How to be make VSN more dynamic?

1/30- A special thanks to John Oliver, Francine Wade, and McKenzie Brown for joining in a call to discuss ways to make the VSN online community more dynamic.  We welcome your input as well.  See the and contribute to the discussion under the blog section of VSN.  Thanks!!!

8 Ways to Know if You Have a Great Story

1/24- A BIG thanks to Brian Bird and Travis Mendel for hosting today's webinar.  Brian unveiled the eight secrets of knowing if you have a great story. We recorded the session and will be posting it soon. You'll want to know more about ideas like… do you have an 'aha' moment?, does your story cause a physical reaction?, etc.

Get Your Story Started

1/21- I'm excited to hear from Brian Bird on Thursday in part 1 of "Get Your Story Started."   He'll talk about "How to Know if You Have a Good Story."   It's free.  There are a few seats available.  Look under Event calendar to sign up and reserve your space.

Crossroads / Shervin Youssefian

1/10 - Just met with Shervin Youssefian.  He wrote and directed "Crossroads" on a modest budget.  God opened some great doors for distribution (ArcLight, DVD, international).  He's got a great story of seeing the film made AND making the film seen.  Check out the back-story on the video page.

Meeting with the Most High

1/3 - I invite you to take extended time at the beginning of this New Year to encounter God.  Sit. Listen. Fast. Pray. Worship.  Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.  I'm heading to a quiet (and inexpensive) retreat location (Mission San Luis Rey) for the next 20 hours to make sure I'm in alignment with what God is asking of me.

Christmas movies

12/28 - It is not often I get to see movies when they come out in the cinema.  I've enjoyed both the Hobbit and Les Miserables.  Both are bit long, but are well crafted and deal with great themes.  I give my two thumbs up for both films.

Get Your Story Started

12/20 - We're very honored to have Brian Bird (Not Easily Broken), David Nixon (Letters to God), and Ralph Winter (X-Men) share in our upcoming webinar series on "Getting Your Story Started."  Reserve your spot (it's free), but limited by going to Event Calendar and registering.

Innovation in Art

12/14 - Love the innovation by Chuck Quinley and his students in Thailand.  Check out his brief  post under blogs.  And he has a powerful way of wielding his 15 inch Mac Book Pro as a video camera.  Chuck is one of the great mission innovators in the world.  Really.

Intentional About Advent

12/10 - I pray you are taking time each day to slooowww dowwwn and worship.  Here in America most people move faster in December and miss the stunning reality of God become flesh.  Enjoy.  Meditate.  Listen.  Receive.  Give.

Content Coming

12/6 - We're doing our best to get the excellent content from the Mobile Ministry Consultation last week published.  Keep an eye for new videos.  For starters, Tim Jore's excellent presentation on the future of content publishing is posted.   Great job Tim!

It's a wrap!

88 leaders from 56 organizations gathered last week in Orlando learning how to use mobile devices in ministry strategies.   Wow! One participant said, "Most practical conference I have ever attended! Thank you!"  We'll have summary, recorded talks, resource links out in the next two weeks.

Mobile Consultation: It's a Wrap!

We had 88 attendees representing 54 different organizations.  Attendees included the leaders of 21 of the ministries/organizations represented as well as five VPs/Executive VPs. One participant said, " A very practical and missiologically sound, field-needs-driven, conference where I felt that every talk and every conversation was advancing the Great Commission.”

Mobile Consultation: It's a Wrap!

We had 88 attendees representing 54 different organizations.  Attendees included the leaders of 21 of the ministries/organizations represented as well as five VPs/Executive VPs. One participant said, " A very practical and missiologically sound, field-needs-driven, conference where I felt that every talk and every conversation was advancing the Great Commission.”

Day 1: Mobile Ministry Forum

Whoa!  We had 96 for the first evening!  Great job by Frank P on "Jihad: Pull vs. Push Media in Movements."  Looking forward to day 2.  Great times with Graham VerMooten, Nancy Keel, Keith Williams.  Join online.  Email Jay at jclark@maf.org

You Can Participate in Mobile Ministry Consultation

11/26 - I'm headed to Orlando for the rest of the week for our 3rd Mobile Ministry Consultation.  You can participate for free via Internet.  To get registered and signed in, email Jay at jclark@maf.org.   Hope you can join us!

Mobile Ministry Consultation

11/14 - Though only our third consultation, we'll nearly double the numbers from last year.  So far 75 have registered to join the most innovative group of Christ-followers using mobile devices for kingdom purposes.  There is still room.  Join the party. www.visualstory.org/consult2012. 

Connections Galore!

11/10 - One of the great things about the Visual Story Network is the connections made everyday.   Jon Gregerson and Melissa B will be talking about possible synergies in the gaming world (yes, games are very story driven).  Both have experience with small games like Call of Duty and City of Heroes.  Love when this happens.

Barnabas Group

11/6 - Wow!  I just had to great days meeting with business and ministry leaders in Southern California through the Barnabas Group (www.barnabasgroup.org).  I got to share the vision of a global movement of visual story for the sake of Jesus' kingdom.  Many great connections.  Thanks to Jim West and his team for their great work.

Arts, Media, Entertainment

10/29: I'm in Denver with Bryon Spradlin, and Evy Baehr as we co-host the Arts, Media, Entertainment track at the Mission America gathering from 10/29-31.   Tom Khazoyan will be joining us.  Not to late to jump in if you're in the area.  Text me at 949.310.8733 if you're interested.

Great Job David Wood!

10/24 - David Wood did a phenomenal job organizing the Pan Pacific Film Festival in Los Angeles this past weekend.  It was an honor to speak on a panel alongside John Ware (Project 168), Tige Charity (Kids in the Spotlight), and Mark McCallie (JCTV).  Other great connections included Jim Green, Sean Dunn, Robby & Ted Baehr, and Roger Dunliff (CFDb).