A Re-Focus on the Local Church: Media Collaboration in the Middle East

Phill Butler

Ultimately it is the church on the ground, the local community of believers, that is the critical expression of Christ’s love and power in the world. Made up of individuals who have personally placed their faith in Him, this bride of Christ must be the final basis for evaluating our efforts in evangelism. Scripture, early church history, examples of explosive growth of the church elsewhere, and often neglected media case histories all point to the fact that it is the local body of believers—living, working, and testifying together—that has been critical to the growth and multiplication of the Church.

For simplicity, this article limits the term MENA to the Arabic, Turkic-Turkey, and Farsi-Iran portions of the Middle East and North Africa. In this region, the historic church is being decimated for many reasons, and the emerging fellowships of Muslim background believers (MBBs) are under intense persecution and mostly led by committed, yet often untrained, lay leaders.

The MENA region is where all history began and where it will end. The region’s socio/political climate gives it the highest “front page index” of any region in the world (how frequently news stories are on the front page and how long they remain there). Each month, hundreds of hours of evangelical media/communications and dozens of digitally-based strategies focus on evangelism in the area.1

If evangelism is the “First Mile,” then the emerging and existing church’s capacity to develop leadership, grow, and multiply is the “Last Mile.” Over the next three to five years the Last Mile initiative seeks to see a growing number of media producers, distributors, funders, and on-the-ground leaders consciously working together to greatly strengthen the new generation of believers in MENA’s emerging church. (See figure 10.1)

The MENA Culture and Its Implications

The region has been a zone of constant conflict: 135 wars since 1919, in which over three million Middle Easterners have died. Youth as a percentage of the total population is the highest in the world; unemployment is high, educational options are few, and tribalism and sectarian conflict provide a breeding ground for radical fundamentalism.

The MENA region is marked by a range of forms of government, economies, and national identities. Three thousand years of tribal culture makes it a region in which a person’s decisions and actions reflect on the entire family, and the family is interwoven with others in the community—whether in a small village high in the mountains of Morocco or a teeming Egyptian city.

Syria and Iraq, so tragically visible in the world’s media, are classic examples. In Iraq, thirty or so tribes are considered most influential, but anthropologists suggest there are one hundred fifty identifiable tribes in the country. In Syria, an estimated 70% of the population identifies with one of the more than forty identifiable tribes.

In this traditional setting, community and relationships are everything. The classic Western approach to individual, if not individualistic, decision and action regarding salvation is a foreign idea. In the MENA region there is a fundamental fear of relationship rejection and shame. Anthropologists, cultural specialists, and Christian missiologists suggest the Arab world is a shame-based culture.

The hopes embodied by the Arab Spring quickly turned to disappointment and have now become despair. Despite, and possibly because of, all of these factors across the region, there is currently a very special context for sharing the Good News.

State of the Church

The Church in the Middle East is the oldest, most durable church in the world, having survived isolation and persecution for more than one thousand nine hundred years. However, over the last one hundred years the size of the traditional, visible church (those self-identifying as Christian) has been in steady decline. In the early 1900s it was estimated that there were roughly twenty million Christians in the region. Current estimates are at about twelve million, and projections suggest that by 2025 that number may be as low as six million. A range of forces has created this trend. Among them are persecution, economic pressure, educational and employment discrimination, and migration. And of course, war has been a huge factor.

Ten years ago, Iraq’s Christian population was about 1.5 million. Today it’s estimated at 500,000. In neighboring Syria it’s estimated that about 500,000 Christians remain of the 1.1 million that existed prior to the current war. Where are the rest? In refugee camps somewhere, killed, or fled.

Hopelessness Breeds New Levels of Openness

Only a person with an intense sense of need seriously considers radical alternatives to traditional norms. Other than taking up a gun with ISIS, the only other truly radical alternative to the hopelessness of the MENA region’s despair is Jesus.

