A priority of thankfulness.

I wrote this for an International Media Ministries blog post but it's so true and I wanted to share it with you guys too. At International Media Ministries, we are going to take some time out to be thankful.

We have team members who volunteer their time from the U.S. side of the world our virtual team members, and others who are Spain residents who give unselfishly to volunteer for our work to spread the Gospel. We recognize the sacrifice and appreciate these folks so much.

The often invisible partners of a ministry are the folks who send in money every month to sustain operations. It's not always exciting to put a check in the mail or set up an online auto pay, but it means that we can keep the studio operational and the Gospel going out in media form. These are amazing people who are so faithful and we are so thankful for each and every one.

We have other donors who come alongside a project and write a big check. The funds have to be there for the projects to go forward. Without the funds in place, we simply have to cut back. Sometimes this donation comes from a single church, or an individual, a business or an organization like Light for the Lost. They are all super important to the work.

Six of our team members have made the international move to live in Spain. While some things can happen with long distance help, it is crucial to have a team in place here in the offices for interacting with various nationals to put together projects and deliver programs. Sometimes people tease us it is like a vacation, but the reality is that we get up and go to work everyday like most the people in the U.S. We'd all rather see our families more often than we do, but we know for sure that God has called us to be here "for such a time as this" and that it is a privilege that God has brought us here.

Short term team members come in all the time for a few weeks or even for a year. It is pretty miraculous if we stop and think about it how the extra hands show up at the crucial times.  Since we have a skeleton staff at this point, we are aware that the work can't go forward without the bravery of people who will raise a short term budget or sacrifice vacation time to give us a hand.

As a person who is both a past short term IMMer and a present day missionary, I am thankful for the legacy of people who have come thru the ministry both in Belgium during the many years there and the more recent times since the move to Spain in 2004. The work of many hands and many years has resulted in a library of programs that have touched millions in nearly 70 languages across the globe.

We are thankful for all the pieces that make up IMM, the givers, the workers, the distributors...we are thankful for you!