News from ReFrame Media

ReFrame Relaunches Think Christian

2012-01-24T16:20:48Z

Do you wish there was an online community where you could discuss faith, culture, and what it means to be a Christian in today’s society?

At ThinkChristian.net we do just that. We talk about music, movies, politics, business, world events, the church, and more. Cultural discernment—reflecting on how faith impacts all areas of life—is a hallmark of our Reformed tradition. Bringing that integration of mind and heart to the wider Christian community is exactly what we’re after at Think Christian. It’s our goal to bring the kind of theological reflection we sometimes take for granted to culture that is desperate for a fresh and biblical understanding.

And this month we are launching a newly revised website that will make it even easier for you to find and join the conversations that most interest you. There’s so much content on display, we’re now calling it a collaborative digital magazine

The new menu bar at the top of each page lists the various topics we cover, such as Arts & Leisure, Business & Economics, News & Politics, Home & Family, Science & Technology, and Theology & the Church. See what’s new or dig deep into the topic that interests you.

And since Think Christian is designed to be collaborative, we’ve highlighted the comments people make as they discuss each topic. Those readers whose contributions are selected as a Top Comment will be eligible for a drawing to win a Think Christian t-shirt or other prizes.

More importantly, we need thoughtful readers and commenters. We need Reformed thinkers who can shed light on the issues of today and share opinions with the wider evangelical world and beyond. Would you be willing to offer your thoughts?

Just log in to ThinkChristian.net and join the conversation. Add your voice to the relevant discussions and witness to the world around you!

Similar Battles; Different Victories

2011-12-12T23:09:27Z

When Maisey was diagnosed with an unusual form of cancer in her central nervous system, she found Groundwork to be a great source of spiritual nourishment. What she didn’t realize was that as she was fighting her battle with cancer, Groundwork’s host, Bob Heerspink was losing his own fight against pancreatic cancer.

In December 2010 Maisey, who lives in Windsor, Ontario, underwent a partially successful surgery to remove the tumor, but further treatment was necessary. The battle took its toll on Maisey’s body and her faith. She kept a diary to document her journey. In February 2012 she wrote, “I talk about faith, but I’m only beginning on that one as the journey gets harder. My soul refuses to be comforted.”

A week later Maisey tuned into a local radio station and happened upon our Groundwork program. Hosts Dave Bast and Bob Heerspink were discussing Matthew 8, and their discussion of Scripture gave her a new perspective. “I noticed humility when the people [in the passage] came to Jesus. I decided that was the route I wanted to take. He has the ability to heal me, but I would take what He gave.”

Maisey continued to follow the Groundwork program over the next several months, and as she listened she continued to write responses in her journal. “My appreciation of my salvation at the price of the cross is slowly returning, and I want to foster it more and more. I am so grateful for these early morning opportunities” (Sunday March 27).

Maisey did not know it at the time, but Bob was diagnosed with cancer the weekend of July 3. Maisey’s journal reflects that she missed the Groundwork program because that day was “a bad day” for her.

Groundwork continued to air programs produced before Bob’s diagnosis, and Maisey continued to find encouragement from them. On August 14 she wrote, “Thankfully, with help from the radio, I’m being encouraged to continue on my journey when I was about to give up.”

It wasn’t until the week of October 30, 2011, when Groundwork aired a special tribute program to honor co-host Bob Heerspink, that Maisey learned Bob had passed away early October. She was deeply grieved.

Maisey decided to write a letter to Groundwork. For Maisey, this letter was her chance to share gratitude with the Groundwork team. She wrote, “In the past months I have been blessed by the Groundwork radio ministry. It is fitting at this time, that I express my gratitude through journal excerpts which I am enclosing. In view of the death of Bob Heerspink, I share my journey from last December 2010 until now. May it be a comfort and encouragement to those who remain. “

Maisey found proof that God had used Groundwork to strengthen and build her faith during adversity. “My journal is testimony to the power I received from listening to Groundwork,” she says. “I can see specific points that led to growth in my faith.”

She closed her letter to the Groundwork team with words taken from her journal entry on Sunday, October 30: “l gradually realized God would provide. I remembered the last words of Dave Bast about seeking God's will. l give thanks to God for the manna He provided for the journey, and I continue to pray that He will raise up from the next generation men and women whose delight will be in all of Scripture, as was Bob Heerspink’s.”

Saying Goodbye to Bob Heerspink

2011-10-01T21:37:33Z

Friends,

On Saturday, October 1, 2011, our colleague, mentor, and friend, Bob Heerspink, passed away after a three month struggle with pancreatic cancer.

Bob served as the director of Back to God Ministries International, the 10-language media ministry of which ReFrame Media is the English-language ministry. Bob not only led this world-wide ministry, he also served as the Editor of our Today Daily Devotional and co-host of our syndicated radio program Groundwork. He was formerly a host of the Back to God Hour radio program.

He is survived by his wife Edie and children, Eric & Katie, Joel, and Amy Heerspink.

