Video Mission Trip for RGLA

In January 2012, we (RGLA) will have the privilege of hosting 4-6 video producers in various locations where we work. These video producers will shoot and edit videos for our promotional and story-telling use -- all in the span of a two-week trip.

The Moving Latin America Pictures trip can only happen if God provides the right producers for the job, though. Please share the link to the trip description with your prayer partners, friends, family, and churches who may be interested in taking part (or who, in turn, may pass it along to someone they know).

You can also view a short blurb on the RGLA News & Stories site -- easy to share on Facebook or through email.

Download the Moving Latin America Pictures Information Packet to attach to emails or hand out to potential candidates or churches.

Even if the video producers do not come to your personal ministry location, keep in mind that this mission trip can benefit your future support-raising efforts as we create videos that promote the work of God in Latin America through ReachGlobal. You are a part of the larger story!

We also ask you to pray for God's provision of the right producers for the trip and for the planning and preparations that must occur pre-trip.

Announcing... The NEW Latin America News & Stories Website

I (Melissa) am excited to share with you our new ReachGlobal Latin America website -- completely dedicated to news and stories from the field.

Why am I so excited to tell YOU? Because this site reflects the lifeblood of RG LA -- personal accounts, testimonies, stories and lots of God-moments from the field. Basically, it's a site focused on what you do through the grace and empowerment of the Lord.

While the RG website is more conducive to static info about our ministry, this new page will feature dynamic content. We will regularly share stories and photos from the field, and eventually we hope to share videos, too. Each story includes a variety of "Calls to Action" (Serve, Pray, Give, Connect, Share) and offers the option for comments and dialogue for anyone who would like to participate.

It's easy to search the archives, view stories by country, and share the latest news with a friend.

There are a few things we'd like you to do to make this new site a success:

• Share the link (http://www.rglatinamerica.org/) on your Facebook, blog, website, next newsletter, etc. We need to get the word out and word-of-mouth is the best way to do it!
• Continue to repost new articles on your Facebook, blog, website, newsletter, etc. Look out for the emails requesting your help.
• Consider stories from your ministry that we could publish on the site. The site can't function without an ongoing flow of new information. I am here to help with this process.
• Write a story or article for the site. Not everyone likes to do this, but there are some writers out there amongst our staff. Now that there's somewhere great to put an article, there's no excuse not to write what's on your heart!
• Take photos!
• Send me your feedback. I would love to know your thoughts on the site, so please contact me with any comments, questions, or ideas.

Ready, set, repost!

Please read to the bottom where we have only one thing we’re asking you to do!

Let’s face it… most of us don’t go to websites frequently to see what may be new. While ReachGlobal and the EFCA websites are updated regularly, they don’t reach the broad audience that may be interested in what is happening. 

These days, people are looking less at traditional news and more at news websites, blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter feeds to see what’s happening in the world. 

Currently, Melissa Putney (area Communications Coordinator) and I receive most of the RG LA staff newsletters/prayer letters, and we have a unique opportunity to get a feel for what is being communicated back to our North American contacts. While many of these newsletters provide terrific information, we see two key areas that can help all of us improve the effectiveness of our communications as a region: breadth and reach.

Breadth refers to the scope of impact that we communicate as a result of our work in Latin America.  While each of us has individual areas of ministry, we are all also part of a broader mission in Latin America (and God’s broader story overall). It is important for our target audience to know that their support not only impacts your personal area of ministry, but that you are also part of a larger group committed to and accomplishing the work that is expanding the Kingdom across Latin America.

Reach refers to expanding the circle of people who will see and hear about our ministries. Reality tells us that a (sometimes large) percentage of our supporters never read our newsletter updates.

                                                     

But what if we could expand the number of people who have a chance to read the latest news beyond our current distribution lists? Instead of reaching a percentage of 200-400 people, what if we could reach that same percentage of 2,000-4,000 people? How might this impact our ministry? Increased support? Additional prayer? More people hearing and answering the call to missions? 

The purpose of this article is to get you thinking about the impact we could have in Latin America by increasing the visibility of our ministry and reaching a broader audience.

                                                                                                                       

How can we do that? Reposting articles/news stories online.

In December, Melissa began an experiment in increasing the reach of our LA news by asking us to use Facebook (and other social media) to repost well-written articles. The results were astounding. 

Without promoting it broadly, reposting has greatly increased online traffic for the RG LA website on EFCA.org. In fact, in December we broke our record for the most site visitors in the history of the RG LA site twice.

