Missionary-Blogs.com
We are strongly encouraged by our mission leadership to keep the "big picture" in mind. That is, we shouldn’t only focus on what God is doing in our own neighbourhood or country, but all around the world. I believe that we are individually responsible to think about all the nations of the world, and of course we as a worldwide Church are also responsible.
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One thing I’ve done to keep the big picture in view is develop Missionary-Blogs.com. This is a website that keeps an eye on missionary bloggers all over the world. Currently, the site watches over 350 active blogs – these are missionaries from all over the world to the nations. (One disclaimer – here I use the term "missionary" to refer to believers who are involved in sharing God’s Word work in another culture. This isn’t a theological definition (which is a whole other topic), just a use of the word for the purpose of the website.)
I started the site in March 2005 kind of as a way to "give back" after the success of another site I put together. Today, the site is easily in the top 1% of most visited sites on the internet. In the month of May, thousands of people visited from countries such as Mexico, Netherlands, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, the Czech Republic, USA, New Zealand, Sweden, South Africa, Singapore, Italy, Poland, and many more.
I wanted a place where people could find missionaries and really get to know them – maybe pray for them, support them – or go themselves. And it is slowly accomplishing that – people are connecting with missionaries and expressing interest in serving in another culture.
But there has been an unexpected bonus. I’ve found that the missionaries themselves appreciate the site because it helps them network with others, both in their country and beyond. Sometimes this may mean new friends, or practical give an take, or maybe it’s just good to know that someone else is going through what you are!
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Go and check it out. Some highlights – on the main page you can see random recent posts from all the blogs. There are lists of a few of the blogs, based on when they were started (I’m a veteran, can you believe that?). There are an increasing number of pages featuring specific countries, such as Thailand, Japan, and Cambodia. The site covers themes, such as missionaries working with children, and some favourite Scripture passages of missionaries. You can even read the post humus blog of a famous Christian missionary. Finally, read the latest from the world of missionary blogs at Missionary Blog Watch.
Missionary-Blogs.com is gradually being noticed. Recently it was mentioned in an article of Lausanne World Pulse. The June 2007 issue was all about communication. Steve Knight, international communication coordinator for SIM wrote an article entitled A Call to Kingdom Journalism: Rediscovering the Integral Role of Communication in Mission. It’s worth reading his article if you’re a missionary – and you’ll see the site mentioned toward the end.
14 June 2007 @ 10:07 am
Yaowzas! Did anyone catch the pic of that dapper, young “Blog Watcher” Jim? He looks so sophisticated! 🙂
That’s a great service, Jim. It would be really awesome to see it catch on fire (in a good way) and fill with blogs.
It’s pretty heavy into text, eh? The only thing that disaudes me from looking deeper into it is that it’s only organized into paragraphs. I guess I was expecting something a bit more tabular. Like, click on a country, and here’s a list of the blogs with a short description of each and a picture. Something very index-like, I guess. Sorta like the way the Africa page is done. I like that. Seem very clean-cut. 🙂
I think what would have topped it off for me would be something like Feevy, on the front page. (I love that thing!) Being able to see the most recent posts from all the sites (with a little picture) would be a great way to hook people into a blog they might not have ordinarily read. I might not naturally read a blog about Taiwan, but if I saw a cleverly titled recent post on the front page, I might be tempted to read the entry and fall in love with his style and content.
Anywho, that’s the kinda of thing I expected to see when I clicked on the link. It’s still a great site and would like to dig in a bit deeper. (And no, I’m not just being polite 😉
thanks Jim!
(AND I love this post-preview-as-you-type feautre you got going here. It’s also GREAT!)
Alan
14 June 2007 @ 5:56 pm
This may not help, but there are reasons why the site is the way it is (isn’t there always?). 🙂
There are a number of problems with going with more of a “list” format, or perhaps a more database driven format. For one thing, people really enjoy the little facts about countries and the blogs themselves. That text is actually what draws most people into the site.
There are, of course, lists on the site. If you wanted to find a missionary by country, a site search would do that. I may in the future add a sturdy site search so that people can search those pages more easily.
I’m not sure what you mean by most recent posts from all the sites – the front page technically does that already. There are no sites of the over 385 blogs that are left out. The actual feed shows more (quantity) recent posts than what you actually see on the page, if you’d like to try it out.
So that’s kinda like Feevy – except without the picture. And the way Feevy is set up right now, it would be a HUGE job to maintain hundreds of blogs with it. However, the technology is constantly improving, so I’m sure the aggregator will too.
There are also some aggregators on other pages – for example, check out the Christian missionaries in Indonesia.
15 June 2007 @ 12:08 am
You’re right, there are those posts on the front page, but I have no idea where they’re from or what culture they pertain to. There isn’t any thing to catch me unless I’m naturally interested in Southern Baptists, roses, summer tunes, or Wai Khruu Day. Just lots of text. (Although the borders do help.)
Don’t get me wrong, I love little trivial facts as much as the next guy. I love culture and being exposed to the “other ways” of living. I guess from a lay-out perpective, I feel kinda lost on those pages. It seems… unfocussed. Well, not really. The more time I spend there, the more I realize that the site reads like an article or a guide, rather than a heavily structured listing. I guess it’s just about expectations. (I’ve been really getting in touch with my “C-side” when organizing things in the office. I find that I’m getting a little anal about structure and form and lay-out.)
On the whole though, you’ve been blogging about a million times more/longer than I have, and I don’t doubt that you’ll choose the best form for conveying your ideas! 🙂
Alan
15 June 2007 @ 6:40 am
Ah, well, actually I agree with you 100% on that point – regarding having countries, etc listed with the posts. Unfortunately, there’s just no easy way to make that work properly yet. I’ve had that feed set up a few different ways, and I’ve had some problems with it. For now, this way seems to work best.
HOWEVER, as I said, I agree with you, and I’m hoping the technology will progress to the point where I can make the feed more – informative. Colourful.
One reason why it may seem “unfocused” is because it’s highly supply-demand driven. The things/countries I write about are things that people are already looking for. I’m interested in drawing that new person in, where they will first find what they’re looking for (like a missionary from Africa), and then maybe look around and find something unexpected.
As a result of the supply/demand thing, hundreds of new people visit the site.
So it’s not just that “I know best” – I’m also limited by time, and technology, and other factors (including my own lack of intelligence, of course!).
15 June 2007 @ 4:56 pm
The picture of the lizard on the mouse. It’s about the best picture. Ever. Other than The Last Supper.
15 June 2007 @ 5:21 pm
Love it just the way it is. have been visiting since the beginning and it really helps me keep in touch. I am here in the states, but my heart and soul longs to be training nationals radio somewhere. in Gods time not mine.
Blessings
Bill
15 June 2007 @ 6:53 pm
Thanks Alan – that’s quite a compliment. Not sure how Da Vinci would feel about it. Too bad I didn’t take the picture! 😉
And Bill, thanks too! I actually have a friend in the media industry who is planning Lord willing to check out some radio in Latin America. I’ll let you know how it went (remind me if I forget!) when she gets back. She may have some constructive info for you. 🙂
And really, everyone, feel free to criticize. I do agree with a lot of what you’re saying, Alan. There are limitations for me right now, but I do try to improve things as people like you point out things that could be better.
16 June 2007 @ 5:55 pm
WOW, how exciting it is to hear how missionary blog watch has grown! I know I for one love it, and link to it . . . for contact –
I appreciate what your doing!
PS:love the new look here
16 June 2007 @ 6:50 pm
Thanks, and thanks Michelle! I was just reading one of your posts earlier today. 🙂