Stream Monkey partner holds worship and prayer service online,
prepares to serve thousands in the days ahead.

NORMAN, Okla. (MAY 23, 2013) — An Oklahoma congregation located just three miles from the suburbs devastated by Monday’s tornadoes has opened its doors to anyone needing shelter or meals. The founders of Stream Monkey arrived last night at Journey Church, in Norman, Okla., with a mobile kitchen capable of feeding more than 2,500 people daily.

The kitchen trailer was dispatched by the Disaster Response Team of Northland, A Church Distributed and will be run by a dozen certified disaster responders, most of them volunteers. Northland is based in Longwood, Fla., and is the home church of Stream Monkey co-founders Chris Gerrish and Nicholas Roselius.

The 20-hour trek was a labor of love for Gerrish, an Oklahoma native who moved to Florida five years ago. He has since traveled the world helping congregations in Ukraine, Brazil, China and Egypt to set up live church streaming.

He and the guys at Stream Monkey are also the live streaming providers for Journey Church, an 8,000-member congregation. Yesterday, the church held a worship and prayer service for tornado victims and supporters that was broadcast online. An on-demand version of the service, along with updates from Chris and Nicholas, are available at www.streammonkey.com/oklahoma.

Everyone following the events in Oklahoma is encouraged to worship with Journey Church this weekend at live.journeychurch.tv at 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 6 p.m. CDT.

Donations and volunteers are still needed. An updated list of immediate needs and volunteer opportunities is available at www.journeychurch.tv/relief.

ABOUT STREAM MONKEY:
Stream Monkey is a CDN that specializes in live church streaming and on-demand video services. Details at www.streammonkey.com

Congregation has opened its doors to anyone needing food or shelter, mobilizing volunteers to serve up to 2,500 meals daily.

NORMAN, Okla. (MAY 22, 2013) — An Oklahoma congregation located just three miles from the suburbs devastated by Monday’s tornadoes is holding a night of prayer and worship for victims and supporters this evening.

The event will take place at 7 p.m. at Journey Church, 3801 Journey Parkway in Norman, Okla. It will be a time “to come together as a community and encourage one another in faith that God can do anything,” says senior pastor Clark Mitchell.

Journey has opened its doors to anyone needing shelter or meals. A mobile kitchen capable of serving 2,500 meals per day is scheduled to arrive at the church this afternoon.

“We’re incredibly grateful to the hundreds of volunteers who have rallied to provide support and to care for people who’ve lost their homes in Monday’s disaster,” pastor Mitchell added.

Donations and volunteers are still needed. An updated list of immediate needs and volunteer oportunities is available at www.journeychurch.tv/relief.

ABOUT JOURNEY CHURCH:
Journey Church was founded in 2001 on Ephesians 3:20: God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us (The Message). Learn more at www.journeychurch.tv.

Get ultra-reliable live streaming across multiple platforms, including iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Roku and iPad. All for as little as $99 a month.

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 25, 2013) — This Sunday, hundreds of millions of people worldwide will go to church. But not everyone will come through the front doors. A growing number of believers will worship where they are using their laptops, tablets, smartphones and other streaming devices.

“More and more houses of worship are starting to explore the idea of live church streaming,” says Chris Gerrish, founder of Stream Monkey. “In fact, the fastest growing segment in many churches today are those who have never set foot in the building.”

Gerrish is something of a legend in church streaming. In 2009, he built one of the first Web apps for live streaming services on the iPhone. In 2010, he created the first-ever live church streaming channel for the Roku media player—which gave rise to the now-ubiquitous “religion-and-spirituality” category in Roku’s channel store. He even helped LifeChurch.TV launch their channel on Roku and has helped other churches do the same.

Over the last several years, he has traveled the world helping set up live streaming at churches in Ukraine, Brazil, China and Egypt.

He started Stream Monkey in 2011 while working at one of the largest churches in America. You might say he had a monkey on his back:

“Over and over again, our CDN kept failing. So we decided to create a backup system, and it worked! Eventually, we began to realize we’re spending a lot of money on a primary CDN that’s significantly less reliable than our much-cheaper backup system. So after repeated failures, we decided to flip the equation—make the backup the primary. Low and behold, it didn’t fail.”

Gerrish began hearing from other churches about their CDNs failing and having to constantly apologize to their online worshipers for technical difficulties. What initially began as a homegrown solution for his own congregation became a means to help other churches experience the same freedom from failure.