That despair is reflected in media response. Collective feedback from dozens of media ministries serving the greater MENA region indicate a staggering number of contacts are being made by Muslims every month. (These are not necessarily “unique” contacts, as the same individual may contact multiple ministries, through different channels, more than once in a single month.) They are asking questions, wanting to talk, or requesting materials about Jesus and Christianity. “Openness” appears to be the highest it has been in recent history.

Media Perspective on the Church

Christian/evangelical media presence in the Middle East has grown in parallel with the explosion of available media channels and the dramatic drop in cost of many digital forms of communication (as contrasted with terrestrial or satellite broadcasting, for example). There has also been a growing, active media engagement by Western and non-Western believers.

Many godly, deeply committed individuals continue to produce high-value media content for the MENA region—frequently at considerable risk and sacrifice. The challenge is not positive outcomes in the First Mile. The challenge is how to re-orient these remarkable Kingdom assets—focusing 30%–40% of total output on the Last Mile—and how to produce the most favorable climate for this new direction. The primary focus of evangelical media has been evangelism rather than discipleship and strengthening the existing/emerging church.

One result, many suggest, is that a kind of “phantom” church has developed, not just in the Middle East, but around the world. It is made up of individuals who, because of media content and the work of the Holy Spirit, have made a commitment to Christ despite a socially hostile setting. Due to family and/or wider community pressure, countless media responders have not declared their faith publicly. They are the likely reason for the gap between what is being seen in media response and what is being experienced on the ground.

Those suggesting this phenomenon indicate that, in many cases, there is no viable local fellowship in which the new believer can find safety, encouragement, and identity. Going it alone is not only lonely, but in many cases dangerous!

On the Ground—What are the Outcomes of Current Media Efforts?

The fact is that media ministries are experiencing huge levels of activity. Digital analytics of these ministries and occasional “secular” research attests to this fact.

Yet the gap between media response and what happens on the ground presents a serious challenge. Consider the following statistics reported by a respected evangelistic website in the region:2

• 1,579,664 unique visitors in a 12-month period
• 13,860 individuals “requesting info”
• 112,471 “indicated decisions” by individuals

However, in the primary region of the website’s influence there was little change in the scale or vitality of the local church. So, what is happening in this and similar cases across the region?

It is helpful to reflect on the Biblical model of the process of evangelism—sowing, watering, reaping, and discipling.3 Consider a media user (radio listener, TV program viewer, evangelistic website visitor, etc.) saying, “I want to follow Jesus,” as the First Mile of the spiritual journey.

The Last Mile is what it takes to go from that initial step to personal discipleship and engaging in healthy fellowship with other believers. Then there is the strengthening of leadership of local fellowships, becoming with others a community witness to Christ, and eventually the replicating or multiplying of the fellowship of believers.

First Mile metrics, such as initial or even sustained response by enquirers, while important, are not the most critical indicators of success. The Last Mile is where the real outcomes must be measured. Developing a means of effectively evaluating the Last Mile will be challenging – far more difficult than generating relevant metrics in the First Mile.

A candid assessment of the state of the church (historic and evangelical) in the MENA region suggests that despite a massive investment/deployment of resources in media and follow-up for the last forty years, there has been, at best, modest (if any) real change. With possibly the exception of Yemen, Algeria, Iran, and northern Iraq—each with very special, heavily influential collateral factors—the state of the visible church in the MENA region is little different. There is considerable, though rarely discussed, documentation to support this uncomfortable conclusion.

Why Are We Where We Are?

I would suggest four reasons for this disconnect between inputs and outcomes.