What is reposting? It is putting a hyperlink to the latest news article on your blog, Facebook wall, website, or Twitter feed. Often, it’s only a matter of clicking a button to “Share” the link. It’s simple and only takes a moment, but it multiplies the effect of our communications.

For example, between Melissa and my family alone there are probably two to three thousand people who see our blogs and Facebook statuses. Add the whole RG Latin America staff and just imagine how many people will see our stories/news!

Why does this help the division? It increases interest in the work that RG is doing in Latin America and reinforces that God is at work through the organization. It helps to remind people that Latin America is still very much a field of service and a region of need.

Although it’s too soon to tell, we hope that by sharing personal stories of the work God is doing, more people will be moved to join us in our efforts – not just financially but also as laborers for the field.

Why does this help you? Many of your blog readers and Facebook friends probably don’t currently support you. While the story you repost may not be your own, it is a link (literally and figuratively) to what is happening in your organization and your region of the world. It will likely peak people’s interest in what YOU do and may give you a platform to share more about your own work.

It also confirms that God is at work through your organization. For those who already support you, they can see that they aren’t doing it in vacuum.

One of the best ways to reach people, touch their hearts, and move them to action is through specific stories of individuals. In our case, we want to focus on individuals who are affected by the transformational power of the gospel. This gives glory to God and (again, we hope) moves people to action in Latin America – praying, giving, going.

One thing we would like you to do:  When you see a note from Melissa asking you to repost a link, PLEASE do it. She is ready to help you with any questions you may have about how and where to repost. 

Meanwhile, as we do repost, hundreds, perhaps thousands more people have a chance to be impacted by stories of what God is doing in Latin America. Will the next big impact story be yours? 

Monthly Personnel Health Survey

You may be saying, "Oh great, one more thing to do each month..." but have no fear. This new survey is a piece of cake -- and designed to ensure that your health and the health of your fellow missionaries is in top shape. 

If you didn't read it in the Big Yellow Envelope on December 27, read a bit about the new survey below (content borrowed from the BYE). And let's make sure Latin America has 100% follow through each month!


In ReachGlobal systems developed over the last six years, there are a few key disciplines which we've asked everyone to practice in order to encourage the health side of the Sandbox. The monthly check-in with your leader (face-to-face or voice-to-voice), the practice of a Personal Retreat Day each month and developing and using KRA's for your life and ministry constitute the core organizational disciplines to encourage health for our staff and the teams they serve on around the world. Beginning with an email you will receive on December 31, we will for the first time measure for these core disciplines throughout ReachGlobal every month.

The cycle is very simple:

1. On the last day of the month, the survey (customized for your division/department and that month) is sent to you via secure efca.org email.

2. You have five days to complete the survey for the prior month (though the survey takes less than a minute to complete, we know people travel, have emergencies, email Sabbaths etc., so we allow five days)

3. Ken Warwick and Rene Brehm then have three days to compile the data and send it to Tim Addington and Division/Department leaders for analysis and action.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 each month.

If you have any questions regarding this monthly survey, please contact your team leader.

We Want More Traffic!

We're not talking more rush hour traffic in downtown San José, Minneapolis, or name-your-city... we're talking ReachGlobal Latin America website traffic.

YOU -- the RGLA staff -- can help us increase our visability and site traffic, by posting the links to new content and new stories on your Facebook pages, blogs, and Twitter accounts.

Ready to get started on Facebook? It's easy.

1. Log in to your Facebook account and head to your profile page.

2. Choose the option at the top of your wall to share a link (or enlace if your page is in Spanish like mine!)

3. Copy and paste this entire URL into the box (it's a new story that was posted to the website just today): http://www.efca.org/reachglobal/where-we-serve/latin-america/get-involved/latin-america-opportunities/peru/upriver-reach

4. Click the blue button on the right to attach it.

5. Add an optional teaser to the box that appears, such as:

Imagine having five people praying over you in three languages, confronting the spiritual oppression that threatens your well-being. Read this story by a short-term member about his experience sharing God's peace in Nueva Italia, Peru.

6. Click the blue button on the right to share it on your wall.

Now all of your friends can check out the latest story.

But wait! There is another, very easy way to repost another friend's post on Facebook -- no copying of links required. Just click on the word "Share" (or "Compartir" if yours looks like the example) under the link (above Gordon's name in this example) and repost on your own wall.

Please support the region in this effort to build interest in God's work here in Latin America. Going forward, I will regularly send out emails with links to new stories that we would love you to repost.