While other CDNs promise, Stream Monkey delivers ultra-reliable live streaming to PCs and across multiple platforms, including all major mobile and streaming devices—iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Roku and iPad. All for as little as $99 a month.

Along with live church streaming, Stream Monkey offers simple video on demand that will enable churches to deliver content throughout the week, along with the ability to track viewership and identify trends.

“Our focus is to provide stellar service to everyone, especially churches,” Gerrish adds. “We can only go by what our clients tell us … Stream Monkey answers the phone, replies to emails and most importantly, we keep their live streams streaming.”

Stream Monkey is an ideal choice for churches who are already streaming and are looking to upgrade their CDN service without breaking the bank. “We can work with any encoder, so almost as soon as a church signs up, they can start streaming,” Gerrish says. “And they will most likely end up reaching more viewers than before, because they’ll be able to stream to almost any device out there.”

For churches that have never streamed and are starting from scratch, Stream Monkey can put them on the right path: “They end up building their viewership on a service that is rock solid. So their viewers are happy, and their audience continues to grow because it’s so easy to use.”

The benefits of live church streaming are manifold, Gerrish explains. Live church streaming can be utilized by people who don’t currently have a church home. It’s a non-threatening way for newcomers to check out your church for the first time. It’s also a vital tool for members of the congregation—the member who is in the hospital, the elderly person who doesn’t have a ride to church, the family that has a sick child, the businessman who is traveling—who can engage in their church’s worship service through live streaming.

He concludes, “People today live on the Internet. The church absolutely has to be there. It can be at school campuses, coffee shops, living rooms. It’s a means of evangelizing, fellowship, worship and ministry like no other.”

ABOUT STREAM MONKEY:
Stream Monkey is a CDN that offers live streaming and video on demand services, dynamic streaming and a user friendly dashboard for managing streams. Try the service for free, no credit card required, at www.streammonkey.com.

Press Contact:
Robert Andrescik
rob@mediablanket.com

LONGWOOD, FLA., March 21, 2013 – Long before organic labels and hybrid cars became trendy in America, the root of environmentalism was planted in a garden called Eden. Now, the creators of a new film hope to inspire viewers to become better stewards of the environment.

Produced by the Creation Care Team at Northland, A Church Distributed, “Our Father’s World” is a 27-minute documentary outlining the role that Christians should play in environmentalism. The film features interviews with noted evangelical leaders and scholars, including Bill and Lynne Hybels, Tony Campolo, James Merritt and Mark Liederbach. The insightful commentary helps viewers connect the ecological dots—from spiritual calling to modern living and how it all ultimately impacts “the least of these.”

The film is narrated by Northland’s senior pastor, Dr. Joel C. Hunter.  “This was our first calling, recorded early on in Genesis 1 and 2, and we remain God’s caretakers over all creation today,” Dr. Hunter explains.

According to the Bible, God created the Earth and then commanded Adam to cultivate it and keep it—His first command to mankind. So, how are we doing?

Raymond Randall, leader of Northland’s Creation Care Team, explains: “Many Christians still see environmental stewardship as a political issue, rather than seeing it as a biblical issue. Scripture clearly teaches us to be good stewards of our finances, time, talents and relationships, and the church is beginning to realize there is another form of stewardship that we have neglected to embrace.”

Documentary filmmaker Bob Giguere, an Emmy and Telly award winner known for his environmental and social work, drew from personal experiences for this film. “I know many Christians who commonly mistake environmental responsibility as a task for the secular world,” says Giguere. “Upon seeing this film, it should be obvious that the Christian walk can be a very green path.”

Giguere notes that the church’s reluctant attitude toward creation care is not only impacting the planet, but has a far-reaching impact on the poor as well. For example, unsustainable water habits can severely affect local and regional water supplies, wipe out life-sustaining crops and displace entire villages.

He concludes: “A growing number of evangelical Christians worldwide are uniting in their belief that environmentalism is not merely a moral obligation. It’s a matter of justice—for the poor and for the generations to come.”

Ideally suited for presentation at churches and study groups, “Our Father’s World” is available to view and download for free in HD at www.ourfathersworldfilm.com.

ABOUT NORTHLAND:
Northland, A Church Distributed is a Florida-based congregation of 15,000 that worships worldwide via the Web. Led by Dr. Joel C. Hunter, the church’s vision is to see people coming to Christ, and to be transformed as we link locally and globally to worship and serve everywhere, every day. Learn more at www.northlandchurch.net.

Press Contact:
Robert Andrescik
press@northlandchurch.net

Press release co-authored with Laura Mogulich

Orlando pastor makes a leap of faith, discovers an extraordinary life in the African wild.

