Pioneers Media Outreach: Summer 2022 Update

Finding freedom

“Sanjay” lives in the mountainous Himalayan region. He was offered a promising job in the Middle East that would help him make more money to send back to his family. He managed to gather enough funds for a plane ticket and left to pursue this new opportunity.

When Sanjay arrived in the Middle East, he discovered he had been tricked. There was no job waiting for him. This also meant his visa was not valid. Sanjay was arrested and detained by the police. 

Sanjay was deeply discouraged, not knowing what would become of him. Thankfully, he still had his phone. As Sanjay scrolled through Facebook, he saw an ad about finding freedom. This caught his eye because freedom was the one thing he had lost completely.

Sanjay watched a short video about freedom in Christ. He then visited the ministry’s website to watch the whole video. Sanjay contacted the media team, and a responder in his home country listened to his story and shared about Jesus.

This is why we are thankful for generous partners like you. Despite his circumstances, Sanjay heard the gospel and receive encouragement from local believers. Your support has helped people like him find hope during difficult times.

“…This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world…” – Matthew 24:14

Lives changed for kingdom impact

Between January and June 2022:

Pioneers Media Outreach has had 34 new media teams launch this year! Now, we are coaching 65 media teams in the best practices of digital strategies. So far, these efforts have led to:

• 30 million people reached through digital platforms, like Facebook.
• 11,315 people messaging with our responders.
• 7,362 Bibles downloaded or sent to seekers.  
• 200+ people who met face-to-face with our team members.
• 266 people professing faith in Christ!

Highlight

Media outreach also has been a huge blessing for our digital responders. In a Central African country, many of our responders are relatively new Muslim-background believers. They are excited to share with seekers, and serving in this role has helped them grow in their faith.

“He has really taken ownership of digitally responding and is loving this opportunity. I’ve been encouraged to see him grow through this.” – A Pioneers team leader

We are on track to raise more than $1 million this year!

• A new media outreach team is prepping to launch in West Africa, while more teams in Southeast Asia will launch this year.
• Right now, 12% of Pioneers teams are using digital media strategies on the field. This means we are almost halfway to our goal of 25% of our 340 international teams using digital outreach strategies by 2025!

A faith worth sharing

After Sanjay contacted the media team, they connected him with a local Christian fellowship in the Middle East. Members visited Sanjay in the detention center and told him more about Jesus. They even helped Sanjay find a job so he could be released and stay in the country.

Sanjay put his faith in Jesus and began studying the Bible with his new friends. He  invited others to the Bible study, too, and eventually shared the gospel with his family back home.

A media outreach specialist shared how Sanjay’s story is typical for many new believers:

“This is part of what the gospel does. It excites people. They realize they have found a treasure and want to share it with others. We see that continually.”

We praise God that Sanjay’s wife, parents, brother, sister and others gave their lives to the Lord! Please pray that his family will continue to share and grow in their faith.