Interview
7 minute 13 second read
I’m Alex, I’ve been married for over 30 years, and have three grown children.
Last spring, as I found myself in prayerful contemplation about my future as an elder in our church, I sensed a gentle nudging from the Lord toward something new. Soon after, the role of Media Director came up, sparking an internal dialogue that led me to explore the opportunity more seriously. After much prayer and wrestling with uncertainty, I decided to put my name forward. What followed was a journey through interviews, conversations, and fervent prayer, which set the foundation for this new chapter.
I have a dual role as both an Area Leader (AL) within Pioneers and CEO of Pioneers Media – each day presents a fresh set of challenges and rewards. Clearly, media is not a geographical area, so why have a Media AL? While my colleagues lead teams situated within specific regional areas in the Middle East, I’m tasked with guiding teams dispersed across different continents, bringing a unique perspective to our operations.
Meanwhile, my responsibilities as CEO involve steering the charity that underpins the governance, finance, and IT services to support the operation of Pioneers Media. This means I’m accountable to a board of trustees as well as the Pioneers Regional Leader.
No two days are the same. I get to discuss reporting statistics, the safety of our workers, and hear amazing stories of baptisms. I also make sure that our charity policies are up-to-date with the latest legal changes. This dual perspective allows me to navigate between visionary strategy discussions with team leaders to the practicalities affecting our day-to-day ministry. It’s a rewarding mix that keeps me engaged and connected to our mission.
We’ve been working on being more concise regarding this wonderful, multi-faceted thing we call Pioneers Media – so I can say that: Pioneers Media utilises innovative and effective solutions for church multiplication among unreached people groups.
We focus on four strategic areas:
Digital Media – We share the gospel online, engaging seekers and connecting them with disciple-makers.
Discipleship – We disciple believers and mentor leaders to train others in their communities.
Coaching – We coach teams to use proven digital strategies to catalyse movements of reproducing disciples.
Innovation – Always looking ahead, we explore new technologies and methods to overcome barriers and increase our effectiveness among the unreached.
By God’s grace, we bring the hope of Jesus to those who’ve never heard, nurturing new communities of faith and assisting them to thrive and multiply. It’s wonderful to have an experienced team behind the scenes, ensuring that our finance and technology frameworks enhance our outreach efforts.
Our approach to discipleship is as diverse as the cultures we serve and the strategies we use.
Our Arab World Media team runs targeted advertising campaigns on search engines and social media, designed to identify those who are open to the gospel. Advertisements are deliberately designed to engage only those who are seeking; we’re filtering quite effectively, as we don’t receive many antagonistic responses. We’ve honed the process over the years and try to keep ahead of the ever-changing algorithms on the major platforms. We also facilitate several discipleship groups on Zoom for new believers who might struggle to find physical congregations, fostering community and learning in the digital space.
Our PALM (Preparing Arab-world Leaders for Ministry) team offers a website full of courses. The introductory course is designed for individuals from a Muslim background, similar to an Alpha course. It delves into things like who God is, who Jesus is. PALM helps people to unlearn their previous misconceptions – such as how the prophets were sinless or that it’s wrong to ask questions – and build a strong foundation rooted in scripture. For aspiring leaders in regions lacking visible church structures, we provide advanced coaching that emulates a first-year Bible College experience. This is for people looking to lead churches, often in places where there is no visible church, where those who have come to Christ in a creative access country can be empowered, educated, discipled for leadership, and equipped to lead groups of people. There is also an oral stream for those who are either illiterate or functionally illiterate.
Some of the original material dates back a long way, with a strong focus on the Arab world, but many of the concepts are applicable across the 10/40 window. It has been translated into several languages, iterated and customised for training in the local context. With PALM, you’re being discipled and built up in-country, as opposed to attending Bible College elsewhere. Historically, many capable potential church leaders from the Arab world left for the West but never returned. The PALM team provide a fantastic alternative, both to the Arab world and beyond.
Our Media to Movements team coaches groups of disciple-makers on how to strategically utilise media and technology to identify and engage seekers in a local context. Imagine a team of workers in the field who have learned the language and culture of the people group they’re called to, but have realised that ‘their group’ is searching for answers to life’s problems online. Smartphones and 4G are available in areas with minimal infrastructure. People can have smartphones but no indoor toilet. So, consider this further – imagine being in a local team that receives a contact request asking about faith; how would you respond? Perhaps, ‘Are you available to meet me for a sweet tea near the market?’ You can quickly begin to have conversations with the seeker and their friends, teaching them all that we have been commanded to…
‘We share the gospel online, engaging seekers and connecting them with disciple-makers.’
While we do have other colleagues in Pioneers specifically providing member care, there is a pastoral element to my role. Please pray for wisdom to hear well and to strike the right balance of care, challenge, and encouragement.
I want to encourage the teams to stay focused on their specialisations, yet also remain aware of the big picture. There are numerous demands on team leaders, including leading their teams, raising their personal support, and helping to secure additional support to advance the work.
I can jump into the details of many different things and be asked to make numerous decisions throughout the day, so please pray that I will remain alert and stay up-to-date with the ongoing narrative of each team, which can be a challenge due to remoteness and different time zones.
We have been living through a period of significant geopolitical turbulence, and changes are occurring rapidly in several countries. Some countries traditionally seen as being open are changing, with governments becoming antagonistic towards Christian outreach. Pray for guidance as we move with the changing circumstances.
With rapid changes in technology, we need wisdom to avoid the dangers while also taking advantage of its potential for the gospel.
We have specialist teams – and specialist needs. Pioneers have been mobilising people to go to a remote place, learn the language, and then share the gospel to plant churches. Within Pioneers Media, we need people with a heart for the lost. Still, they also need to be media or technology specialists, or sometimes even individuals with expertise in finance or service design, to refine our processes and improve efficiency. I have a whole variety of potential roles to fill. Please pray that God will guide the right people to us – all the teams need more workers... because ‘the harvest is plentiful’ (Matthew 9:37). There’s so much still to be done, and so many opportunities. Pray that we will continue to build on our strong foundation and framework, so that we can support more teams.
Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. Pray that we will be effective in sharing the message of Jesus Christ so that it will be heard and seen by those who have not had the opportunity to understand or recognise who he is, because he is misrepresented terribly in many places.
Media is a tool for the gospel. It has a huge influence. It surrounds everybody every day, whether it’s broadcast media, social media, or even the magazine you’re reading right now; it’s still media. Whether it’s a clear message that’s obvious from the headline or one that’s woven between the lines, the underlying message can open a person’s mind to something new.
Media is a powerful tool – pray that we use it well.
