Creative & Effective Youth Evangelism

Creative ministries in the 21st century must embrace certain understandings to be more relevant & effective in these days. We live in days when the level of awareness is very high. An average 5 year old child, living in a city has, most likely, interacted with technology his parents never had access to until they were in their late teens or early twenties.

Obviously this means that communicating with this generation will be different than the generation before them. I believe there are 3 things every creative ministry in the 21st century must have to be outstanding & effective in influencing today;s generation with the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. They are:

Consecration: We must realize that the backbone of any long-lasting influence on today's youth must be premised on a relationship with God. That is the foundation for the effectiveness & influence we desire. The power source of our ministry is this connection to God. 2 Timothy 2:21 says "Those who make themselves clean from all those evil things, will be used for special purposes, because they are dedicated and useful to their Master, ready to be used for every good deed."

One of the greatest challenges of these days is purity. The standards of integrity, purity and moral excellence have not changed. Interestingly, people still expect individuals to uphold certain values that ensure social cohesion. Things like truthfulness, integrity, loyalty, etc are still expected of people. Only individuals with deeply entrenched roots in God can truly live untainted as they interact with a world of moral depravity. The first requirement of ministry is a consecration to God.

The second thing is Skill. Skill is the know-how, the knowledge of the technology. Most creative ministries don't have the skill required to compete in the world, so we just retract into our "spiritual" environments. We tell them not to be carried away with the music but listen to the lyrics. The secular guys do the opposite by skillfully wrapping their lewd lyrics in excellent music. Excellence is a language all mankind understands and appreciates. And excellence doesn't come cheap. The price for excellence is hard-work and diligence. Most creative ministries receive inspiration from God but don't go beyond that. I believe inspiration usually comes as a zipped folder. It needs to be unzipped using the right software, which is meditation (something from my book How To Unlock Creative Flows).

The third thing is Wisdom. The message we preach will only get through to our audience if it is properly packaged. Wisdom is the key that helps us to know how exactly to package the message. It is what helps us to discern what exactly we are up against, knowing which tools to use per time. Without wisdom, we won't know when to come hard on the audience and when to be tender and gentle. It is this wisdom (knowledge, understanding & discernment) that the guys in the secular have that makes them a hit.

Here are my own thoughts, feel free to comment and visit our page on facebook.com/RAMPAGEOutreach

God is Not Zeb Ejiro

Hello friends, I got this off a facebook friend's page. It is instructive and hilarious and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

OK, I know there's a lot of criticism against Nollywood and some movies are truly a stunning celebration of unparalleled levels of ineptitude and daftness. A friend even said 'every time you watch Africa Magic channels, a brain cell dies in you' Lol! But truth is, this is ours and well, it’s part of our 'rich' heritage!

Anyway, talking about directors, it dawned on me that God is also a Director! He's working on a Master Script and as your life's story plays on, be assured that there's the Supreme being calling the shots.

Your life is, however, not Nollywood and in case you've watched too much “Nneka the Pretty Serpent,” “Yemi my lover” and “Dangerous Love Part 1 to 7”, here's my caution to you not to judge God and life with your Africa Magic mind.

1. Your enemies won't necessarily die or run mad: It is not God's preoccupation, occupation or vocation to kill your enemies or make them run mad after they confess that they are the ones 'doing' you as is common with Patience Ozokwor.

As you see the unfolding sojourn of your life under God's management, don't be shocked at his system of justice. In our earthly time, it might seem like the sinners are going unpunished and those who have done you wrong are getting ahead of you. Be assured, sin has full recompense but what God does is not to kill those who try to harm you, but He makes sure you are not overcome by their evil.

2. There's middle class in life: As against the lie we find in our movies, there's middle class in real life! Don't be deceived by the miracle of Mike Ezuruonye getting a fabulous job just after NYSC and moving into a 'five star' duplex, driving an 'End of Discussion' and earning seven digits for being a faithful accountant! And don't mind Desmond Elliot trekking the streets of PH five years after Uni, surviving on Boli and Epa, and living in a run down one room apartment.

