Distant Shores Media

Why we do it

admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:45:57 +0000

Why do we do what we do?

The short answer:

Because we believe everyone should have adequate discipleship resources in their own language, for free.

A More Complete Answer

Why? (need)

Q: Why does Distant Shores Media do what they do?

A: Because we believe that everyone should have adequate discipleship resources in their own language. For free.

Jesus said, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations (people groups)...” (Matt 28:19). Disciples cannot be made without discipleship resources – the explanatory materials that provide clarity and accurate understanding of "all that Jesus has commanded us" (Matthew 28:20). The essential discipleship resource is the Bible. Other discipleship resources include Bible study guides, commentaries, worship songs, devotionals, etc. Discipleship resources like these are necessary for making spiritually mature disciples.

Unfortunately, even after 2,000 years of disciple-making, more than 6,500 people groups still have few, if any, believers and churches. Many of these “least-reached” people groups are among the most remote and hardest to access. The few believers that exist in these people groups face an almost total lack of discipleship resources in the languages they speak. Less than 7% of the world's languages have the Bible translated into their language. Other discipleship resources are even less common. The result is a massive spiritual famine where believers are hungry for God's Word, hungry to grow in their faith, but lack the discipleship resources to do so. We believe God has given His church the responsibility of working together to end this spiritual famine.

Why Hasn't It Happened Yet? (obstacles)

Q: Why has this vision of everyone, everywhere having adequate discipleship resources in their own language not happened yet?

A: Because providing discipleship resources for every people groups is a monumental task, and most discipleship resources are legally “off-limits” to the global church because of copyright restrictions.

One of the most significant factors hindering the advance of God's Kingdom is the sheer magnitude and complexity of the task of making disciples “of all nations”. It is crucial to use the “heart language” of each people group in order to bring about a "heart change", instead of a merely intellectual response to the Gospel (Nehemiah 8:8). There are nearly 7,000 languages spoken by the people groups of the world, and more than half of these languages have fewer than 10,000 speakers each. Reaching each people group with adequate discipleship resources in their own languages is an immense, but essential, undertaking.

There is a second factor that impedes the advance of the Kingdom – copyright restrictions on discipleship resources. Three hundred years ago, copyright law was invented to protect the economic interests of the creators of a work. Copyright restrictions are not inherently bad. But they legally prevent the translation, adaptation, and distribution of existing discipleship resources by the global church for effective use in their own languages. The global church has only two choices: start from scratch and "reinvent the wheel" with brand new discipleship resources in every language, or make illegal use of the copyrighted discipleship resources that they need. This creates an insurmountable obstacle to our brothers and sisters in Christ and places them in a moral conundrum. We believe that they cannot do without discipleship resources in their own language, and that they should not be required to become "pirates" in order to grow spiritually.

How Will It Happen? (opportunities)

Q: How does Distant Shores Media plan to accomplish the vision of everyone, everywhere having adequate discipleship resources in their own language?

A: By tapping into three significant opportunities: the rise of the global church, the rise of mobile phones and the rise of open collaboration.

The global church is on the rise. Despite the spiritual famine it faces, the global church, in thousands of people groups, is rising up with the call of God to grow in spiritual maturity and to join in the task of making disciples. All over the world our brothers and sisters are giving of themselves to make disciples of the people groups around them. They are passionate, they are dedicated, and there are many of them.

The second opportunity is the rise of mobile phones and Internet technology that has “flattened” the world. Information can now be transmitted to the four corners of the world with the click of a button. Mobile phones are becoming ubiquitous in every people group of the world. Within the last few years, over 3 billion mobile phone subscriptions were activated in the developing world alone. Analysts predict that by 2013, the number of mobile phone subscriptions worldwide will surpass the total population of the world! The global church in the most remote parts of the world already has (or will soon have) mobile phones.

This creates a tremendous opportunity for the Gospel – if discipleship resources could be made available on their mobile phones, the global church could be equipped to grow spiritually in very little time. By distributing discipleship resources as digital files for use on mobile phones, we avoid the expense and logistical problems inherently associated with distributing physical resources like books, cassettes and DVDs.

Third, mobile phones and the Internet allow for "open collaboration". For the first time in history, the technology is available for the global church to work together to create and translate discipleship resources in every language, from anywhere! Instead of having to wait for someone to come and translate the Bible for them, people groups can now begin to work together to translate their own Bible and other discipleship resources.

The rise of the global church, the rise of mobile phones worldwide, and the effectiveness of "open collaboration" are unprecedented opportunities for the advance of the Kingdom and the spiritual growth of the global church.