1. There is a misunderstanding of the essential nature of Gospel in both individual and community witness. The highly individualistic West has become a place where “community” is hardly known, much less valued and regularly experienced. Western Christianity reflects this culture in our largely individualistic approach to salvation. Consider how most Western churches, when asked to describe their local fellowship, speak primarily about quantitative numbers: staff size, budget, members/attendees, number of baptisms, etc. Sadly, you rarely find talk about the quality of the fellowship: levels of serious discipleship (“apprentices to Jesus” to use the Dallas Willard expression), sense of real Kingdom engagement in each other’s lives, engagement in the community, etc. Means for evaluating these critical indicators are almost non-existent—and even more so in a region like MENA.
2. There is strong evidence that the extraordinary spread of the Gospel in the first three hundred years following Christ’s death and resurrection was due, in significant part, to the community witness of believers in their very hostile, polytheistic settings.4 This was reflected not only in the strength and maturity of individual believers and their local fellowship but was critical to the replication of local fellowships (church growth, etc.).
3. Virtually all Islamic communities, from West Africa to Southeast Asia, are traditional, community-based cultures. A quote from a leader of an on-line fellowship is worth noting: “We rejoice when family members come to faith. It’s good for us to hear that, and it encourages us to share with our families” (emphasis mine).5
4. There is a well-intentioned yet misguided understanding of the role and power of media in a hostile social setting. Dozens of studies on a wide range of efforts affirm the media’s strengths and weaknesses.6 While this topic deserves detailed, prayerful consideration by MENA related media leadership, let me summarize.

   Studies consistently show that when calling for change in a socially hostile context, media are most effective at the early stages of information and awareness. Later, once a positive decision is considered, the media can provide educational support and affirmation for the new convert. But, at the critical points of motivation, conviction, and action, media have, at best, modest influence.7 (See figure 10.2 for a simple diagram illustrating this.)

In suggesting this line of thinking I am in no way devaluing the unique work of the Holy Spirit in individual hearts to both consider and follow Christ. Yet individuals must walk out into hostile communities—their family, friends, employers, and powerful traditional religious community leadership.

The majority of media in the MENA region for the last fifty years have been sponsored and/or guided by western agencies and their staff. Recent years have seen a welcome increase in the number of MENA nationals as both initiators and as the face and voice of media, able to influence policy.

However, despite the growing number of national personnel, leaders are often influenced by the western, highly individualistic understanding of conversion, spiritual maturity, and the nature and role of the local church in society. With that understanding comes a natural emphasis on the First Mile.

Western sponsors (media ministry “home offices” or funders) continue to have a disproportionate influence on strategy. Having little or no experience with a community-demonstrated Christianity, their own individualized understanding of the Gospel message focuses heavily on the First Mile—reported decisions for Christ.

Hard-pressed for solid data (metrics) on media impact, many sponsors were thrilled with the dawn of the digital age and resources such as Google Analytics. But it only took a few years for sponsors to realize that, as the different media reported metrics differently and there was no common vocabulary, things were pretty much as they had been. Funders want numbers, yet the Last Mile will call for a sharply different approach to evaluation.

In the West, family and wider social implications of the Gospel in an individual’s decisions are rarely considered significant barriers to a personal faith in Christ. Possibly later considerations, of course, but not immediately relevant. Yet no one in a typical MENA social setting can possibly consider Christ without those social implications being at the forefront.

All of this, I believe, points to one thing: the inescapable reality that evangelical communications must consider the community of believers on the ground as the most credible and effective witness to the winsome power and attractiveness of Jesus. Individual stories from around the world testify to the power of local fellowships’ ability to, as a collective body, serve, influence, and affect the nature of the society in which they exist. They do this while being an explicit witness to the essential message of the saving power of Christ in the individual life.

Initiative Progress to Date

Responding to this large, complex challenge is clearly far beyond the capacity of any single ministry. Acknowledging this, conversations begun regarding a shift in approach across the wider community of media ministries and their funders. In consideration is an active but informal coalition to address the challenge of the Last Mile.

Media-based ministries are highly visibility (through their output) yet operate in a region that calls for high security. For this reason, an informal network is most appropriate. Sharing research, case histories of new approaches, encouragement, and more active communication all have the potential to increase commitment to the Last Mile.

Over the last eighteen months there has been greater interest than ever before to experiment with a collaborative effort.

