Vision
The seeds of what would become Christian Media Services were planted when Veron Graham – a Birmingham-born, Solihull-based Christian and media professional – came across Marijke Hoek of the Evangelical Alliance at the Church and Media Council conference at the Swanwick Conference Centre in Derbyshire in June 2009.
Since 2007, Marijke (pictured above) has been part of the Evangelical Alliance’s Forum for Change initiative, working in several areas, including engaging with believers with media experience to work alongside the local churches and Christian organisations in their areas to help increase positive church-related media coverage.
Understanding
This was music to Veron’s ears; who had worked across newspapers, magazines, radio, television and public relations, since the early 1990s. He was concerned about the increasing marginalisation of the Church in the media along with a lack of willingness/ understanding of church leaders on how to utilise the media.
After several months of prayer and networking across the locality, two needs became clear;
- to support the issuing of more news to the media in ways they can understand/ identify with and
- to encourage the local Christian community to share the truth of how God has helped them through difficult situations. It was important that these testimonies not be sanitized by secular, politically correct journalists but give the credit for their victories to our God through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Communication
Veron (pictured below) says: “When Jesus was on earth physically, He told crowds of people about God’s goodness. I believe that part of the Great Commission to all believers is to do likewise. In our time of mass communication, it makes sense to use the media to do it.”
He continues: “What you are seeing, this website and the content on it, is Christian Media Services progressing toward that vision. We are passionate about helping the Christian community utilise media outlets more effectively to reach wider communities. Our support includes writing articles/ press releases, media training, photography and general media/ PR advice.
So far we have gained coverage in a variety of media outlets, including the Birmingham Evening Mail, BBC Radio WM, New Style Radio and theVINE, while gaining many hits on our website. We know that our stories are being used as a source of encouragement for believers and evangelism to others.
“It has been a real delight to be part of this process,” comments Marijke. “There are so many great things happening in the Christian community that are of real interest to the wider cities. We want to be where God is at work and tell others about it.”
Support
We welcome your support, in the following ways:
- in prayer
- telling others about us
- sharing how God has blessed you
- working with us
We hope to hear from you soon.
Remember, faith does live in Brum, because God’s blessings are right here, right now!
God Bless You & Yours.