Challenges

After being in the ministry now for 50 years, I am still learning new things daily. During those years I was in the ministry in the USA for ten years; we lived thirteen years in Zaire Africa, and now serving as the Exec. Director of Missions Alive for the past 25 years. Wow, living on faith with God has had its challenges! I have always believed and practiced prayer and waiting on God, but my faith has been challenged this last year more than ever in my lifetime.

I have seen through all those years the need to train kids for Christ and have spent over 300 weeks of my lifetime in camps with youth because I have felt they need to hear of the work of missions overseas and to be challenged to becoming missionaries themselves. I became a magician, ventriloquist, balloonist, and many other arts just to be able to reach kids with the message. I love being with kids; I guess I am just a kid at heart. I saw these as challenges to be able to reach my goals of reaching kids for Christ.

We felt the Lord's leading in starting a dynamic program called "KidzCan". These weekly video series are programmed to help kids during their formative years to understand missions and to assist them into making live changing decisions toward supporting and intering missions as their careers. No other program on the market even comes close to achieving these goals. This program has been the greatest challenge in my ministry.

Why would I say that? KidzCan employs nealy 50 people which includes actors, writers, video crew, staff, animator, several cordinators, artists, production crew, distribution crew, and many more. Wow, so many people involved!

KidzCan is expensive to develop which means critical planning to raise the funds which includes grant writers, director of development and me traveling, speaking, e-mailing, phoning, and writing daily. So many meetings, committees, etc. We are way behind getting all the funds needed to continue, giving us greater challenges.

Just keeping the equipment working, the mikes from squealing or clothes rattling the hidden mikes is a major headache. Scheduling the shoots, getting the people all there at the sites, becomes a challenge.

I could go on about the behind the scenes stuff, but the big challenge is to get the message just right that will influence kids making decisions to accept the challenge of Christ to obey the great commission and reach the world for Christ.

We ask for your prayers that KidzCan will be the vessel to change the approach in teaching kids about missions and it will challenge many to step up to go or support those going.

KidzCan! - a good dose of reality!

Hello friends, this is my first post on the Missions Alive Blog and I didn't have the slightest idea what to write until this moment. So bare with me as the thoughts crystallize.

I'm coming up on being with the Mission 2 years now. I've been able to witness a transformation of sorts. The driving force behind this transformation has been the program we call "KidzCan!" It went from being an idea, a dream that now has 13 episodes being viewed by test churches in the region. Exciting stuff, but with the realization of any dream, there's a heavy dose of reality.

Some of you are nodding your head with a pretty good idea of what I'm going to say next, but don't jump the gun just yet. Many are visualizing the roadblocks, the schedule snafus, missed opportunities and the "we should done that then" scenarios...and yes we experienced all that, but that's not the reality I'm talking about. A few of you know, have even experienced it yourself. What am I talking about? We all anticipated the regular stuff. But what took us by surprise were the funds drying up. We're not talking a couple of weeks, were talking several months! We were sure that God was behind the Mission and this project, how could He just let it become just the latest addition to the trash heap of good intentions? Well, He's not! We're still here!

It would be nice to tell you how a grant has been given to us to fund the Mission through this time, but none have yet to materialize. God has provided only exactly what we've needed just when we've needed it. Not when we think we need it, but in God's perfect timing. The heavy dose of reality is nothing that you'd see on any of the, so called, reality shows on television today. No. Faith. A living, growing, daily dose of faith.

We've had some faithful friends and even a sweet little girl who brought by a bag of coins she wanted to give us, we love them all, but behind them is a wonderful, faithful Father who knows how to love and care for us. He wants the Mission to move forward. He wants KidzCan! to move forward as well. When you've come face to face with real reality, it changes your perspective on life and the mission we've all been called to.

Thanks to all of you who pray for us daily. Thanks to those who give to us faithfully, who believe God is behind the work that is done here. We thank God for you in our morning prayer circle. If you haven't yet, I ask that you visit KidzCan.com and look over the material found there and ask God how he would want you to get involved.

Thank you,
David

Welcome to the Missions Alive blog!

Hooray! Missions Alive finally has its very own blog! We are looking forward to this opportunity to share with you, our supporters, all of the exciting things going on at Missions Alive. Also, we are interested in receiving your views and comments.

Finally, all 13 episodes of our first KidzCan Children's Video Series have been completed and are now in the process of being tested by churches. You can see excerpts from the series by visiting our KidzCan website at www.kidzcan.com/clipz/index.htm. The process of shooting the scenes and editing the footage was far more involved than I ever could have imagined. And, my role as video editor is merely one part of a huge machine of script writers, curriculum writers, actors, audio/video editing, animation, board meetings, testing processes, fund-raising, etc. But, the test churches are confirming that the efforts have been worth it. More information will be coming. And, several of our staff will be sharing things with you.

Please, check back often.

Jim Rodenbeck
Missions Alive Video Technician/Web Consultant