• More than twenty media ministry leaders have participated in active discussions about the vision.
• More than a dozen major funding sources in the West have participated in similar active discussions on the topic. (Not surprisingly both media leaders and funders have said, “Yes, we’ve been concerned about this for some time. But, what to do hasn’t been clear.”)
• Possibly the greatest footprint of influence of any single agency is the Strategic Resource Group (SRG), which researches, invests in, and evaluates dozens of MENA media ministries. SRG’s recent bi-annual Summit focused on the Last Mile. Further, they have made an organization-wide commitment to encourage their partner media ministries to focus on Last Mile priorities over the next decade.
• On-the-ground leaders have identified over eighty content topics in eight categories that are relevant to the Last Mile. Among the topics are discipleship, leadership development, family relations, community development, and church multiplication.
• A short, clear definition of the Last Mile is being developed to ensure all understand what is meant and what they are committing to.
• A survey is being planned to give a more complete picture of what is going on now. The diversity and sheer number of initiatives, and the critical nature of the topic, calls for solid information.
• Work is underway to get practical case histories/examples of where, in Islamic settings, local fellowships have grown and have come to be seen as credible and positive influences.
• A working consultation is being considered to bring together media leaders, funders, and on-the ground national leaders to focus on the initiative and prioritize next steps.

Conclusion

God help us to have the insight, commitment to prayer, real leadership, and courage to take the next steps. If we are serious about the nature of Christ’s witness and impact in the Middle East, we must acknowledge that current approaches are having limited impact. Kingdom stewardship compels us to seriously consider these issues and actively explore what they suggest for the future. 

Phill Butler started his professional life in broadcasting; first as a journalist and later as a consultant. Over the last forty years he has worked in over seventy countries as founder and leader, first, of Intercristo then Interdev. He has written extensively in the field of communications and missions and is author of the book, Well Connected: Releasing Power, Restoring Hope Through Kingdom Partnerships. He now serves as Senior Strategy Advisor at visionSynergy, which he founded in 2004.

Notes

1. The implications of SAT-7, whose consistently-stated primary mission is to be a voice for and provide support/encouragement of the life, witness, and service of the church in the MENA region deserves specific consideration and analysis.

2. As reported in Lausanne Media Plenary: Missiology and Strategic Alliances for Global Outreach through the Media, 20 Nov 2013 https://www.lausanne.org/content/missiology-and-strategic-alliances-for-global-outreach-through-the-media.

3. See Matthew 13:1–23, John 4:35–38, 1 Corinthians 3:4–9, etc.

4. Careful consideration suggests that the Pauline epistles were written first to communities of people. Individuals making up the communities, to be sure. But, the sweeping message constantly is how the community of believers is seen by those on “the outside.” Author Paul Banks, takes up this theme in his book, Paul’s Idea of Community: Baker Academic, 1994. Further light is shed on the matter in the remarkable analysis of the nature and growth of the early church from North Africa and around the Mediterranean rim to Spain by Rodney Stark in his book, The Cities of God: Harper One, 2007. The book’s subtitle is telling: “The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome.”

5. As reported in visionSynergy UPDATE 09-2016.

6. I have written extensively on this topic. A sample of these papers exploring key elements in this discussion is Media & The Evangelism Process https://goo.gl/dWNFCs.

7. Sample quotes:

“Media influence is greatest in informing people and creating initial attitudes; it is least effective in changing attitudes and ingrained behaviors.”

“Persuasive mass media functions far more frequently as an agent of reinforcement than as an agent of change.”

“The social aegis under which the message comes, the receiver’s social relationship to the sender, the perceived social consequences of accepting it or acting upon it must be put together with an understanding of the symbolic and structural nature of the message, the conditions under which it is received, the abilities of the receiver and his innate and learned responses.” (emphasis mine)

All quotes from: Role of mass media in development: which media; what approach? by Levi Zeleza Manda. http://www.academia.edu/2530414/Role_of_media_in_development_which_media_what_approach