By Shanna DiPaolo, October 2007

Roll Camera: Avant missionary Rolly Walters on location with student from John Brown University during the filming of "Ahora Que".

He didn’t think he was asking for much.  In fact, the request seemed rather straightforward.  Last fall, Glenn Ashcraft asked Dan Lippincott about the possibility of creating a Spanish discipleship booklet aimed at teenagers.  What resulted from that conversation exceeded either man’s expectations.   

As the director of Avant’s Springs of Life camp in Spain, Ashcraft knew there was a need for age-appropriate, comprehendible discipleship material.  “About five or six years ago I noticed the need for some kind of discipleship material,” said Ashcraft.  “We would hear of kids who made a decision to accept Christ at camp, but then we’d lose track of where they were spiritually after they left.  We needed something that would interest them.”

Ashcraft approached Lippincott, the director of Avant’s Málaga Media Center (MMC) in Málaga, Spain, with the need.  Would MMC ever consider a project like this?  Lippincott agreed it was a possibility.  That possibility generated a project that expanded to include many separate Avant ministries and outside volunteers.  The final product is well beyond the booklet Ashcraft asked for – a collaborative cause that produced a multi-media discipleship curriculum combining print material, a DVD and Web site that will be distributed to Spanish teens through local and international ministries.  “God has always done a little more than what we had in mind,” said Lippincott.

Let the brainstorm begin

Rolly Walter, director of Spanish ministries at MMC, was the first person to be pulled into the collaboration. Lippincott asked if he was interested in producing a discipleship curriculum. Walter said he was, noting he’d wanted to do a similar project, targeted at adults. “It was in our plan to do something like this, but the timing was never right,” he said. Walter’s involvement broadened the project. “Since I’m the video guy I thought, ‘Let’s do a DVD. We’ll have something in print, and something to watch.’”

Before the men started production on the materials, they wanted to be sure the need for a Spanish youth discipleship curriculum existed. They looked for something similar to what they were envisioning, but found nothing. The men decided to move forward with the project.

Desiring input from individuals who interact directly with youth, Lippincott and Walter invited workers from international ministries Campus Crusade and YWAM, as well as leaders from local churches, to a brainstorming session. “We wanted to make sure this was definitely Spanish curriculum, not a North American import,” said Lippincott.

“We wanted to get good representation throughout Spain [for the brainstorm]. We had not only local representatives but also people from Barcelona and Madrid at the meeting.” The group met for three hours, and all agreed there was a need in Spain for youth discipleship material. However, those in attendance thought the project had to stretch beyond a booklet and DVD.

It wasn’t enough for the material to interest young people. It had to be available in a place most youth spend a considerable amount of time: the Internet. During the preliminary brainstorm, it became clear that youth wouldn’t take interest in the material if it wasn’t downloadable, interactive and Web based. “At the brainstorm, we were told that if we’re not on the Internet, we’re not hitting youth where they are,” said Walter.

Once again, the idea that started as a simple suggestion grew and gained momentum.

Hitting where they are

Spanish youth are indifferent to spiritual matters, and the apathy modeled in Spain’s young people is pervasive in Spanish society. Disinterest characterizes the Spanish attitude toward spirituality and faith, equating religion with a former dictatorial regime. Dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled the country for three decades, used Catholicism to control the populace. “The Spanish people are coming out of a time when Catholicism was forced upon them. It was part of the government,” said Ashcraft. “Now they don’t want to talk about religion.”

The pervasive passivity is coupled with general ignorance of biblical concepts.

Campers at Springs of Life who come to salvation often know very little about the Bible or the Christian life. This required any materials the men created to be sophisticated yet understandable, said Walter. “Our goal was to create something  accessible to kids who have no church background.”

Inspired by popular online communities like myspace.com and facebook.com, the group decided to build a Web site where users can encourage one another while learning from mature Christian leaders. “We want to have a community based around the common experiences of new believers, where they can chat with a mature believer and get connected to a church or youth group,” Walter said. Ashcraft believes this kind of media appeals to Spanish teenagers who thrive on social interaction. “Spanish youth love to be in groups. They love to have contact with other people. My thought was this online thing would help them to have that atmosphere of knowing they’re connected to a larger group.”

Writers wanted

It was important the material be visually and culturally appealing while containing simple, authentically Spanish lessons. Finding one writer who could complete the task was a tall order. Instead, the writing came together in the same way the initial idea did: one piece at a time. Avant missionary Jerrih Silva, a member of Short-Cycle Church Planting Team Spain, had written discipleship material aimed at adults. He volunteered to rewrite the lessons for a teenage audience. He gave them to Walter, who edited them for the booklet. The material was then given to a young Spanish couple. They polished the writing with a casual, youthful tone and appeal.
With input from the brainstorming group and lessons to put in a booklet, the idea gradually took shape. It moved from a blurred suggestion to a defined goal when a group of American college students were thrown into the mix. 

