So in a previous post - I wrote about how I think the trend towards well produced Missionary Videos is a bad thing, and argued that we should go back to slide presentations. I stand by those opinions, but there is actually a type of missionary video that I think should become far more common - and that is a quick report video.

Here is how we do them:

1. I use Calendly to schedule a fifteen minute zoom call with a missionary we support.

Calendly allows them to schedule a time that works for them and that fits in my schedule, without doing endless back and forth. It also handles time zones for both of us.

2. I record the zoom call using zoom's recording feature.

Actually, I use Ecamm Live's interview feature - but that is expensive software and totally overkill for this. You could easily get by just using the zoom record feature (it's free).

3. During the call, I ask the missionary to answer some questions.

I try to be respectful of the missionaries time and try to make the whole thing last less than ten minutes. Here are the questions I usually ask:

1. Can you tell us again who you are, where you serve, and who you are serving with?
2. What does a typical week look like for you lately?
3. What current projects are you working on?
4. Do you have any prayer requests for the church?

At the beginning of the call, I tell them that to answer the questions as if they are speaking to our church and I tell them it will be edited.

4. I edit the video down to five minutes.

For this, I simply drop the video into a video editor (you could totally use iMovie or the free version of Davinci Resolve for this) and try to edit out the small talk and get the good parts. I then look on the missionaries facebook page and on google to find images that back up what he's saying and overlay them on the video.

The whole process takes me less than an hour.

5. I share the video with the church in lieu of a prayer letter.

During the time we would normally read a prayer letter, we watch this report from the missionary. It's much more personal coming in his own words and backed up with photos and really helps the church connect to the missionary.

Why I like this/Potential Problems:

I like this because it helps our church stay connected to the missionary while taking very little of the missionary's time. The only technological lift the missionary has to do is have a laptop or phone with an internet connection. Almost all the work is done by me.

I could see how, if this became very popular - some churches could demand too much of the missionary on the field. (I'm sure a dozen churches wanting a monthly report would get old.) But, done in moderation, I think this really helps.

I know that I'm much more in tune with what is going on with the missionary and feel much more connected to their work this way and thus I'm more prone to pray for them and give a special offering towards one of their projects.

By the way if anyone is so inclined - the missionary in the video above (Jon La Belle) is awesome and he's trying to raise more support. You should definitely pray about having him in.