Beyond the barriers to reach Mexico

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Mexico North Field

Although Mexico possesses a great mass media infrastructure, it is dominated by two giant private corporations. The companies limit broadcast use for religious associations and other groups, like nongovernmental universities and organizations, because they cannot pay the high costs of airtime. Due to these barriers, World Mission Broadcast Mexico North Field (WMB MNF) is making use of other means — the Internet.
 
With nearly 26 million Internet users in Mexico and 78 percent of the computers with access to broadband, the Internet has a tremendous reach with numerous possibilities to be explored.
 
The Mexico North Field web site, www.nazareno.mx, was launched in November 2009. The site receives an average of 1,300 visits each month. Currently 180 subscribers receive the monthly newsletter, and prayer requests are received from places outside Mexico like Colombia, Peru, and the U.S. Visitors with spiritual needs are followed-up with by a pastor or superintendent who is geographically near the person.
 
As of May 2010, 15,615 visitors from 35 countries had entered the web page in search of information, resources, news, or simply to contact other Nazarenes around the world. In addition, these visitors have downloaded approximately 1,191 resources like Sunday School lessons, workshops, presentations, audio, videos, etc. that are available on the site.
 
Another tool that has been used with great results is broadcasting the live-streaming video of MNF events, like the National Quiz Meet last November from Monterrey and the Sunday School Summit and the Nazarene Missions International Presidents Congress in March and April, respectively, from Guadalajara. The broadcast of the Sunday School Summit was followed from 353 computers, and the 16 videos from the event, which are available online, have been viewed 674 times.
 
"After seeing great participation from young people, we see the necessity to have a space for Nazarene youth," says Jorge Casas, WMB coordinator for MNF. "One of the projects in development is a social network tentatively called Comunidad JNI (Community NYI [Nazarene Youth International])." Testing with several groups of young people has been very favorable, and the hope is to soon have this online and working.
 
One of the objectives of this community, besides creating bonds of friendship between Nazarene youth, is to motivate young people to invite non-Christian friends and classmates to utilize the power of this network to reach them for the Kindgom of God.
--World Mission Broadcast MAC Region

 

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