Bob will be sorely missed by his family, his parishioners, the staff of Back to God and ReFrame Media, and his many colleagues and friends. Please remember the family in your prayers. Please also pray that the Back to God Ministries International and ReFrame Media staff may continue in the work that he so tirelessly carried out with us for the last six years.

—Steven Koster, director of ReFrame Media

Read More information about Bob and his passing is here.
Read devotions written by Bob on the Today Daily Devotional site.
Listen to episodes of the Back to God Hour featuring Bob.
- In 2010, he recorded a program on 2 Kings 20:1-7 entitled "Get Your House In Order".
Read a piece Bob wrote on Think Christian, called "Our Way of Death"

Church Juice Announces the First Winners of The Juicys

2011-09-22T17:20:02Z

Church Juice, our project aimed at helping churches be better communicators, recently announced the first winners of The Juicys.

The goal of this new award is to recognize church communication awesomeness, identifying great communication projects from the last year and encouraging churches to jump start their next big idea with a $1,000 grant.

The Juicys are about looking back, but also about looking forward. In addition to giving Juicys to churches that have done something great during the last year, Church Juice also wanted to find one church with a great idea but hasn’t found a way to make it happen.

Dozens of churches from across North America showed Church Juice just what they were doing. From complete branding overhauls to integrating more video into communications strategies, churches who applied revealed to us how God is moving and bringing change though the work of some talented people.

“It’s encouraging to see how congregations of all sizes and denominations are intentionally thinking about how they communicate not only their congregation but their surrounding community as well,” says Church Juice Project Leader Jerod Clark. “These churches realize how effective communication is at the core of everything a church does.”

The Juicys were given in three different categories: Communications Church of the Year (Larger), Communications Church of the Year (Smaller) and the Make It Happen Church of the Year. Here are the winners.

Communications Church of the Year (Larger): ChangePoint, Anchorage, Alaska

ChangePoint realized they were just going through the motions without intentional thought about how they were communicating, so they decided to start with a clean slate. After analyzing their priorities and how their congregation consumed information, they came up with two main avenues for communication: a mobile app and a simplified weekly bulletin. After just a few months, they realized more people were engaging with the church thought the new incentives. Plus they cut their overall communications budget in half by being more efficient. Read more about the project here.

Communications Church of the Year (Smaller): Life Baptist Church, Las Vegas, Nevada

The branding at Life was a mess. Logos didn’t match. Communications pieces were inconsistent. Overall, they were lacking a uniformed communication strategy. But an upcoming move to a new building gave them a chance to start their branding from scratch. They created a new logo, brand standards and a website that gives them a much more uniform feel. Throughout the process, Life kept in mind who they were trying to reach and how they could best serve the people of Las Vegas. See the changes they made here.

Communications Church of the Year (Smaller) Runner-Up: Level Ground Mennonite, Abbotsford, British Columbia

Annual meetings aren’t usually fun for anyone, yet they’re something most churches have to do every year. Level Ground decided to use video to transform a meeting into an experience where people could see just how the church had grown over the past year. As a result, church leaders say their congregation was more engaged and attendance was way higher. Watch the videos here.

Make It Happen Church of the Year: First CRC, Grand Haven, Michigan

First CRC has a growing ministry where they use recycling as a way to reach out to their community. Known as the “Creation Care” church, First CRC takes donated appliances and gives them to families in need. More than 200 appliances came though the church last year alone. Despite this modern ministry, First CRC is stuck in 1994 online. Their website’s out of date and they are currently stuck with a content management system that makes changes to the site costly. But First CRC didn’t have the money to do a new website on their own. So as First CRC moves forward with a vision to better serve their community and members online, we’re excited to help them ditch the 1990s with this year’s Make It Happen grant. Read more about this project here.

“These projects really do provide a guide for other churches looking to do similar projects,” says Steven Koster, Director or ReFrame Media. “It is always our goal to make everything we do at Church Juice an educational opportunity for another church. It’s always our goal to highlight best practices like these.”

UTR Launches National “In Your House” Tour with Eric Peters

2011-08-23T18:29:08Z

Under the Radar has launched a national tour of living room concerts featuring Eric Peters. Over the next two months, UTR is partnering with the Nashville-based singer-songwriter to play a total of over 35 concerts (mostly in living rooms) across the US and Canada. The concerts were arranged through a UTR advertising offering "A concert in your living room for $150."

"It’s a grassroots way to let people know more about UTR, and to introduce people to a terrific indie songwriter, " said UTR producer Dave Trout. The vision for this was born in December 2010 over an Italian beef dinner in the lobby of a Chicago hotel. Between bites, Dave asked, “Eric, what is your greatest need as an artist, and how do you think UTR can help with that?” Finding his greatest need was simple: bookings. He wants to play more dates, but churches and venues don’t have the concert budgets they had a few years ago when the economy was better. "We started to lay the groundwork for partnering on a house-show tour," continued Dave, "We could offer him steady work for a season, he could tell people about UTR and encourage them to tune in, and the host could have an amazing concert experience for a very low price."