Contact me (melissa.putney@efca.org) with any questions. Thank you for your help!!

Recruiting New Missionaries -- YOU Can Help!

When we think about our needs as missionaries, we often think about financial needs, prayer needs, material needs, etc. But what about our personnel needs?

Just recently, RG LA missionary Joyce Werntz stepped full-time into the role of recruiting new missionaries for ReachGlobal Latin America -- a role that not only serves the missionary candidate but serves our region as a whole.

Joyce is working hard, traveling to missions conferences, colleges and universities, and churches around the U.S. to identify potential candidates -- passionate, talented Christ-followers with a heart for missional service. She has the opportunity to share the RG LA needs with people who are often ready to respond to God's call -- if only they knew how they might be used.

You can help Joyce in her recruiting efforts in two ways:

1. Consider the opportunities for others to serve alongside you and your team in your country or city -- short term team opportunities, internships, or full-time missionary roles -- and tell Joyce all about it!
2. Keep your ears and eyes open for potential candidates -- and send candidates straight to Joyce.

By providing detailed needs to Joyce, you help her to match missionary candidates with their ministry sweet spot. Two of the top questions Joyce hears as she's recruiting:

• "What can I do as a missionary?"
• "How can God use me (my talents/my profession/my skills) on the field?"

And by sending candidates her way, you allow her to build relationships and guide and encourage them through the application process.

Joyce is excited about recruiting for Latin America. Get excited, too, and help her help you!

Call to Prayer

From Omar:

Dear LA Missionary family,

Please be in prayer for Jim and Melanie Wilson (currently raising support to serve in Latin America) and their family.

Jim just returned from a trip to Alaska last night and while he was driving home, his sister called to tell him that her 27-year-old son was involved in a serious accident. The doctors tried through the night to save him but his injuries were such that the bleeding could not be stopped and he died during the night.

Jim is flying back to Alaska to be with his family and conduct the funeral. Please pray that he will be able to make standby flights to get to Anchorage. Please pray for God's comfort to be realized by their family.


Thanks for your prayers.


Blessings,
Omar Rodriguez

Update on Martha -- Please Pray

From Mark Hendrickson

Martha has been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer on the right side. She will have a second biopsy on the left side on Tuesday and hopefully surgery as soon as possible. Pray that the cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes and that we can completely eradicate it through surgery, and avoid chemotherapy if at all possible. Pray that God would be glorified through us as we go through this trial together.

Thank you for joining together as ReachGlobal Latin America staff to lift up our fellow servants in Christ!

Add the RSS Feed for the RGLA Staff Broadcast

RSS feeds


First things first, if this is new to you… RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and is a way for publishers of blogs, news, etc. to make their web content available for subscription. For example, when you add an RSS feed for a blog to your email, you are subscribing to that blog, and from that point forward, you will receive an email anytime new content is published. This saves you the time and effort of regularly checking the blog on the web, and it ensures you don’t miss any important information that is published!

 

To add an RSS feed in Outlook:

As RG staff members, we all use Microsoft Outlook, and there is a simple way to add an RSS to your Outlook account.

1. Visit the webpage you would like to subscribe to – for our example, you can use this blog (RGLA Staff Broadcast).
2. If the webpage offers RSS, you will see a button with an orange box that says "Posts" -- on this blog, this is located on the right-hand side of the page, part-way down the sidebar. Click on this button. In some situations, the site may have a dropdown list of subscription methods – in that case, you will look for the orange button that says “Atom” – usually it is at the bottom of the list.
3. Click on Atom. A new page will open up – for our example, it will look like this. Copy the URL at the top of this page – example: http://rglastaffbroadcast.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
4. Return to Microsoft Outlook.
5. Go to the Tools menu at the top of the main page. Click on Account Settings.
6. Go to the RSS Feeds tab in the box. Click New.
7. In the New RSS Feed dialog box, type or press CTRL+V to paste the URL of the RSS Feed.
8. Click Add and then OK.

 

You should now be receiving the RGLA Staff Broadcasts in your email.

 

Note: The posts will not come into your Inbox! They will appear in their own folder (labeled RGLA Staff Broadcast) under the folder RSS Feeds.

 

Now you are ready to add the RSS for other blogs you follow – such as TJ Addington’s Leading from the Sandbox -- to your email, too.

 

If you have any questions or issues, please contact Melissa Putney or Brian Duggan with questions. Thanks!

Teams for 2010

Teams for 2009