What Platform Will Enable It? (platform)

Q: What platform is Distant Shores Media developing to accomplish the vision of everyone, everywhere having adequate discipleship resources in their own language?

A: We are building the Door43 project to enable the global church to take advantage of these opportunities.

Open-Access – Door43 (www.door43.org) is a web-based platform that uses wiki technology to enable the global church to openly collaborate in the creation, translation and distribution of discipleship resources. Door43 is an open platform where anyone can contribute to the content, while also making it possible to maintain the highest level of content quality (find out more at www.door43.org/quality).

Open-Licensed – All content in Door43 is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. This means that not only is the content free of charge, it gives anyone the legal freedom to use, redistribute, translate and adapt the content without restriction. The only two conditions for this freedom are that the original creator of the work be attributed and that whatever is created from the original work be released under the same license.

Multilingual – Door43 is configured to be able to serve all of the nearly 7,000 languages in the world today. Rather than merely support the most popular languages, Door43 provides equal support for even the smallest languages.

Multimedia – Two out of three people worldwide are best able to learn new information through non-print means. These "oral learners" are often illiterate, making text-based discipleship resources of no use to them. Door43 provides support for discipleship resources in text, audio and video formats.

Mobile-Optimized – The global church does not generally have access to high-power desktop computers, but most of them have mobile phones. Because of this, Door43 is designed to enable people using mobile phones to both create and use the discipleship resources in Door43. Mobile web portals provide robust access to Door43 content via the Internet. Audio and video content are mobile-optimized, which minimizes download sizes and increases the reach of the content. Mobile phones are “first-class citizens” on Door43.

What Projects Are Being Developed? (projects)

Q: What projects is Distant Shores Media developing to accomplish the vision of everyone, everywhere having adequate discipleship resources in their own language?

A: We are developing Open Bible Stories and other open projects.

How would the world be changed if everyone, everywhere had access to thirty key stories of the Bible, in their own language, available for free on their own mobile phone? This is the vision of the Open Bible Stories project, being created on Door43.

Open Bible Stories is thirty stories of the Bible that trace God's plan of salvation from beginning to end, emphasizing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The stories are in text (with illustrations), audio and video. This makes them meaningful to children as well as adults. The stories are written in such a way that they can be used for both evangelism and discipleship. Given the interest in this project from people in many countries, we are convinced that this resource has the potential to be a tremendous blessing to every people group in the world. There are many other projects on Door43. Some of them include Bible translations, the Open Bible Handbook, Open Study Notes, the Open Christian Library, the Open Worship Project, as well as many others.

What Vision Will This Accomplish? (vision)

Q: Toward what vision is Distant Shores Media working?

A: We want to see unrestricted discipleship resources in every language, and on any mobile phone.

The ultimate goal toward which Distant Shores Media is working is to see disciples of Jesus Christ in every people group of the world. We believe that as the body of Christ works together to make the most of the opportunities that God has given us in the 21st century, this goal will be reached.

Our part in reaching this ultimate goal is providing training and tools that help believers in every people group equip themselves with discipleship resources, translated into their own languages, to foster their spiritual growth and maturity. The most efficient and cost-effective means of accomplishing this is by using the mobile phones that they already (or will soon) have.

How You Can Help

Pray

Door43 gets its name from Colossians 4:3, where we are encouraged to pray "that God may open to us a door for the Word." Would you pray that God will open "a door for the Word" and for the equipping of His church with unrestricted discipleship resources in all their languages? Please sign up for our email prayer updates.

Build

This new approach to equipping the global church depends on people like you joining in and helping to make it happen. Would you help us create (and translate) discipleship resources for the global church? Find out more about serving with DSM.

Tell

Would you connect us with others who may be interested in being part of this approach to world missions? We are especially looking for opportunities to "tell the story" to people, organizations and churches. Join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Give

In addition to extending the reach of the Door43 project, we are preparing to send missionaries with Distant Shores Media to South Asia in the near future. We need churches and individuals who will stand with us and help make this possible. Would you financially support us as we equip the global church?

How we do it

admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:45:56 +0000

Door43

"Pray that God may open to us a Door for the Word..." —Colossians 4:3

The global church is on the rise, in people groups all over the world. They need discipleship resources in their own languages, and are increasingly linked to the internet, able to participate in discipleship development, and willing to help. To help equip the global church, Distant Shores Media create Door43. Door43 is an open-access translation platform for creating, translating, and distributing legally-unrestricted discipleship resources.