After some scattered conversations the first half of 2011, UTR was finally ready to step out of the proverbial boat. "We crossed our fingers, knocked on wood, and posted our invitation to participate in the tour on July 4. We didn’t know how many people would be interested in being a host on the tour. I even feared getting single-digit response and maybe not even making one trip. Thankfully, on the contrary, we had about 90 people apply for the tour in less than 3 weeks," said Dave. Out of that, seven trips are planned to different regions over the next nine weeks.

August 26-28 – Western Oregon
September 2-5 – Central Georgia
September 9-13 – Eastern Nebraska
September 14 & 19 – Chicago area
September 15-18 – Fort Wayne, IN area
October 7-9 – Western Pennsylvania
October 14-17 – Eastern Texas
October 26-30 – New England

"We're always thrilled to work with musical artists and Eric has been an especially good partner in ministry," commented Steven Koster, director of ReFrame Media. "Once again, UTR has found another venue for both deepening relationships with our listener communities around the country and fostering Christian reflection on good music."

Most of the living room concerts are by-invitation-only events, but a few church concerts are sprinkled in the schedule. If you see your region listed and would like to attend an event, contact Under the Radar and we'll let you know at which public event you can join us (or maybe even get on the guest list for a house concert).

ReFrame Launches Family Fire

2011-07-15T16:43:52Z

Do you have a perfect marriage? Have you struggled to discipline your children? Wondered where to draw the line with your in-laws? Every family faces these questions in some way. Throw in a marital separation or a blended family, and the issues are even more complicated.

This summer, ReFrame Media launched a project called Family Fire designed to wrestle with exactly these kinds of issues. Led by Steven & Deb Koster as fellow strugglers in the messiness of living as a family, our goal is to encourage families to see the Holy Spirit at work in their lives, “stoking the Spirit’s flame at home.”

And since Facebook is a popular and natural place for conversation and mutual encouragement, the primary format for Family Fire is a Facebook page and community, found at http://www.facebook.com/familyfire. We’ve also launched a website, http://www.familyfire.com, where encouragements, devotionals, articles, and book reviews are available on a range of family topics.

Already in our early months, Family Fire has attracted hundreds of fans as part of the community. One fan writes, “I love this page. Thanks for all you do! So glad I found it.” Another, seeking encouragement in tough times, writes, “Thank you for this great page. This ordeal I'm going through has inspired me….My son and I miss my wife so much and will continue to pray for return home.”

We’ve also asked for suggestions from fans—they asked us to cover topics including disciplining children, unequally yoked marriages, talking to kids about sexuality, living as a blended family. “It's very difficult, as a step mom, to know what to do in many situations.”

Please pray for Family Fire as it continues to launch, and please join us on Facebook!

Prayers for Bob Heerspink

2011-07-14T17:02:46Z

Wednesday morning, July 13, 2011, ReFrame Media and Back to God staff in both Palos Heights, IL and Grand Rapids, MI gathered in a circle to pray for Rev. Bob Heerspink, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Bob is the Director of Back to God Ministries International, the parent organization of ReFrame Media.

One of Bob’s fellow ministry leaders prayed, “Mighty God, move mightily. God of healing, please heal.” One young woman, who is battling cancer herself, asked wisdom for Bob and his family as they meet with oncologists this week to sort out treatment options. She reminded us, “Our days are numbered by God, not this disease.”

Others prayed strength for the worldwide staff of Back to God Ministries International as we continue with our global Gospel outreach.

Please pray for Bob and his family as they deal with this cancer journey. For more information about Bob’s condition and for his prayer requests, please visit his care pages at www.carepages.com/carepages/bobheerspink.

Church Juice Announces The Juicy Awards

2011-07-01T02:47:08Z

ReFrame Media's Chruch Juice project announces a new award for excellence in congregational communication, called "The Juicys." The Juicys offer a $1000 grant to "communications awesomeness" in three categories--Smaller Church, Bigger Church, and Make It Happen Church of the Year.

"We want to recognize and reward those churches who’ve worked to improve their church communications in some way during the last year," said Jerod Clark, leader of the Church Juice project. "It’s about looking back but also looking forward. In addition to giving Juicys to churches who have done something great during the last year--and are ready to start their next project--we also want to help a church who has a great idea but hasn’t found a way to make it happen."

"We're focused on ministry through media, on the air, online, and on the street." commented Steven Koster, ReFrame Director. "We're thrilled to come along side chuches to help them use media to reach out in their own neighborhoods."

Award application information is available on the Church Juice website at http://churchjuice.com/thejuicys/, with an application deadline of August 5, 2011.

UTR Wins a Webby Award

2011-04-15T17:34:52Z

ReFrame Media's Under the Radar website has been selected as an Official Honoree for the Religion and Spirituality category in The 15th Annual Webby Awards.

Managed by our own Under the Radar team and built with partners FiveQ and the Agathon Group, the award recognizes the exceptional quality of the site. The Webby Academy has acknowledged UTR as an Official Honoree, a title awarded to the top 10% of all work entered that exhibits remarkable achievement, selected out of nearly 10,000 entries received from all 50 US states and over 60 countries.

Congrats to the Under the Radar team and our partners for a job well done!