In a region where culture and religion create barriers to the gospel, strategic media is reaching millions.
Scripture tells of a day when multitudes of people will worship around the throne of God, from every nation, tribe and tongue (Revelation 7:9). Among these will be Turkic-speaking believers from the area in and around the Caucasus. Approximately 117 million people in the region share the language, and it is one of the least-reached places in the world. The deeply engrained majority faith creates barriers to engaging people with the message of Christ’s love. Media ministry is one way OM is overcoming the challenge.
People in the region spend hours a day on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Sam*, the leader of the media ministry in the region, says these are strategic avenues to expand gospel content. However, he adds: “Really, this is the beginning of the story. We need to look at social media as a holistic thing.” While some people may respond to an ad as the Spirit moves them individually, Sam says the bigger vision is to encourage those who see the media presentations to take some sort of action.
For example, one ad depicts a national believer introducing himself as a follower of Jesus, followed by a question: “Do you want to know more about my story? Click below.” From here, the interested person is directed to a website where they can write a comment, request a New Testament or chat with an online operator. “The goal is not just to get Scripture in their hands, but to get [people] in contact with someone who is a Jesus follower,” says Sam. In 2022 and 2023, more than 2,000 people asked to receive a New Testament and meet with a national believer.
While many who engage in the online chat start with insults or questions unrelated to the gospel, the aim is to direct people toward prayer and begin a meaningful relationship. Most who end up on the website have never had the opportunity to meet a local follower of Christ. “We find when people online are engaged with a real national believer, they think: ‘Maybe there is something to this.’ It breaks down a lot of walls,” shares Sam.
A strategy of multiplication
The work goes beyond the web. The media ministry works with national disciple makers who have committed to travelling and meeting with people at least once every two weeks. Sam says currently they engage face-to-face with approximately 80 per cent of those who request a New Testament through the web page. The disciple makers are provided with training that includes adopting a mindset of multiplication — a means of sharing the gospel that focuses on multiplying believers as people share strategically within their spheres.
Sam shares that there are many multiplication stories where disciple makers give a New Testament to an interested person and share the gospel. That person hears the message and shares it with their friend, and that friend shares with another. “Is that long-term multiplication? No, but it indicates people in the region are open,” he says. In 2022 and 2023, 20 new groups of Jesus followers formed where previously there were none. In one particular area, national believers are seriously embracing the ideas of loving, obeying and sharing Jesus, and house group multiplication is happening.
One problem the team has encountered is lack of manpower. Many people are open, yet there simply aren’t enough disciple makers to meet the need. “This is why we only advertise in areas where we know we have partners,” explains Sam. “We used to advertise to the whole country or countries, but at the end of the day, it’s not helping if we send a team six months later and the person isn’t interested anymore. Overall, it’s more effective to narrow down and focus.”
As overseer of the ministry, Sam misses a hands-on role, but his own story reminds him of how impactful media can be. Raised in a nearby country in a family whose work also centred on expanding the gospel, he knew about Jesus but never committed to following Him. In a dark season while attending university, he came across a YouTube video sharing evidence for the resurrection of Christ. The video moved him toward his own surrender to the Lord.
Additionally, Sam recognises the need to mentor and encourage the disciple makers on his team: “I see my role as someone who is there to encourage them to succeed. I hear about what is going on in their lives and how they have been insulted for the fifty millionth time. It gets to people. So, I focus them on Jesus.” He reminds them of the victories the Lord has given—both spiritually and physically—and the testimonies of transformation.
A massive opportunity
If more media access isn’t moved into the Caucasus “we miss a massive opportunity,” says Sam. “The amount of legwork that needs to happen to cover the same number of people is phenomenal.” According to Sam, in 2022, 3.5 million people were reached through social media platforms. One example, a video of a national believer sharing his testimony, reached 200,000 people: “It would take a long time to talk to 200,000 people with the same results.” Additionally, the online outreach engaged one million individuals at least six times each.
With a goal of seeing national disciple makers start multiplying disciple-making groups in every area of the region, the strategy is bold. Social media is helping bring the vision to life.
Please pray for the media ministry as it seeks to broaden its impact and build a network of 300 local believers for the work. There is great need for people to join the team to train and mentor the national believers to multiply. While the team partners with local churches to help support the disciple makers, there is an additional need for people to tell their stories, pray and financially support them. Lastly, the team needs more media experts to come and lead the media production team. Pray that many local and international workers would be raised to join the work in the Caucasus.
*name changed