How it works

Door43 is:

Open-Access – Door43 (www.door43.org) is a web-based platform that uses wiki technology to enable the global church to openly collaborate in the creation, translation and distribution of discipleship resources. Door43 is an open platform where anyone can contribute to the content, while also making it possible to maintain the highest level of content quality (find out more at www.door43.org/quality).
Open-Licensed – All content in Door43 is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. This means that not only is the content free of charge, it gives anyone the legal freedom to use, redistribute, translate and adapt the content without restriction. The only two conditions for this freedom are that the original creator of the work be attributed and that whatever is created from the original work be released under the same license.
Multilingual – Door43 is configured to be able to serve all of the nearly 7,000 languages in the world today. Rather than merely support the most popular languages, Door43 provides equal support for even the smallest languages.
Multimedia – Two out of three people worldwide are best able to learn new information through non-print means. These "oral learners" are often illiterate, making text-based discipleship resources of no use to them. Door43 provides support for discipleship resources in text, audio, and video formats.
Mobile-Optimized – The global church does not generally have access to high-power desktop computers, but most of them have mobile phones. Because of this, Door43 is designed to enable people using mobile phones to both create and use the discipleship resources in Door43. Mobile web portals provide robust access to Door43 content via the Internet. Audio and video content are mobile-optimized, which minimizes download sizes and increases the reach of the content. Mobile phones are “first-class citizens” on Door43.

Find out more

To learn more or start translating, join the Door43 movement.

What we do

admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:43:33 +0000

"Make disciples of every people group..." —Matthew 28:19

Distant Shores Media is focused on helping the global church to grow in maturity as disciples of Christ. We do this in a number of ways, including discipleship resource development, leadership training, technical training, providing consulting services, and infrastructure development.

Discipleship Resource development

We equip the global church to be disciples of Jesus Christ by helping create, translate, and distribute open-licensed discipleship resources. One of these resources is a visual mini-Bible, in text, audio, and video formats, for use in any language. It's called Open Bible Stories.

Leadership training

One of our most important areas of service is in cross-cultural leadership training. We focus on character development and spiritual transformation, as well as teaching Biblical principles of leadership and business management. Our goal is to help enable our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world to know the love of God, to be equipped to train others to grow in discipleship, and to be humble and effective leaders in their communities.

Technical training

We provide training and instruction in a number of technical areas, including translation and mobile technology, with the goal of equipping Christians in any people group to create, translate, and maintain their own discipleship resources, in their own languages, using the technology available to them.

Consulting services

One of our greatest joys is helping Christian organizations and ministries around the world to overcome obstacles that hinder them from accomplishing their ministry objectives. To that end, we provide consultative support for ministries in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), information technology (IT), broadcast, and other fields.

Infrastructure development

Making the most of the new opportunities God puts before each of us often requires developing innovative tools and technical infrastructure that makes it possible to use these opportunities to the fullest. We focus on developing tools that are both free of charge and legally unrestricted so that they can be used without hindrance by anyone, anywhere.

Who we are

admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:04:11 +0000

"The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice." —Psalm 97:1 NIV

We are a world missions organization focused on equipping Christians in every people group to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We do this by using technology to help them create, translate, and distribute open discipleship resources in any language.

Our Vision

Every Christian, in every people group, having adequate discipleship resources in their own language.

Our Mission

Distant Shores Media seeks to accomplish its vision by equipping Christians in every people group to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We do so by using technology to help them create, translate, and distribute open discipleship resources in any language.

What We Believe

Distant Shores Media subscribes to the Lausanne Covenant.

Our statement of faith is divided into essential beliefs and peripheral beliefs.

Essential beliefs

Essential beliefs are what define a follower of Jesus Christ:

We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, sufficient, authoritative Word of God.
We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ.
We believe in the humanity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father.
We believe that every person is inherently sinful and so is deserving of eternal hell.
We believe that salvation from sin is a gift of God, provided through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, attained by grace through faith, not by works.
We believe that true faith is always accompanied by repentance and regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the follower of Jesus Christ is enabled to live a godly life.
We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, from all nations and languages and people groups.
We believe in the personal and physical return of Jesus Christ .
We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the unsaved will be resurrected to eternal damnation in hell and the saved will be resurrected to eternal blessing in the new heaven and new earth.

Peripheral beliefs

Peripheral beliefs are everything else that is in Scripture but about which sincere followers of Christ may disagree (e.g. Baptism, Lord's Supper, the Rapture, etc.). We agree to disagree agreeably on these topics and press on together toward a common goal of reaching the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.