Witnessing to the lost this Mardi Gras just may be as easy as saying “cheese.”
Louisiana Baptist Convention leaders are scheduled to bring JoePix photo evangelism
ministry to New Orleans on Feb. 21-24 and are looking for 270 individuals to
take part in the effort.
Witnessing to the lost this Mardi Gras just may be as easy as saying “cheese.”
Louisiana Baptist Convention leaders are scheduled to bring JoePix photo evangelism
ministry to New Orleans on Feb. 21-24 and are looking for 270 individuals to
take part in the effort.
Operated by BlueSky Ministries, JoePix teams take photographs of people at
major events, such as Mardi Gras, offering free pictures that can be retrieved
at www.joepix.com. While visiting the Web
site, those who are photographed have a chance to learn about Jesus Christ.
The campaign is simple, says Davies Owens, executive director of JoePix and
consultant with the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board.
After undergoing a two-hour training session, teams of two – a male and
a female – approach individuals or groups at major events such as Mardi
Gras and ask if they want a free photograph taken.
The team then issues the individual or group – the subject of the photograph
– a password. The subject may use the password later to retrieve the photograph,
explore the gospel presentation and read the photographer’s testimony.
While on the Web site, the subject even may forward copies of the photograph
to friends and family members. Included in the forwarded message is a link to
the JoePix Web site.
“They’re forwarding testimonies of the photo evangelist,” says
Wayne Jenkins, LBC director of evangelism. “So, the unevangelized become
evangelists.”
In order to receive a free five-inch-by-seven-inch photograph by mail, each
subject participates in a five-minute phone interview with a photo evangelist.
Afterwards, the photo is mailed, along with any requested ministry-related resources
and a personal letter from that photo evangelist.
North American Mission Board workers – a main strategic partner, along
with Campus Crusade for Christ – will field calls during the four-day Mardi
Gras effort.
The subject and photo evangelist may continue building that relationship by
e-mail, mail, telephone or even in person.
JoePix partners with a local church or parachurch ministry for each campaign,
which is the Louisiana Baptist Convention along with First Baptist Church of
Kenner, for the Mardi Gras effort. This partnership provides JoePix the photographers
for the event while helping those churches or ministries become more effective
in reaching crowds at major events.
Jenkins says JoePix presents the gospel in a nonthreatening fashion. With a
major event such as Mardi Gras, individuals may discard tracts due to pressure
from their friends, as their mind may not be on spiritual things, he adds.
“But with photo evangelists there, they want their picture taken,”
Jenkins explains. “When they’re at home without the pressure of the
crowd, they will not only be able to get their picture but hear the gospel.”
Owens adds: “At Mardi Gras, it may be harder for that person to open up.
But when they are at home, it’s easier to engage over the Internet.”
In fact, 60 percent of those subjects who have their picture taken visit the
Web site, Owens reports.
JoePix began in March 2002, when Campus Crusade for Christ students took photographs
of a group of collegians during Spring break in Panama City, Fla. One year later,
more than 100,000 people at 30 events were photographed.
Events that JoePix has covered include the Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga,
Tenn., July 4 festivities in Washington, D.C., and the annual Rose Bowl Parade
in Pasadena, Calif.
This year, JoePix is set to participate in 12 major events around the United
States. Owens says the ministry specifically is targeting events with 20,000
or more people in attendance. Eventually, Owens says he hopes to have JoePix
at events on a smaller scale in every state.
Owens says the ministry is a form of servant evangelism.
“We give (people) a picture and don’t ask for anything in return,”
he notes.
“In American culture, many may identify servant evangelism as for the
lower class,” Owens continues. “But there’s a big contingent
of the middle and upper class that need a cup of cold water. We have something
they will appreciate.”
No photography skills are needed to participate in the Mardi Gras effort. An
individual or group is responsible for transportation to New Orleans and must
pay a $30 fee, which includes an official JoePix tee-shirt and baseball cap.
JoePix will conduct training prior to the event. Participants should be at
least college-aged or, if younger, accompanied by an adult 21 years of age or
older.
(For more information on participating in JoePix Feb. 21-24 during Mardi Gras,
call the LBC office of evangelism at 800-622-6549 or First, Kenner, at 504-466-5381.)