2025 Media Communicators Network
- Image
In today's world, journalism, movies, television, and social media dominate the way we, as an increasingly global community, understand and relate to the world and each other. If Christians wish to continue making a meaningful impact upon the world, gifted communicators who want to relate biblical Christian faith to contemporary culture through these media platforms will be greatly needed.
This Network seeks to encourage and equip such existing or emerging leaders who can speak with authenticity, relevance, and integrity from within these influential cultural arenas. It will also focus on biblical foundations and models, worldview analysis of media and popular culture, and critical reflections on creative communication in contemporary media contexts.
The ELF Media Communicators Network draws upon the strategies and the resources developed within the global Lausanne Media Engagement Network, and will seek to build friendships and facilitate networking and partnership among evangelical media communicators in Europe and beyond.
Prior preparation will be set for all applicants.
What Network Participants Are Saying
- "I have been attending ELF for over a decade and it has been one of the greatest resources in my ministry. ELF’s impact is irreplaceable. Thanks to ELF I have met people who have helped me shape my understanding of cultural impact and taught me how to engage with secular post-Christian culture."
- Jan Mahrik, Pastor and Church Planter, Slovakia - "I lead a news and opinion website for Europe called 'Evangelical Focus,' through which we report the news from a Christian perspective. Being at the Forum has been key for this work. It has led to many connections with leaders from across Europe, including good thinkers and fellow media communicators. All the media and communication training and gospel encouragement I have received has made a big difference."
- Joel Forster, Journalist, Spain
Applicants should be current or potential leaders who are gifted communicators in the media (in such creative fields as journalism, movies, television, or social media), media commentators, media critics, media teachers, or media scholars. Whatever the role, the common missional vision should be the wish to relate biblical Christian faith to contemporary media in a way that is authentic, appropriate, and relevant.
Network Leadership
2024 Network Programme
Detailed information about this Network's 2024 sessions is not yet available but will be posted in the future. Please review the information from last year for a look at the high quality of instructors, teaching, and content available in this network:
Media has a highly significant role globally in pre-evangelism and evangelism through a wide variety of channels, platforms, and genres. This session introduces two different case studies on challenges and opportunities in using media to reach unreached people groups. During this session, the participants are invited to ask clarifying questions.
The aim of this learning community session is to share together on the use of media to reach the unreached with the biblical Gospel. This session includes plenary and group discussions of the two case studies from the previous session, in an open dialogue with the two presenters. Participants will have an opportunity to contribute from their own experience and to apply lessons to their own contexts.
The worldview, this hidden network of beliefs that drives our lives, is a key to decrypting every human being's perspective towards the world. In this session, we will discuss how to use a specific ‘listening’ process for discovering worldview beliefs as a powerful generator of apologetic insight.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a great video is worth a million! The impact of stories communicated in a powerful way can amplify your message and transform your organization. Visual storytelling is not new. From cave paintings thousands of years ago to today’s virtual reality platforms, the fundamentals have held constant. Dive into the power of storytelling by examining the art of communicating messages, emotions, narratives, and information in a way which reaches viewers at a deep and lasting level. In this session, Shawn Boskie, CEO of Arizona-based film studio and entertainment company, Canyon Productions, will share a list of his essential tools for telling attention-grabbing stories that connect with your audience.
"Undeceptions" is Australia’s most downloaded religion podcast, with nearly 3 million downloads and a growing audience across Asia, the US, and Europe. John Dickson (the founder and host of the show) is seeking to bring a big-hearted traditional Christianity to today’s thoughtful doubter. This session is a conversation with Dr. Dickson about how podcasting provides the perfect platform for the Christian faith today.
If we look carefully, we will find echoes of the Gospel embedded in many of the great stories and films of our culture. From Marvel’s Endgame, Disney’s Frozen, Pixar’s Toy Story, and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the Gospel is woven into the fabric of these compelling storylines. How can we learn to recognize these Gospel moments? What are their main features? Why do they keep arising, even in secular storytelling? And what would it look like to leverage them in evangelism and apologetics?
Adolescent brain development is highly sensitive to particular inputs, including social media. Research has shown a decline in adolescent mental health since 2012, the same year that key changes occurred with the large social media platforms. This session will look at the effects of social media and persuasive technology on brain development and addiction in order to consider how we can better shepherd the next generation.
In the final session of the Network, participants will reflect on the insights and outcomes of the week, identify take-aways, and spend time together in prayer.