the Project

what

The Glimpse Project is a series of episode-based DVDs on Lutheran Brethren World Missionaries in Chad, Japan, and Tawian.

why

Americans, especially those in the younger generations, are very influenced by television media. From sit-coms to reality shows, TV tells people what is real, what is important, and what to believe. Now as detrimental as this is to society, it is the world in which I find myself living and working.  I’ve realized that many of us know more about the lives of our favorite characters on our weekly TV shows than we do about our missionaries serving the Lord in foreign countries. I’ll admit it. I feel like I know Michael Scott (from NBC’s The Office) much more than Dan V, even though I’ve never met “Michael” and I have met Dan. I know more about a fictional character than I do about a missionary whose work really matters in the eternal realm.

Though many congregations do a great job of keeping up missions awareness, in comparison to our connection with people on TV, our missionaries can often seem distant and even invisible. This is no fault of the missionaries. They are doing their job and I know that just getting a prayer letter out to supporters is a challenge with all they do on a regular basis. But my generation (and even more so the generation after me) doesn’t generally read letters. We watch TV or use the web. If it’s not on a screen, we think it’s not important. Now there’s nothing right about this way of thinking, but that’s the way things are. So how can we communicate to the TV watchers to help involve them in something that really matters? I hope the Glimpse Project will help.

The Glimpse Project will be a series of episode-based documentary DVDs on our international missions. The idea is to capture in short segments, different aspects or stories of our missionaries’ lives. These episodes will essentially transport a bit of the experience of the mission field to the audience through video. Because there are many small segments, churches can show multiple stories about the same missionary family or the same people group. The goal is to familiarize our congregations with our missionaries and the world in which they live and serve. I hope this project will be used to stir a new passion for our LB international missions.

Last October I spent two weeks shooting the first installment of the Glimpse Project in Japan . In a country where stories of new belief in Christ are usually few and far between, I did not expect much. I anticipated stories of hard work and slow, but faithful, growth. I had come hoping to capture a glimpse of what God was doing in Japan . But I got a lot more than a glimpse.

The first week I was in Sendai , a high school girl named Haruka came to believe and asked to be baptized. Her friend, Minami, requested to be confirmed in her faith. In Takanosu, Arnie and Bonita Nordaas took me to interview a woman named Taeko who had previously come to faith through their ministry. While we were there, Taeko’s mother, who had been reading the Bible, declared her belief in Jesus and requested to be baptized. In addition, during those weeks, a friend of Taeko’s also asked to be baptized. It was an incredible two weeks of outward spiritual victories.

God is always at work, doing much more than we can see. But why did all that happen while I was there? Maybe God was showing off for the camera. I don’t know.  But I can’t wait to show you a little bit of what He’s been up to.

The Glimpse Project: Japan DVD has been distributed to Lutheran Brethren churches in the US and Canada this April.

what's next

Video for the second installment of the Glimpse Project was shot in Chad this past April. Chad 1 is expected to be released sometime this fall.