Reflections 2021

Welcome to the end of another year. 

2021 was another year plagued by shutdowns and reopenings, pivots and reimaginings. Many of us are tired—tired of the fear, tired of the uncertainty, and tired of the pandemic. In my circle of ministers, both in local churches and nonprofit organizations, the word burnout is used a lot. Many ministers have had to take on so much more in the last two years and just haven’t had a break. So, if you haven’t already, take a moment to pray for the ministers in your life. Maybe reach out to them and ask how you may be able to help. Remember that they are human too, and many don’t have anyone to minister to them.

Despite the difficulties of another year in a pandemic, God has still been present every step of the way. As this year draws to a close, let’s also stop and worship God, and celebrate the good this year has brought.

Sharing Stories:

Throughout this year, we continued to share our own stories through the videos we created for the Parable Media blog and the RESONANCE series. We have seen some exciting growth in our ministry this year, but the tradeoff was a reduced capacity to create these videos. Instead of our usual one blog a month schedule, we had to cut it down to one every two months. We hope the videos have been inspiring and useful in ministry regardless of the reduced quantity.

For our blog, we started a series that will span both this year and next year focused on sharing our own views of different theological understandings. We started by focusing on the importance of a good question instead of an assumed answer in The Question. We then discussed the mysterious nature of God and the apophatic tradition in The Mystery. From there we recognized the importance of our own creative works and how they can be an invitation to partner with God in The Partnership. After that, we looked at the purpose of the church from the context of production technology in The Purpose. Finally, we reflected on the importance of recognizing the presence of God in all places and at all times in The Focus. We hope you will go back and read these blogs and watch the videos when you have the time.

We were also able to release two RESONANCE videos this year. Earlier in the year we released On Worship, with four ministers from different backgrounds discussing their understanding of Christian worship. Earlier this month, we released On Community, with four different ministers discussing their understanding of Christian community. Originally we had planned two others for this year (On Scripture and On Discipline), but everything bottlenecked at the refinishing and woodburning that was required for the table in On Community—but we think it was worth it! As a side note, that same table is now being used as my (Jonathan’s) desk. Now every time I sit down to work I have a reminder of the Parable Media community and the callings that make up that community.

Inspiring Action:

As a result of the type of work we do, we are involved in many projects that are meant to inspire others to action in our community. One of our favorites from this year was a project in partnership with CBFNC. We created a video highlighting their Embrace Ministries focus through their disaster relief efforts in western North Carolina. In this video they explained how they are growing in their ministry efforts by trying to get away from the “savior complex” and really support their local churches in ways that are most needed.

We also had the opportunity to work with BWIM on their annual gathering. As part of that, we created a spoken word video with Sharlene Alice Provilus meant to both inspire women in ministry as well as inspire others to support them.

A third project we worked on was in partnership with Campbell University Divinity School. We worked with them to create video content to promote their new degree program called the MA in Faith & Leadership Formation degree. This degree program is designed to give students a foundation in theological studies, form them spiritually, and enhance their leadership skills. We hope that the videos can inspire people to pursue theological education for use in their own occupational positions regardless of if they work for a church or not.

Creating Community:

Thank you to everyone who is part of the Parable Media community! Whether you requested services, participated in a video, donated money, worked with us, or simply read some blog posts, we are so happy to be connected with you. We also want to recognize the churches and organizations who partnered with us for digital media support throughout the year: First Baptist Church in Erwin, Hayes Barton Baptist Church, First Baptist Church in Wilmington, Wake Forest Baptist Church, The Mephibosheth Project, and First Baptist Church in Fayetteville on Moore Street. We have enjoyed partnering with each of you in ministry and hope to continue to serve you going forward. 

We also welcomed new and old connections with other various churches, nonprofit organizations, and denominational organizations for various projects throughout the year. We were able to work on so many different and exciting projects with many different people.

Outside of those we served, we also were able to hire contractors throughout the year to partner with us in ministry and help us better serve our community. These individuals helped us to grow and continue to connect and serve in the places God has called us. Thank you to Nate, Gavin, John, Micah, and Deanna for all your help!

Becoming a Nonprofit (Part 2):

Last year we were able to successfully restructure as a nonprofit organization in North Carolina. This year we were finally able to complete the process by becoming registered as a 501c3 ministry with the IRS. We knew going in it would take a while, but we didn’t realize it would take over a year and a half! Thank you to each of our wonderful board members for their help, support, and leadership, as well as Jason for his help in the confusing and intimidating legal side of the process. Becoming a 501c3 nonprofit ministry allows us to receive tax deductible donations in support of our ministry, which will allow us to grow, improve our ministry, and serve in a higher capacity while continuing to serve the smaller churches and nonprofit organizations. If you enjoy our blogs, free resources, or believe in the ministry we are doing, we would love for you to consider supporting us by donating to Parable Media.

Ordination:

In February of 2020, I (Jonathan) was approved for ordination into Christian ministry through First Baptist Church in Wilmington. The ordination service was scheduled for March 29th of 2020. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. Now over a year later, I was ordained at First Baptist Church in Wilmington on October 31st of this year. I am so thankful for everyone who supported me and my ministerial calling throughout my life.

It is my hope that this will allow me to better serve churches and Christian organizations by helping them to see me as a true ministerial presence to work with. Parable Media is not just a digital media service company—Parable Media is a ministry created to help build God’s Kingdom by providing ministries with affordable, high quality digital media services, enabling them to more effectively share their stories, inspire action and create community. We minister with the people we work with both in the services we perform and the relationships we form. 

Yes, 2021 has been another difficult year for everyone, but God has been present throughout it. Here at the end of the year, as we prepare for the next, we want to stop and worship God, and give God thanks for God’s continued presence in our lives and ministry.

Thanks be to God.