The summer 2008 edition of Casting the Net, the Gospel Communications newsletter, is finally available online. The latest issue includes great stories about the wide range of ministries underway at Gospel Communications: follow the filming of The Gift in Africa earlier this year and read the compelling history of our involvement in the battle against HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Read up on news, information about products and services, ways to support Gospel Communications, and more.

We all search the Web many times a day, probably more than we realize. Now there is a way that we can support Gospel Communications with each and every search.

GoodSearch is a special search engine that anyone can use (it’s powered by Yahoo!) and for each search, the company will donate 1¢ to Gospel Communications as a charitable gift. And if you think 1¢ isn’t very much, just consider how many times you search the Web every day, and how many times other people search… it adds up to thousands very quickly! What a great way for you to support Gospel Communications and help us Get the Word Out.

To use GoodSearch and benefit Gospel Communications, follow these steps:

Thank you for your support!

Last week Gospel Communications staff member Kent Vanderwood visited supporters and donors in the greater Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. He met with more than 20 people over three days—catching up with old friends and making new ones.

The hot topic of the trip was reVision, our exciting strategy to successfully reach today’s youth with the Gospel. These young people—Generation M—are the most media-savvy generation in history. They are the most frequent users of the Internet, MTV and movies on DVD. Not surprisingly, they are the most influenced by this media.

So to reach them, we must speak their language, on their turf: Media. We will develop messages and channels that will catch—and hold—their attention. We will open up their eyes and hearts to the Good News of Christ in ways that they can understand.

Learn more about our innovative Internet Ministries and Film Ministries.

One of the biggest problems facing Filipino youth today is rampant drug abuse.

Gospel Communications has a successful 20-year track record of film evangelism in the Philippines. Our ministry partners are educating students about drug abuse and pointing them to the Gospel as the ultimate solution with our film Taghoy sa Dilim. Earlier this year, President J.R. Whitby traveled to the Philippines to see how our partners are using this powerful anti-drug film and for the premiere of our new Tagalog version of The Bridge, an evangelistic film produced originally for Vietnam. The film will be used in schools and churches and positively impact thousands of people across the country.

Click below to watch the moving video story of the trip and learn more about our worldwide media outreach.

While ministry in developed countries now uses iPods, blogs, and websites, film remains the #1 way to reach remote and hostile countries with the Gospel message. Click here to learn why film is still the best way to reach the world. And if these or any of our other film ministry projects interest you, we invite you to learn more about our films and film ministry.

Gospel Communications president J.R. Whitby returned from the trip to Seattle with great things to say about friends and supporters in that area. “Everyone we met was overwhelmingly positive,” he says. “Many of our donors are concerned about North American youth. Our work to re-focus our ministry efforts on the Generation M (media generation) really resonated with people.”

“For the first time in many years Gospel Communications is focusing on creating original content for North America. Media that was relevant to our audiences five or 10 years ago simply isn’t working as effectively today. In order to reach GenM with the message of the Gospel we must create new content that speaks their language.”

J.R. and GCI staffer Tim Swiney were in Seattle for four days, meeting with donors and friends. An evening reception was hosted by long-time donors John and Molly Braun and held in their home. Another luncheon was hosted by donors Doug and Sheila Hunt at a local country club.

This week GCI president J.R. Whitby is traveling to Seattle, Washington with a message for friends and donors about reVision—the exciting new direction and vision for GCI. Later this month he’ll be in the area of Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.

If you live in the Seattle area and are interested in connecting with JR during his trip from June 10 – 12, call Tim Swiney at 616-308-8976. A reception is planned for the evening of June 10 and a luncheon on June 11.

JR will be in the area of Raleigh-Durham, NC from June 17-19 and an evening reception is planned for Thursday, June 19. If you live in the area and are interested in hearing about the new directions GCI is planning, call Kent Vanderwood at (800) 253-0413 ext. 216.

We would love to hear from you!

Happy Father’s Day—June 15 is Father’s Day this year! Dads have a challenging role to play, and it can be very difficult to balance all of today’s challenges in the family, the workplace and the community. This Father’s Day, show your dad you appreciate all of his hard work and effort—honor him with a gift to Gospel Communications and we’ll send him an inspiring DVD as a special gift!

With your donation of $25 to Gospel Communications, we’ll send your dad the inspiring DVD Perseverance in Pain, which tells the story of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, a great example of a father who has overcome incredible challenges in his life. The DVD isn’t available in stores, but you can send your dad a copy this Father’s Day and support our ministry at the same time. Read more about Perseverance in Pain (and watch a video excerpt from it) at our Father’s Day page.

Are you disappointed with CD rates of return? If so, a Charitable Gift Annuity with Gospel Communications may be the right investment for you, with payout rates historically ranging from 5.5% to 11% and income for life. For a free copy of “Charitable Gift Annuity—the Gift that Gives Back,” contact Kent Vanderwood, our Director of Advancement, via emailunique ways you can support our ministry!) or phone at (800) 253-0413. It’s one of many different ways you can support the ministries you love. (Read about some other

How can you get involved in the fight against AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa? A new Gospel Communications film, The Gift, is set to bring life-saving education to a part of the world gravely impacted by the AIDS crisis. And you can play an integral part in bringing this film to the people who need to see it.

No place in the world has been more affected by the AIDS epidemic than Sub-Saharan Africa. lthough just over 10% of the world’s population lives in this area, it is home to two thirds of the world’s HIV-infected adults… and 90% of HIV-infected children. A majority of HIV-infected people living here are women. Two million children are infected by AIDS, and 12 million more live as AIDS orphans. But the real tragedy is that many of these infections are preventable—if only pregnant women received education about the behavioral and medical options available to them.

The Gift is a new film project that addresses this need. Filmed in a modern village in rural Nigeria (photos are from the village and film production), it offers a message of hope and education to women of child-bearing age. It’s part of our Gospel Response to AIDS program, and one of the ways that we’re confronting the AIDS crisis with the Gospel.

You can help. Your donation to support The Gift will help educate African mothers about the life-giving resources available to them. Film is a universally powerful way to convey messages, but in sub-Saharan African settings, where storytelling and folklore have traditionally been used to educate and inform, it is the most effective way to communicate. The Gift is currently in post-production; our goal is to release it this November and then coordinate with our strategic partners (World Vision, UNICEF of Africa, and others) to distribute it as widely as possible.

Learn more and donate to support The Gift!

While catching up on my blog reading recently, I came across a fun glimpse at a corner of media evangelism that Gospel Communications hasn’t pursued, but which certainly occupies a noteworthy niche in ministry outreach. I’m talking about evangelistic comic books. Look closely—notice anything familiar about one of the names on the covers?

Here’s a closeup that’s easier to read:

(Both comic books were originally published by Spire Christian Comics, and are now owned by Christian Knight Comics. You can read “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” at the publisher’s website.)

Credited as a writer for both of these comics is Billy Zeoli, longtime president of Gospel Communications (as Gospel Films). Anyone who has met Zeoli or heard him speak will recognize in these comics his earnest desire to use all available media—television, radio, comic books, and later the internet—to share the Gospel. Today, while comic book evangelism isn’t our calling, we at GC strive to uphold that shining vision for worldwide evangelism through our various ministry projects.

(If comic book evangelism interests you, you might want to check out COMIX35, a comics ministry and member of the Gospel.com community.)