Twenty from Siloam Springs

In the past, the communications department at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Ark., sent teams of students to work on projects at MMC. They were planning to come during the upcoming summer, and Lippincott and Walter thought the project might interest them. Neil Holland, communications professor at John Brown, agreed the booklet would be a good project for his students to tackle.

In preparation for their trip, students met every other week to plan the design of the booklet, creating designs that appeal to Spanish teens. “We told them, ’We want a design that will be a Spanish youth culture design, that’s not obviously church,’” said Lippincott, expressing the desire for material that would appeal to a generation of media-savvy youth. A focus group of Spanish teenagers reviewed the designs that the JBU students submitted, said Walter. “We showed a few of the concepts to some Spanish youth and their reactions enabled us to combine the best parts of a couple concepts and make a comprehensive idea.”

When the JBU group arrived in Spain, they had five and a half weeks to produce the booklet. Todd Goehner, a professor of communications who led the trip, said it was an opportunity for his students to envision their skills in a ministry context. “They learned about working for a purpose, and there was a sense of satisfaction in achieving that purpose,” he said. “They integrated their faith into their photography and design opportunities, and they learned how their skills were needed and wanted in a ministry situation.”

JBU senior and communications student Melissa McKenney said the trip was a chance to put her design skills to the test in an overseas ministry environment. “It was a great experience to learn how to live and work 24 hours a day with a team of people,” she said.  “Ministry and media work are highly compatible.”

Business as unusual

Daily life at MMC is characterized by a fast-paced cycle of video, radio and television production.  Visitors and volunteers often stop by. The center has ministries in North Africa, where evangelical Arabic radio and television programs are beamed into Muslim homes; in Spain DVDs are produced for evangelistic purposes. A call center and response ministries are also part of the daily rush.

A multi-media project combining print and video production and a crew of 20 college students contributed to the hectic work environment. “This curriculum is a first for the media center,” said Lippincott. “Past projects were either print or video but never both. We didn’t have the resources to do this project, but God provided.”

The provision came in the form of a young Brazilian named Eber Duarte, who joined the effort after meeting Lippincott at church. Newly arrived in Spain, Duarte mentioned that he would like to volunteer his time at MMC. Lippincott said Duarte’s contribution was invaluable. “If God had not provided [Duarte], there is no way the project would be to the point it is,” he said. Duarte acted as a  production assistant for Walter. He is currently managing the project while Walter and his family are in the United States for a year of home ministry assignment.

Production for the curriculum included photography sessions, which were planned and facilitated by the JBU students, and video shoots, which Walter coordinated. The final design concept was dubbed “¿Ahora Que?,” meaning “Now What?” The booklet and DVD center on questions such as “Who is God?” and “What is my relationship to Him?” Photography and video footage have a fast-paced, athletic edge. The students and MMC staff spent several days shooting footage and photographing Spanish teens rappelling, skateboarding, bike riding and playing games.

The message in the media

The JBU students completed their assignments, delivering a booklet that was finished and ready to go to press. Video footage is ready for edits, and the Web site is being built. Lippincott said they plan to have the complete Spanish curriculum package done by January 2008, and will make it available to ministries who want it for their summer programs as well as churches and other groups to use with new believers. Eventually, the men would like to see the materials translated into other languages and used by Avant Short-Cycle teams. “We hope to take it beyond Spain,” said Walter. “It could easily be used in France and Italy.”

Lippincott hopes other teams not only use the material, but also are inspired by the projects to regularly incorporate media into their ministry activities. “Media is a good way to develop contacts, but you have to know your audience,” he said. “Part of knowing a culture is learning what kind of media reaches people.” Media use is a two-way street, he adds. “You have to give your audience a way to contact you after they receive your message.”

In the case of newly believing Spanish teenagers, that avenue of communication combines a Web site, DVD and booklet. It’s a comprehensive curriculum that reaches far beyond the initial material Ashcraft was hoping for when he mentioned to Lippincott he needed something to give to his campers. The request combined participation from youth workers in Madrid to college students in Arkansas, and perhaps that’s the most exciting part of the whole process. “Springs of Life had the initial need, and they looked to us to produce it. Team Spain contributed the copy and now we’d like other teams to use the material,” said Walter. “So many parts of Avant worked together on this.”