Welcome to Ministry and Media

ALL ABOUT MINISTRY and MEDIA

WHY USE MINISTRY AND MEDIA?

Whether we want to accept it, ignore it, or use it--the reality is that our kids are growing up under the influence of a media-saturated culture. If we refuse to engage young people in biblical discussions about what they're watching and hearing, we make it easy for them to compartmentalize their faith and put it aside when they move beyond the church walls. Through discussions that reveal either the gospel's presence or absence in popular culture, we help young people develop a biblical filter that shines the light of Jesus' truth on media messages, encourages them to live authentically at school and church, and engages the Holy Spirit's discernment in their lives. Knowledge of kids' culture also enhances our efforts as missionaries within that culture. Rather than insisting that kids change before meeting God, we're able to offer them the hope that God longs to meet them where they're at, just as he did Moses, Jacob, Peter, and countless others.

Thank you for visiting our site. We welcome your comments and invite you to browse, choose, and use what you find here to draw all to Christ.

HOW TO USE MINISTRY AND MEDIA

We've created this site to be a storehouse of pop culture information and programming ideas that will help youth workers use media to relate the gospel to teenagers. We hope to offer a range of options that allows everyone to find something that speaks to those whom God has placed in his or her ministry.

We've tried to make a strong distinction between ideas that are meant for use within a youth group setting and ideas that are offered for use outside the youth group with kids who've seen a questionable movie or listened to a questionable artist.

Please take note of the guidelines for the following areas, but always use your own discernment regarding what's appropriate for your youth group. ALWAYS PREVIEW ALL SONGS AND VIDEO CLIPS.

ABOUT VIDEOS

The video area includes:

Current releases. This area provides reviews of newly released videos. When videos contain material that can be used to illustrate important biblical themes, we include clip information and discussion questions. The other videos reviewed here contain no useable clips, but the reviews are accompanied by One-on-One Discussion Questions.

We provide One-on-One Discussion Questions so that you can engage in informal conversations outside the youth group setting with young people who've seen these videos.

A video clip archive. This area contains a large selection of video-clip discussion starters, which are arranged by topic. Scriptural references and discussion questions are included for each of these clips.

We suggest clips from R-rated movies only when we believe the clips offer powerful illustrations of biblical themes and when it's likely a large percentage of your kids have seen the films from which the clips are taken. (The R-rated clips contain no R-rated material.)

Video clips aren't meant to promote movies. They serve the same purpose as drama: to bring context, recognition, and "flesh and blood" to spiritual topics.

Please remember to rely on your own discernment regarding what's appropriate for your youth group. ALWAYS PREVIEW ALL CLIPS.

We strongly urge you to follow these recommendations:

Parent Permission Letter: If you plan to use clips from R-rated movies in your youth group setting, it's wise to communicate your intentions to parents in order to avoid misunderstandings. Click here for a parent permission letter you can use or adapt.

Preview All Clips: The clip location given for each video clip is determined by setting your tape counter to 00:00:00 when the studio logo for the film appears (immediately before the opening credits) All start/end times are approximate and are rounded to the nearest 15-second interval. Beware: Some VCRs roll back 5-10 seconds when stopped.

Disclaimers: R-rated movies--and many PG and PG-13 movies--contain offensive content. It may often be necessary to voice an emphatic disclaimer to let teenagers know that your use of a clip is not an endorsement of the entire movie.

Copyright Laws: The copyright doctrine of fair use permits certain uses of very brief excerpts from copyrighted materials for not-for-profit teaching purposes without permission. (All the video clips suggested at MinistryandMedia are less than three minutes long, unless noted.) If you have specific questions about your intended use of copyrighted materials, consult your church's legal counsel. Your church can obtain a blanket licensing agreement from Christian Video Licensing International for an annual fee. Visit www.cvli.org, or call 888-771-2854 for information.

ABOUT MUSIC

The music area lists Christian and mainstream artists in alphabetical order. For each entry, you'll find background information on a current release, a listing of the CD's tracks and themes. In most cases, you'll also find one song that's accompanied by discussion questions.

For popular CDs containing questionable material, we usually include only One-on-One Discussion Questions.

We provide One-on-One Discussion Questions so that you can engage in informal conversations outside the youth group setting with young people who listen to these artists.

Please use your own discernment regarding what's appropriate for your youth group. ALWAYS PREVIEW ALL SONGS.

ABOUT MOVIES

The movie area includes reviews of recently released films that many teenagers either have seen or plan to see. We regret that many of these movies are R-rated. If a movie's themes present an opportunity to engage young people in biblical discussion--and the movie is one which most young people have seen--we include discussion questions for use within your youth group setting. Reviews for movies that don't meet this criteria are accompanied by One-on-One Discussion Questions.

We provide One-on-One Discussion Questions so that you can engage in informal conversations outside the youth group setting with young people who've seen these movies.

Please use your own discernment regarding what's appropriate for your youth group.

ABOUT BREAKING NEWS

The Breaking News area provides biblical discussion starters for current news stories. This section is updated weekly.

ABOUT TELEVISION

The television area provides information on a selection of upcoming TV shows that strongly appeal to many teenagers. Reviews are included for many new shows. This section is updated seasonally.

ABOUT VIDEO GAMES

The video game area includes reviews of recently released video games that many teenagers are playing. If a scene in the game presents an opportunity to engage young people in biblical discussion—and the game is one that most young people have played—we may include discussion questions for use within your youth group setting. Reviews for video games that don't meet these criteria are accompanied by One-on-One Discussion Questions.

We provide One-on-One Discussion Questions so that you can engage in informal conversations outside the youth group setting with young people who've played these games.

Please use your own discernment regarding what's appropriate for your youth group.

ABOUT BRYAN'S RANTS

When something in the media, the church, or society strikes Bryan as odd or downright disturbing, he fires off a personal response. The Rant section is updated at random intervals.