This past Monday, I got a chance to present at the 7Ms meeting in VA Beach. Its always a pleasure to connect with and hear the stories of what is happening around the world from missionaries who are in and out of the states, and this meeting was no different – even with us having the space to present about MMM.

Of Missionaries on the Field

In the times I’ve attended 7Ms, there have been several stories by those who’ve been serving in places such as India, Libya, Egypt, Central America, Ecuador, and SE Asia. Suing this meeting, we got to hear about what has been happening in Thailand with those who speak (and are now learning to write) in the Diao language. Two videos were presented, the first showing the changes that have been happening as a result of missionaries giving Thai an ability to write and learn about the world in their own language. And the the second showing how it really has been more a matter of prayer than anything else that has been the best supporting and enabling action (not to say that people and finances aren’t needed, only that even with those, it was the increase in prayer that merited the most direct change).

OMF International was the organization that this presenter worked with. Though we are in knowledge of several groups working alongside them in that region and many others as the Gospel’s ability to not just save souls, but to improve the quality of life, for so many is being felt (and in some cases, encouraged on national levels).

Of the Presentation Itself

As usual, I present from a mobile phone where possible. And, to what has seemed like it’s been happening more often than not lately, there’s been some issue with that happening. So instead of the presentation getting the benefit of a few slides, I had to walk from memory and interaction.

A few of the points that we raised which might resonate with some:

– There are three reasons why we see mobile’s prominence in areas where missions activities happen: communication, safety, and opportunity. Any use of mobile, whether evangelism, health, learning, etc. has to become relevant to people personally on that wise. It is a very true statement that “technology is only relevant when it is personal.” On the mission field, this is increasingly the case.

– While there is a generation gap, and economic/affluence gap, when it comes to the types of devices and activities, base usage remains the same: high usage of text messaging, need for great battery life, and use of low-cost mobiles and pre-paid accounts.

– There are several examples of activities happening utilizing mobile in ministry, a few we highlighted on the deck include the mLearning Project, Door 43, and Kiosk Evangelism. There’s a need to catalog more stories though, and to do so while keeping the integrity of the mission and the safety of missionaries in mind.

That’s a good summary of things. You can see the presentation, and others, in our Issues and Presentations section of the site.

Always a pleasure to connect with 7Ms, and looking forward to giving them an update as to our doings in future meetings. To connect with 7Ms, you are probably best to either catch a member on Facebook or just show up on a Monday morning.