christian Teen Convention (TCTC) and Haitian Christian Outreach Ministries (HCO).
Storytellers has worked with TCTC and HICM for several years now in producing the media TCTC needs to tell the story of what God is doing through their missions partner, HICM in Haiti. TCTC is an annual teen conference hosted in early January in Gatlinburg, TN. Over 5,000 students and leaders attend. All of the giving at the conference goes to missions and as a result, HICM is able to host a teen conference in Haiti, too, but that’s not all the fruit HICM is able to produce from TCTC’s partnership in giving. TCTC has helped HICM plant churches, train pastors, dig wells, feed the hungry, offer school scholarships, build new church buildings, etc.
Storytellers’ partnership role on behalf of TCTC and HICM has been to come alongside the ministry they are doing together and document HIS accomplishments resulting from their partnership. Storytellers has led trips of select TCTC students to serve and witness God in action firsthand with HICM. After capturing the story on location, Storytellers brings those stories back and helps TCTC relate them the next year so that others will be inspired to give and to sign up to go and be the hands and feet of Jesus too. Further, as a result of having the plethora of material we shoot while on location, we are able to provide HICM with some of the multimedia tools they need to connect their ministry partners other than TCTC to the work God is doing through their giving as well.
Not long after our trip with HICM/TCTC, Storytellers was asked to return to Haiti with HCO for a trip. HCO has worked in Haiti for more than 30 years. They plant churches, provide training for new evangelists and church leaders, provide clean drinking water by digging wells, minister to the needy with food distributions, and use their church buildings as schools during the week educating 2000-plus students. They even provide affordable medical care through a hospital they are building on the southern coast. Storytellers’ partnership with HCO is more than five years old. We have produced promo videos, training materials, recruiting materials, videos/materials championing their 30th anniversary, several trips worth of “shoots” on special occasions which they have used the raw materials we shot to produce numerous other pieces. On this trip, we worked with their executive director to gather headshots of the students who attend two of their six schools. Over 400 students were seen, and over 1250 pictures taken. HCO’s Every Child program is focused on providing high-quality, Christ-centered education, a program that will give their students a foundation for their faith and the ability to achieve so much more throughout their entire life (http://haitianchristian.org/get-involved/every-child-sponsorship). When those 400-plus kids are “sponsored” by families back here in the States through their Every Child program over $8000 a month will be generated, every month, directly impacting the destiny of every child HCO ministers to daily at these two schools… that’s the power of Storytellers’ ministry and it’s a humbling thing to be involved.
The thing I love most about being a Storytellers’ missionary is the fact that in every partnership we undertake, the biggest winner is always the Kingdom. Whether our projects are meant to be used to share the Gospel, as teaching and training materials, as tools used to increase prayer, involvement, or awareness, or if their purpose is to better connect overseas ministry partners to those sending them, whether they will be seen by hundreds or tens of thousands, Storytellers ALWAYS seeks to champion the global mission of the hope we have in sharing Christ’s story with the lost world.
Will you join us?
If you are looking to serve and have experience in fields such as journalism, photography, videography, and graphic design, reach out to join Storytellers today.
Looking for a mission trip? The 2019 schedule for CrossRoads trips has been released. Sign up using the convenient online registration system on our website, www.crossroadsmissions.com
