18 October 2010

October Update

Click here for our update for October.

In this update, we shared about a team from Keynote who went to Colombia. We also wanted to share with you a couple short videos from the trip as well. The videos are not easy to share in a letter. :) Enjoy!

This first video is from a concert that the team did at a school for kids aged K-12. The entire school was there - even teachers! The principal asked the team to speak in English from the stage so that the students could practice. Mia, the lead singer, actually speaks Spanish quite well. So in this clip, she’s singing in Spanish, but speaking in English. The kids loved it. :)



The team's drummer, Dave, also made quite the impression on the kids in Bogota. Everywhere we went, this was the reaction Dave got:

16 September 2010

Taking the Truth to the 8th Continent

Keynote is all about using innovative resources and creative communication to spark life change. This past year, the door has been blown open for Keynote to pursue ways to take the Gospel to the 8th Continent.

Don't worry. No one has added another physical continent to our current 7 like Pluto has been nixed as a planet. :) The "8th Continent" refers to the Internet and social networking. It is a very real place for those of the "Generation Z". This generation of people were born between the early 1990s and the late 2000s. Their nickname is the "Net Generation" - and they are all about the Internet, social networking, texting, etc... Many parents of these kids are finding it typical to see their child connecting with a friend on Facebook chat, while texting to someone else on their cell phone, all while carrying on a conversation with their parents or someone in the house.

Some research is showing that many of this generation simply aren't leaving Facebook's website. They are finding the answers to questions that they have within the Facebook site.

Interesting.

If the poor and homeless downtown in our city need the Gospel - then we, as the Bride of Christ, need to go to the downtown of our city to connect with them.

If the students on the nearby college campus need the Gospel - then we, as the Bride of Christ, need to go to the nearby college campus to connect with them.

So...........if these teens are connecting with people and looking for their answers on Facebook.com - then we, as the Bride of Christ, need to go to Facebook.com!

And, that's where Keynote comes in! Keynote has created a screencast tutorial that will help you to have life-changing ministry resources like everystudent.com and startingwithgod.com on your Facebook profile page. This video outlines the process necessary to put a Facebook app tab on your Facebook profile page and to help bring some of the answers that Gen Z are searching for to where they are looking: Facebook.

Click here to watch the tutorial.

We'd love for you to leave a comment after you've watched the video to let us know what you think!

15 September 2010

How's Your Digital Footprint?

Our friend, Nick, is on staff with Campus Crusade. He works with Global Media Outreach. His ministry is doing some awesome work in using the Internet to spread the Gospel. Nick recently wrote a great article on digital footprints and why it is important to reflect on our own digital footprints. Click here for a link to the original article or read below:

How's Your Digital Footprint?
by Nick

If you aren’t familiar with the term digital footprint , let me fill you in. Two things make up your digital footprint: the evidence, or traces of your presence that you leave behind while you browse the web, and the number of people connected to you through online social networking communities like Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I’ve been considering my own digital footprint recently. What information is out on the web about me and my family? What should be out there? What needs to be removed…if that’s even possible?

I thought that I’d post a few tips that I’ve come across for you to keep in mind while you’re posting photos of your kids and messaging people with your home address for that upcoming birthday party.

  1. Security is a myth
    -Chris is our Technology security expert here at Global Media Outreach, and he’s a genius. His last job was working for a firm that paid him to hack into some of the largest banks in the world to test their security systems. 100% of the time he was able to break through to the point of being able to access money. In the field of online security, Chris is what we call an expert. According to Chris, being hacked is not a question of “if”, but “when”. So, how do you keep the odds in your favor?
  2. Use Strong Passwords
    -Make passwords strong by using a combination of letters, numbers and characters. Don’t use the same password for all of your accounts. I have a rotation of 3-4 strong passwords that I combine in different combinations, but even that isn’t enough. Password management software will allow you to use ridiculously complicated passwords without having to remember them.
  3. If you don’t want your Mom to see or read it, don’t post it.
    -Everything is available to everyone someday once it is online. Don’t believe me? Refer to #1. So, be careful what you put out there for the world to see.
  4. Know Your Settings
    -Adam Savage, the host of Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel, recently took a photo of his car in front of his house and posted it online. What he didn’t realize is that the photo was geo-tagged, and he had just posted his home address for the world to see. Know the privacy settings on your phone, computer, and social media accounts. It is also good to know how long a company will keep your data in their systems. When they dump it, how is it deleted? This brings me to my next tip:
  5. Take it Slow
    -A lot of the mistakes are made by moving too fast. (Ever send an email that you wish you hadn’t?) Take the time to think through a post or hastily written email. Don’t write things when you’re angry. Also, take the time to browse through your security settings. A lot of talk has been circulating recently about Facebook privacy settings. It only takes a few minutes to keep yourself safe from amateur hackers and prying eyes.
  6. Think About the Children!
    -My kids are cute. The kids in your family are cute too, but think twice before posting those naked baby photos. When your kid runs for President one day, you don’t want his/her chances at becoming the ruler of the free world to be derailed by an embarrassing pic in your Facebook archives. Ours is the first digital generation, and the digital footprints of our kids is beginning to be formed by what we’re doing today. It begins with us posting responsibly, and also teaching our kids digital responsibility. It sounds funny or overbearing to consider when they’re young, but this stuff doesn’t go away. Everything lives forever online.

