In many respects, it is very hard to believe that MMM has been a solo endeavor for nearly 6 years. And of those years, there has only been the last 3 months where it has been a primary engagement. Of note, I’ve been asked by a number of people how things have been going. So, in the spirit of transparency, and because it will be good to look back on this later, here’s a bit of a report as to where things are here at MMM.
The Good
In the past three months, MMM has been very much entrenched within the (Charlotte, NC, USA) scene, connecting with several ministries, para-churches, and community organizations. Being able to visit with these organizations has allowed for a chance to get a view of how MMM can be an effective participant into local interactions.
So far, this has led to some better understanding across groups about MMM’s services, Digital Disciples as an answer to some of tech-knowledge needs, and a great chance to connect with several groups for the Lausanne Conference – specifically around IT integration and discipliship after the conference.
We’ve also picked up an additional team member. A person local(-ish) to Charlotte who not only has a love of God, but seeks to better use those gifts in IT towards the Body. I’d rather let him make the rest of his own introductions, and that will surely come soon as he’s getting his technical environment configured.
MMM has also made some interesting inroads in the mobile industry in respect to being a thought-leader in the area of mobiles and ministry. We’ve had conversations with carriers, developers, and various faith and secular organizations towards how to leverage the knowledge gained here with many of the projects and initiatives which are occuring. This is an area where it would be great to have some faster movement towards consulting activities, but since we are motivated by faith and not sight, got to rock with Dad’s timing and prepare accordingly for those engagements.
The Bad
Stepping out to do MMM full-time hasn’t been all roses. There has been the turning down of what should have been a great engagement in the UK due to lack of finances. Other engagements sit in limbo because of similar concerns.
Other difficult areas have been on the side of staying consistent with the business development activities. There’s a lot of time in one’s day devoted to MMM, but that’s one of those areas where its not the best of strengths. As an org, we’ve been blessed to have support from a few marketing and business development folks, but its an area where there’s a need for better discipline, accountability, and (eventually) action.
The Challenging
It would be a very accurate thing to say that MMM has been the most challenging endeavor that I (Antoine) have personally undertaken. It is one thing to have a “day job” and then do MMM on the side, using the lessons learned, financies and relationships gained, and varrying levels of interaction to keep the passion going. These last three months have been a test to see how much of this passion for those things mobile and ministry are really a passion and call from God. I’d be silly to say that everyday is easy. But I am honest enough to say that not everyday has been as productive as hoped.
The other side of that is financial. MMM has always been funded out of pocket and through various resource donations. With it as a full-time endeavor, the challenge the past three months has been to procure income via MMM and other side gigs. I’m thankful ffor being able to do some writing at Brighthand, and will hopefully have a part-time teaching opportunity which would also help. Looking for those means to “keep the lights on” while also being dilligent here is a challenge. It really keeps me prayerful, and on the one day off per week I rest (Saturday), I’m in constant meditation of my success in faithfully living out Matthew 6:25-34.
Personally, I get it. I’m one part teacher, another part missionary, and (if you were to ask some of the folks I’ve been more consistantly been able to disciple) one part pastor. That’s part of the process and race that is doing something like MMM. I’ve been blessed to connect with several people who encourage MMM to be simple and dig deeper at the same time. Encouraged more by another brother who has also been given the cause of doing mobile ministry full-time. This is really new territory, and for every iPad in the pulpit, or ministry conferene, or developer engagement activity, I get it – at the intersection of faith and mobile tech, there’s a story that I’ve been allowed to see, and tell. It is an adventure in every sense of the word.
A Request
According to the site stats, MMM doesn’t get thousands of visitors. It’s a blessing to hit over 50 a day most times. This site was never about the numbers, it was about putting out here a resource that would enable people in visible leadership positions to make definitve decisions conerning mobile technoogy and their faith engagements. Whether you are developer, pastor, or just an advanced user, this resource has been developed to ask the questions and present the answers that sometimes just aren’t found out by another means.
So, if you would, please continue to support MMM in your prayers, emails, comments to posts, and handshakes at conferences. We count on God to keep the lights on here, and do our best to be diligent in all those areas as needed.
Other than that, keep asking the questions that help drive this site and others to find answers, or at least paths to them. Mobile is a big and wild area, and you can bet that MMM isn’t the only site/group looking towards this area. We will present what God gives us, and follow as sound as an understanding as possible towards giving understanding towards the implications of this arena.
Thanks for your continued reading/visiting. Three monts (or 5 3/4 years) in, and this is what we submit to you.