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A New Perspective on Publishing

Sea Point Promenade, Cape Town. A giant pair of spectacles on the beachfront are pointed in the direction of Robben Island. The work is called “Perceiving Freedom.” It was meant as a reference to the sunglasses worn by Nelson Mandela because of the damage done to his eyes while working on the lime quarries of the prison island. The declared goal of the Ray-Ban sponsored artist, Michael Elion, was to appeal to us to look at the big picture and to immortalize the nation’s political icon. But the structure is controversial as many city residents feel that the piece is using the deceased president’s legacy to promote a luxury brand of eyeshades.

This raises an important question for us to consider: “How effectively do we communicate and spread ideas?”

Early April 2024, Avotra and I had the privilege of attending a Christian Publishing Intensive training organized by Desiring God a few meters away from Sea Point Promenade. It was truly a mindset-shaping event for us, and I believe a game-changer for our approach to our publishing ministry. 

Publishing jedis Rick Denham and Daniel Henderson led the workshop, challenging the traditional approach to publishing in Christian circles and inviting us to focus on spreading ideas. The workshop was attended by like-minded publishing ministries in Africa that are also in their inception phase.

Rick brought us back to the time of the Reformation when pamphlets and the ministry of Matthieu Zell in Strasbourg were instrumental in the spread of Luther’s ideas throughout Europe. Over 10 million were printed in those days around Germany. Pamphlets were the equivalent of the explosion of the internet or the current advent of AI in those days. They were successful because they were written in the vernacular mostly understood by the people, they were affordable and accessible, and they conveyed ideas both saturated with Scripture and relevant to the societal issues of the day. Finally, they were easy to reproduce and spread.

The real epicenters of the Reformation were the Scripture-based pulpits, publishing, and training. 

Rick revolutionized out thinking by conveying that the goal is to build a confessionally distinct community within a ministry ecosystem. The community must be fed continually, abundantly, and richly. 

The 4 doorways bringing people into this ecosystem are:

  • Publishing (books, articles, journals, etc.)
  • Web presence (website, online classes, social media, etc.)
  • Events and Training where books are promoted and distributed. 
  • Preaching/Teaching in the local church. Healthy local churches proclaim truth and equip their members to continue to learn, grow in their faith and live in community, and plant other churches. 

Daniel Henderson continued by emphasizing that the three central activities of a publishing ministry are:

  • Quality Content development.
  • Developing effective methods of spreading ideas. Content should not be fenced off but be made as accessible as possible. 
  • Nurturing the community/ecosystem: The community is created as people discover ideas and connect to others who share those same values. The community is not defined by any one doorway, but by the common ideas that unite them. Change happens very rarely individually. It happens when people realize that they are not alone. The main value in an ecosystem is where the lines converge. 

Based on all we learned, our ministry new Transformative Purpose at 3M Publishing is:

“To transform lives in Madagascar and beyond through Scripture-centered resources designed to raise and equip Preachers of God’s Word, Shepherds of God’s people, and Servants of Christ in local churches.” 

We produce 3 types of books to that end:

  • Books in French thanks to our partnership with Publications Chrétiennes and BLF Éditions.
  • Books translated from English or French by our team of translators and therefore now available in Malagasy.
  • Books in Malagasy written by Malagasy Christian theologians, pastors and teachers.

We want to make books available to as many as possible so these Bible-infused ideas will spread.

To accomplish this:

  • on Saturday April 20th, we will open our bookstore and library on the 3M Preaching Institute campus. 
  • We will also be launching 2 books written by Conrad Mbewe that we have translated from Malagasy: “God’s Design for the church” and “Your Discipleship Manual”. These resources written by an African author, suitable for an African context, are completely in line with our purpose and mission. 
  • Finally, we are planning to launch a quarterly magazine to be widely distributed with great content to feed the mind and the soul. 

May the Lord use all of these resources and avenues to edify His church! 

falyravoahangy

Therismos Invests in Fishers of Fishermen

Madagascar. One of the biggest islands in the world. 4828km of coastline. Marine fisheries provide revenue and sustenance for all the country. Traditional, artisanal, recreational, and industrial fisheries are all performed.

Traditional fishing, undertaken on foot or canoe, represents nearly 68% of total fish production, largely focusing on exportable products, including crustaceans, holothurians and cephalopods, with men making up 97% of the workforce. It is the livelihood of thousands of families in the city of Mahajanga on the West Coast of Madagascar. 

Petite Plage is replete with hotels, restaurants and other beachfront attractions. It is also one of fishermen village. Hundreds of fishing boats launch from and return to that beach daily, bringing back their catch which is then sold on the local markets and eateries. The beach is also occupied at times by locals holding to traditional beliefs to practice rituals to connect with ancestors and plead for their help to prosper their livelihood. 

Pasteur Andry planted a church a few years ago in Petite Plage and has always had the vision to reach out to this community of fishermen. He has shared the Gospel with many of them and has personally invested in the fishing business to be part of that crowd. He has over the years been able to observe that the best way to relate to them is to be involved in what they do. This facilitates the daily conversations, and the life-on-life imparting of the Gospel. 

Therismos has decided to come alongside Pastor Andry’s efforts and is going to invest in fishing boats and gear to drive his vision forward. In line with our motto, “fueling the Lord’s harvest”, this project will generate income for those involved in it but will also, and mainly, come alongside Petite Plage Biblical Baptist Church’s outreach endeavors. 

By the nature of the activity, fishing requires a few things from those involved in it: 

  • It requires physical and mental dedication
  • It requires courage, patience and resilience
  • It requires skill and knowledge of one’s environment
  • It is still is subject to divine providence

 All of these are also required of those God calls to be His disciple-makers.

The Lord Jesus Christ chose 4 fishermen as part of his group of 12 disciples. He saw in these men character traits shaped by their line of work, which could be applied and developed for evangelism.

The Lord told them in Matthew 4:19 “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (LSB) 

This mandate has been extended to us in Matthew 28:19-20 as we are called to become disciples of Christ making disciples of all nations.

Please pray with us for this new venture. Please pray that the Lord will use and bless this project to bring many to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. May many turn away from their idolatrous practices and bow their knees to the only mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). May this project flourish and bring an income for many fishermen in the region. And may they in turn be fishers of their fellow fishermen.