INSIDE Mastermedia International, Inc.
Change agents at work in the media

Most Fundamental Change Occurs
from the Inside Out

SO IT IS AND WILL BE with the world of media. If the industries which create what we receive through radio, television, film, the Web and digital media are to be changed fundamentally, it will happen from the inside out. This is the essence of Mastermedia International: seeking to change the moral content as well as the moral climate of media through a change in the values of media’s leaders. And we believe the shortest, best, and most enduring change of a person's values comes from the revolutionary experience of new life through personal trust in Jesus Christ. TOP

How We Got Inside

BEGINNING IN 1980, Dr. Larry Poland, Mastermedia Chairman and CEO, began research on the spiritual dynamics of film and television—the extent to which personal faith affects the lives and decisions of the “movers and shakers” in media. Using the research as a door opener, he probed the minds and hearts of some of media’s most powerful people. What he found motivated him to reach deeper into the world of performers, writers, producers, directors, networks, studios, broadcasting, and theaters in Hollywood and New York.

What he found was a segment of top media leadership that was open to a deeper relationship with God, open to the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit, open to a challenge to be men and women of God in an industry often hostile to personal faith in Christ. Some of the industry’s top people began to trust Dr. Poland. Then, more significantly, they began to trust Jesus Christ. Now they are beginning to trust other believers in a quiet network of common faith.

How We Stay Inside

STAYING INSIDE is as big a challenge as getting inside. In an industry riddled with insecurity, pride, exploitation, greed, and broken trust, only a tight code of ethics and a well-executed strategy retains trust. Mastermedia staff live by a code which prohibits disclosure of the names of the people we minister to, restricts us from seeking commercial favors such as employment leads and script readings, forbids the direct solicitation of funds from the people we minister to, and protects those ministered to from any who would exploit their influence or position. Furthermore, we seek to do everything we do with professional excellence and open integrity.

What We Do on the Inside

WE CONTRIBUTE to a spiritual renewal inside media by:

1. sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with leaders in film and television industries who do not know Him,
   
   
2. discipling those who respond in God’s Word,
   
   
3. motivating, equipping, and networking Christian media professionals for personal development and positive impact in the media marketplace, and
   
   
4. ministering broadly to Christian media professionals with whom the organization has no structured relationships.
   

These objectives are accomplished through a variety of ways:

• Confidential, one-on-one appointments and group meetings.
  
  
• We encourage those with personal faith in Christ to grow in their faith through personal appointments, small group structures, and special
  training sessions.
  
  
• We extend love, respect, and affirmation to those in media who have not come to faith in Christ or who are pursuing other religious experiences.
  
  
• We provide confidential counsel or referrals in areas of personal, spiritual, or family problems.
  
  
• We hold intimate dinners and retreats to build awareness of other believers, to encourage communication and fellowship among believers, and to challenge believers to greater impact in the media.
  
  
• We publish materials such as The Median designed to inform and encourage believing media professionals.

Obviously, none of this can happen inside media without a lot happening on the outside!

What We Do on the Outside

WE MOBILIZE the resource of Christians outside media to support a spiritual renewal in film and television industries by:

1. calling them to specific, extraordinary prayer,
   
   
2. informing them of the spiritual issues and warfare in media,
   
   
3. training them to manage their media consumption for the protection of the Christian and family values, and
   
   
4. encouraging them to make responsible expressions of biblical values to media leaders.
   

OUTSIDE MEDIA, we work with believers of all denominations and backgrounds:

• Helping them understand how media operates on the conviction that the informed believer is better able to influence.
  
  
• Alerting them to the erosive potential of media on Christian and family values.
  
  
• Providing practical suggestions and materials for managing media consumption to limit its erosive influence.

THESE OBJECTIVES are accomplished through a variety of ways:

• The Mediator, a quarterly publication offered free for one year upon request and thereafter by indication of support
  
  
• The Mediator radio program, a daily, radio short feature aired nationally on Christian radio stations
  
  
• Insider's Report media updates chronicling what God is doing in specific, current situations
  
  
• From the Inside Out video capturing what it's like to be a Christian in media's often hostile environment
  
  
• Speaking engagements and seminars
  
  
• Special audio and video presentations
  

Accountability for What We Do
Inside and Out

THE LEADERSHIP of Mastermedia International, Inc. wants to be
held accountable for what it does. Thus, it is formally structured as a non-profit corporation under the laws of California, is tax exempt under the regulations of the Internal Revenue Service 501(c)3, and has a self-perpetuating board of directors made up of prominent Christian business and professional persons.

Mastermedia exercises extreme care and abides by professional accounting standards in the handling of its finances. It makes complete financial statements available to responsible parties with a legitimate interest in the organization and solicits constructive criticism of its operations. Mastermedia is a member in good standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

The Lifeline From the Outside In

The lifeline of Mastermedia is comprised of two main ingredients:

• Prayer—Mastermedia has issued the challenge to one million believers to pray regularly for a spiritual awakening in media. This is accomplished through our prayer tool, the Media Leaders Pray Calendar. This calendar provides the names of some of the most powerful people in media for prayer, one person a day.
  
  
• Finances—Mastermedia is supported through the contributions of interested parties sharing the goals of the organization and having confidence in it.
  

When the Miracle on the Inside Comes Out...

MEDIA WILL BE MORE FRIENDLY to faith and to the Christian faith in particular. There will be a host of leading media people who positively and openly share their faith in Jesus Christ within the industry. The content of films and television will be less destructive to Judeo-Christian and family values and some will be explicitly Christian.

Some May Say that All This is Impossible...

But those people would probably say that

new birth is a myth,
a baby could never come from a womb,
a tree could never produce tender fruit, and that
a caterpillar could never fly.

They would probably deny that at the heart of every fundamental change for good is a change toward God.

We at Mastermedia don't deny this. We affirm it.

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