The Chairman Board of Trustees of the All Nigeria Conference of Evangelical Drama Ministers, ANCEDRAM, Evang. Mike Bamiloye has stated that every Drama Minister must brace up and go digital, and also be social media compliant.
This he made mention while giving lecture on the topic “Maximizing the Digital Space in the End Time Drama and Film Production Ministry” at the 2020 virtual national congress of ANCEDRAM. He noted that the topic has to do with how drama ministers can maximize this present time which is the digital age to their advantage, Gospel Film News gathered.
According to him, Ecclesiastics 3:1 emphatically stated that there is a time for every event under the sun and If there is season for everything, then we are in the age of technology, adding that everyone is looking for how to maximize the digital technology.
He further said that drama ministers are in the digital era and should look for how to reach out to the world and remain relevant. He emphatically advised every drama minister to grasp and use the digital technology, saying there is need for enlightenment.
The BOT chairman stressed that there have been an evolution in film making, from long to short things, from VHS camera and tape to smaller tapes and then cards. “Every drama minister needs to be internet compliant and learn more” he said.
The internet according to Bamiloye has revolutionalise our world and has become the highest used medium of communication, this is because one does not have to be a University graduate before he or she can use it, educational certificates are offered online and even graduation ceremonies are held online.
The renowned gospel film maker affirmed that this is the era God has brought drama ministers to and urge them to grasp it. “With only a click you can read a news no more the paper era. This shows the closeness of the coming of Christ” he added.
“The internet and social media has taken over, therefore, for a drama minister to fulfil mandate, he must not be lazy or shortsighted but must be longsighted and use the technology. This tool must be used to preach the gospel,” Bamiloye said.
Bamiloye presented some social media facts from recent discoveries as Facebook has over 2.5billion active monthly users, about 1.66 billion people log in every day. Whatsapp and Instagram also have billions of users.
On this note, every Drama Minister must braze up and go digital and be social media compliant. If you truly must carry out the mandate of Jesus which says “Go Ye”, what is the essence of making a powerful movie without people watching it?”
Evangelist Bamiloye stated that the internet and social media is a necessity because it has become the fastest way to reach to the uttermost part of the earth. There are more social media handles, but Facebook currently the world’s most used social media handle. See graph for details.
“On Facebook you see a lot of short films without eternal values, what are we who carry heavenly mandate doing? Every drama minister must be on digital space in order to take advantage of internet technology for the advancement of the gospel. Gone are those days when there were no gospel films. Let’s take advantage,” he admonished.
Sharing Mount Zion experience to encourage other Drama Ministers, Bamiloye noted that Agbara Nla was shot mostly with security light. However the message did spread Wide because it was on 5 major television stations in Western Nigeria. In 1993, the English version “The Ultimate Power” was broadcasted on some major television channels in the East and Southern Nigeria. It was on VHS and not on the internet but went viral.
“Today, things have changed with the internet and social media such as YouTube, Netflix etc. The latest movies by the Mount Zion Movies has trended via social media.
“Abejoye was shown in 596 places in 15 countries within 3 months and reached a lot. The movie “The Train” was number one Christian movie on YouTube in Nigeria to reach 1million views in 14 days. Any Drama Minister who is serious about reaching the world for Christ must use the social media.
“You might not be able to sell all CD’s of your movie, but can reach a great crowd by using the internet. You must think beyond the church congregation, and record every drama because it has capacity to reach more persons via internet.
“There are several social media handles, but drayma Ministers must focus on a few which are most relevant to the ministry such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Get good at one platform before you explore another.
“Finally, all Drama Ministries must see the need of appointing people to manage their social media handles. Don’t forget, even if there is lockdown and you cannot hold crusade, your spirit is not locked down and you can populate the social media with the gospel through drama,” he stressed.
Source: BGHFilms