The Crazy-Incredible Strategy of Media to Movement (M2M)

Every day, approximately 50 – 70,000 people die without ever hearing the Gospel. It’s a sobering number. An overwhelming number. Paired with it is the astonishing number of Unreached People around the world: over 3 Billion. An unreached person is someone who has little or no access to the Gospel. They don’t know a Christian. Their friends don’t know Christians. They are isolated from the one truth that would save their soul and give them hope. Don’t you feel overcome with the need to change that?

That’s the feeling that drives many missionaries. And it’s also that feeling that drives many missionaries to try crazy-incredible, “roof-breaking” strategies to reach these people with the Gospel. Media to Movement is one of those crazy-incredible ideas.

Roof-Breaking Strategies

Perhaps you recall the Bible story of the paralyzed man (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12). Four of his friends had heard that Jesus was in a house teaching. They knew Jesus could heal their friend, but they couldn’t find a way into the crowded house. The need was immediate; they might never have another chance like this, to bring him before Jesus. The need was desperate; their friend was doomed to live life as a burden and a curse.

The situation called for a crazy-incredible idea.

What do you do in your life when the need is both immediate and desperate? These are the situations when the mom lifts the car off her child. The husband speeds down the shoulder around the traffic to get his pregnant wife to the hospital. Or less glamorously, you take a roadside bathroom break. The rules pale in comparison to the desperation of the need.

So, the four men broke all the rules. They didn’t just go in the back door – they created their own entrance. Through the roof. And because of it, they were able to lower their friend right before Jesus. And what did Jesus do? Moved by their faith – He forgave his sins, and He healed him. He sent him home, forever changed.

Crazy-Incredible Ideas in Missions

There is a desperate need to reach people with the Gospel. The need is urgent and the stakes are high. It’s time to not just go in the back door, but through the roof. And a lot of missionaries do that every day. M2M or Media to Movement is one of the strategies they use.

Today, for the first time in history, we have direct access into the lives of billions of people spanning across continents, cultures, and people groups. This phenomenon is thanks to social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Missionaries can place a targeted message in front of just the right people at just the right time:

“You aren’t the only one who is seeking the Truth.”
“Have you dreamed about the Man in White?”
“God Loves You”

The messages are highly specific to the culture and they are “lowered through the roof” directly in front of them. In a single moment, tens of thousands of people can see a message and choose to respond.

Just the Beginning

In many countries, missionary work is not allowed. Missionaries must work covertly. Using M2M, risk is minimalized, but the message is amplified. Contacts can be discipled and validated through online chat, sharing scripture and answering questions. When a contact is ready, they can be met with in person, connected to a group of believers, baptized, and trained to become a disciple-maker too.

Media to Movement is also called Media to Disciple-Making Movement, because just like every strategy at Team Expansion, a Disciple-Making Movement (DMM) is the goal. New believers aren’t just baptized, they are discipled and trained to read and obey scripture. These new believers read “Go and Make Disciples” and they begin to do so. When disciples make disciples who make disciples, a DMM is born.

You Can Help

For some, M2M feels overwhelming – full of modern terms and technology that they don’t understand. That was true for the Team Expansion missionaries who helped pioneer this strategy in a dangerous field. They weren’t experts. They hadn’t done this before. But by prayerfully working through it a piece at a time, they began to see fruit for the first time. This strategy isn’t just for the young, it’s for anyone who feels the burden of a desperate, time-sensitive need and wants to do whatever it takes.

But maybe you are an expert? Maybe you understand social media? Maybe you love videography, photography, or graphic design? Marketing? Perhaps God has been cultivating a unique skillset for you to be able to reach people with the Gospel. You could answer the prayers of many teams around the world if you joined them.

Learn more about Media to Movement and how you could get involved. And please join us in praying for the many fields who are using this strategy to reach more people with the Gospel.