There are small beginnings, not so small to be called a poor estate and there are prosperous progresses not so big to be called a major break! Life is a journey, so don't feel unsuccessful because you earn 60k, take bus to and fro work, can't afford a Nokia Lumia and don't wear designer Cologne.

Even if you are not where you want to be, remember this is not where you used to be.

As God directs your life, He won't necessarily make you meet Ini Edo, the daughter of Pete Edochie, who just decides to favor you with 10million Naira, you will work hard, save little by little, make your brain sweat and broadcast your business ideas on BB, then it will keep adding up to your progressive prosperity!

3. Romance might not mean Boutique Trips: Ehn ehn! My sisters in da Lord, this is for us. Well, if you are single and standing in faith to meet your man of destiny, keep in mind that you are not Tonto Dike meeting a Jim Iyke freshly arriving from Jand, therefore, true love might not mean trips to the boutique with odd Whitney Houston songs in the background of your life story, or running around lonely beaches and falling to be carried.

Romance could mean dreaming up a future together, serious strategy sessions, intense prayer times, happy laughter over homemade meals and promises of an enduring commitment. Wise up!

If you are already married and Africa Magic is confusing your expectations, please don't pay your subscriptions again o. How can you let man made fiction ruin your God made future? So because your husband is not Ramsey Noah taking you, Nse to the Bahamas for vacation, you are losing your joy? Ha! Na wa for you o!

Having said that sha, our men, that's no excuse not to trip us o.

4. God has the proper subtitles: Just the other day, a Yoruba movie's scene had the following subtitling:'Kunle please kill me inside, don't killed me outside'...If you are not a Yoruba person, you can't understand that groove. But be assured that as the script of your life plays out, God's subtitles are right!

You might not understand the language life is speaking sometimes and stuff happens that makes you want to ask 'wetin dey o?' but if you look closely and listen with your heart, you will hear the Spirit subtitling the script, breaking it down in a language you can understand and offering invaluable perspective! That perspective is what keeps you sane through life's mad dramas.

I'd conclude on this tomorrow!

Have a good year and keep God as your Director and Producer, that way, we should WATCH OUT for you!

With irrepressible joy,

Debola Deji-Kurunmi

How to create media content that engages the audience.

If you are as young as I am, you'd remember the days of Voltron, Thundersub, good ol' Sesame Street (where I learnt how to rhyme), even the Sunday-Sunday Tales by moonlight. And then there was G-force, Speed Racer and TerraHawks (Expect the unexpected-Tiger Ninestine). Those were days when choices were few & TV time was limited. Today choices have gone out of the roof (there's Ben10, Power Rangers, The Legend of the KungFu Panda, Dora the explorer, Samurai Jack and so on. (do you know any popular ones I missed out? Drop a comment!)

You will agree with me that it is getting increasingly difficult to watch, listen to decent things on TV or the radio these days. Everything seems to be punctuated with sex, lust, power & violence. If you are someone concerned about the atmosphere that the next generation grows in & the values they imbibe, you would like to screen what they engage thier minds with right? But the challenge is this, where can I get wholesome content?

Did you know that Tolkien and CS Lewis were friends? They both decided to do something about the state of print media, using fantasy literature, in their days. Oh, you don't know who those 2 guys are? JRR Tolkien wrote The Lord of the rings trilogy & Lewis wrote the 7 book Chronicles of Narnia. Both were a response to the desire to have imaginative stories that depicted redemption.

So here are some practical tips to creating media that is engaging yet full of values.

1. Use The bible; It is full of stories! Put yourself in the scenarios. What would have been your response? How would the character have acted/reacted if he/she were living in another timeframe?

2. Use fresh camera angles By viewing an issue from fresh angles, you present it in a new light. Tell the story from another person's point of view e.g. a third party, an onlooker. For example, if you were an investigative reporter following Joseph's story, how would you report it?

3. Real life stories or situations work well too. Focus on the values you'd like to teach & use the experience/story to project it.

4. Perfect the art of story telling

5. Make it believable. Hollywood sells make-believe like its true life. They use the right props-musical ambience, costume, special effects, etc