Some good news!: According to Internet World Stats, the 2 Billionth Internet user will log on in the next few weeks. That means that unless you’re some famous person, from the 2 Billion people online, you probably won’t make it onto most hacker’s radars. But, it is still a good idea to be careful.

What other tips do you think are helpful to share?

06 August 2010

10% Christian Living

A friend recently posted an article that caught my eye. When I read it, it really resonated with some things that I have been thinking upon lately. I even read it a few times because I couldn't believe that the words that I was reading were so strikingly similar to what has been rolling around in my head.

Even though Tony & I are being financially supported by generous ministry partners so that we can work with Keynote full-time, we are still called to give our time, talents, and resources back to God. When we were newly married, I created our budget - giving always came first. We truly believe that God blessed our giving. We tried our best to give - and give sacrificially.

Recently, my mind and my heart have been in an inward battle between the importance of being wise stewards of the money that God has given us, saving, etc....and give, give, giving for His kingdom. For a while I think: is it wise to give everything away to the point where we can't even pay our bills? Then, I jump to the other side and think: that nothing is ours anyway, so it's not really my call to decide what I do with anything, it's God's call.

While we've been raising our initial support, God's been doing some pretty cool things. We have definitely had the "smallest" income that we've ever had in our married lives. But, during this time we've been able to financially give the most that we've ever had in our married lives.

Go figure. God is just so cool like that.

All said, this article is a great article to read if you're ready for your beliefs in giving [and basic Christian living] to be shaken up.

Click here to read the article...thanks for listening. :)

-J

05 August 2010

August Update!

We're excited to share this month's update with you! We hope that you're blessed by reading about Keynote's recent trip to here in Dayton! :)

Click here to read our August Update!

Tony & Jonelle

27 May 2010

May Update!

For our update this month, we sent out a postcard. Seemed fitting since we were on the road.

You can see it here: click here

Keynote's summer project started this week, and we can't wait to
share stories of what God is doing through these students!

[Summer project is a time where college students from all over
come to Keynote, form bands & media teams, then travel and
share the Gospel like full-time Keynote staff does year round.]

Thank you for taking this journey with us,
Tony & Jonelle

11 May 2010

We love partnerships!


Keynote artist, blue sky nine, was recently in Arkansas for some work with Prison Fellowship - their 3rd prison gig in a few many weeks.

The contact person with Prison Fellowship, "L", has done much of the detail work to make these events happen, but, this was L's first time to actually meet any of the band in person or to even see one of our bands live. He was completely thrilled with the experience of working with blue sky nine as they ministered to the gals in a women’s correctional facility. So, in addition to great responses from the church and prison gigs where he booked the band, they made a huge new fan out of L himself.

God works in neat ways - connecting people so that they can partner together to glorify Him & make Him known. This connection paved the way for an even greater partnership with L for the future!

And, Keynote loves building partnerships!

From the shows in Arkansas, L expressed how much he appreciated how Keynote has served Prison Fellowship by providing quality outreaches in several facilities....and not just an expression of words. How exciting is it that L just invited Keynote to attend a conference consisting of 33 prison and prison related ministries? This conference is geared towards helping reach and minister to prisoners and their families.

So, this fall, Keynote is able to join & collaborate at this conference to make these other ministries aware of what Keynote does and how we might serve them!

Praise God for making connections & partnerships!

10 May 2010

Adjusting to full-time ministry!

Hello family and friends, we have been on a crazy ride since May 1st. We are learning so much on how to be raising support full-time. We hit the road ready to find those ministry partners that the Lord has set out before us. We ventured down to Texas of all places and have been discovering a lot about the atmosphere down here. They call Banana Peppers by a different name.
Anyways, we are learning what it takes to be on task about telling people about Keynote at any given moment. We are also finding out that not only the drive down to Texas was a huge step of Faith, but actually sharing about our ministry is just as huge. We are thankful for what the Lord has provided so far, and eager to see what comes the next day. Time management is a big element we have to consider because we are only planning on being here for a short time. There is so much to do, and if you could, please pray that those we are connecting with receive us and our ministry with open arms.

-T

03 March 2010

In Like A Lamb.

March already? Did this new month seem to sneak up on you like it did us? We had our share of crazy winter weather during February, but I noticed that these first few days of March have come "in like a lamb". All of the snowy, cold, wintery stuff [which many have had our fill] all of a sudden seemed to stop. Today, the sun was shining for the first time in a while! I began to roll my window down to enjoy the spring weather....eh, then realized that it is not that warm yet.

All that to say...is it is refreshing that if my spiritual journey is having a crazy time, the true Lamb can come in swiftly and quickly. He can change my attitude and thoughts from cold and icky to new and sunny. He can put our focus back on Him, where it should be. He can renew our strength so we can keep running.

To read our latest prayer letter, click here.

In our letter, we mentioned a video that is sparking spiritual conversations about forgiveness. Check it out here:




Thanks for taking this journey with us!
Tony & Jonelle

18 January 2010

Glorious Frustration

That is what I see today. Reading through the book of John, I can see that the disciples experienced this as well. They know fully that Jesus is the savior of all, but at the same are confused with his teachings and interactions.

Jonelle and I are on this journey and so much has happened that we can only give God all our praise. But yet when something trivial comes along, we just get bummed and frustrated. We do not know why something is happening or even how to fix it (if there is fixing). So we are in this period of what I call a Glorious Frustration. When we still praise God for the large easy things and those little difficult and almost stupid things we have to go through each day. But I am encouraged to know that Jesus knows the greater picture!

-T