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 18, 2013) — Ever have the feeling that your life should be much more than it is?

More than a decade ago, Lon Garber was living the American dream as a pastor in Orlando, Fla. But he was restless, dissatisfied, searching for the deeper meaning in life.

“I felt empty inside,” he remembers. “It’s so easy to fill your day with work that pays the bills but leaves you hollow otherwise.”

Today, Lon and his wife, Val, are living an extraordinary life in Namibia—running a community center in a poor squatter’s camp and providing employment through the Work of Our Hands project.

Their journey from a comfortable American life to the life of their dreams in Africa is chronicled in the entertaining and fast-paced memoir, The Leap: Living the Life You Dream About (Kudu). The book’s message: “Don’t just let life happen to you and then say, ‘How did I get here?’”

The Leap is about turning frustration into a calling and contains all the elements of an epic adventure. Together, the Garbers face danger and find adventure—they’re even pursued by a pair of hungry lions in the African Savannah. In the end, readers learn about developing a story for themselves that’s big enough to live in.

Dr. Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed, says: “It doesn’t take long in reading The Leap before you realize you’re contemplating your own leap of faith! Thoroughly engaging, Lon tells us how to depend upon God in transition and gives us great principles of life and faith to help us grow spiritually on our journey to a new part of His story for us.”

The Leap speaks to anyone who feels that they’re just existing—dissatisfied with their current career, job or life in general—and helps address the questions all of us ask: Why am I here? What is my purpose? Am I supposed to be living a larger existence than I’m currently living? Will God be there to catch me when I jump?

To that last point, Lon concludes: “When Val and I leapt off our cliff, we placed our lives into the hands of God, based on our ability to hear Him clearly. When you trust God in this way, He doesn’t let you crash among the rocks below. You quickly feel His gust of wind beneath your wings of faith.”

The Leap is available now at http://longarberauthor.blogspot.com/. Kindle edition available at Amazon.com.

For review copies of The Leap or interviews with Lon and Val Garber, contact Robert Andrescik at rob@mediablanket.com. Learn more about the author at http://longarberauthor.blogspot.com/.

Press Contact:
Robert Andrescik
rob@mediablanket.com
407-900-9496

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CHICAGO, Ill. — Right now there are more slaves on earth than at any other time in history: 27 million worldwide. Many of those being bought and sold are caught up in the sex trade, and many of them are children.

Mary Frances Bowley, author of The White Umbrella: Walking With Survivors of Sex Trafficking, hopes to inspire those who want to help, but do not know where to begin.

“Sex trafficking isn’t just going on ‘out there’ somewhere. It’s happening in your state. Maybe even your town,” said Bowley, president and founder of Wellspring Living (http://www.wellspringliving.org), an Atlanta-based organization fighting childhood sexual abuse and exploitation since 2001.

According to FBI reports, the number of children forced into sex trafficking in the United States alone is well over 100,000.

“For most of my years, I was completely unaware of the sexual slave trade here in America and the desperate lives of so many young women,” said Bowley. “I was a mom, wife and Bible teacher, with no aspirations to do anything outside my bubble of a life.”

Bowley’s life forever changed when a man in her church told her about a woman in a desperate situation who needed help. Her eyes were quickly opened to the plight of young women “struggling against the storms.” Out of this story, Wellspring Living was birthed.

Today, Wellspring Living serves 100 women and girls annually and nearly 400 of them have graduated from the different program offerings, including: a recovery home for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, an outpatient counseling center and a safe place for women escaping from unsafe situations.

In 2008, Wellspring launched a program for child survivors of forced prostitution and sex trafficking. The White Umbrella tells the heartbreaking stories of these survivors in addition to the stories of those who came alongside to help them towards recovery.

“To me, a white umbrella is the perfect symbol. The color white represents purity—the purity these girls still possess and the motivation we have to help them recover it,” said Bowley.
The book offers principles and guidance to anyone with a heart for the cause of human trafficking and a desire to help. Profits from book sales will enable Wellspring Living to continue confronting the issues of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Frances Bowley is a leading voice in the fight against child sex trafficking. Recently, the White House Blue Campaign called on her to share her expertise in putting an end to the sexual exploitation of children. Bowley is also the author of A League of Dangerous Women.

RECOMMENDED QUESTIONS FOR MARY FRANCES BOWLEY
1. You were a wife and mom from Peachtree City, Ga., the golf cart capital of the South. But one day, the mission of your life completely changed. What happened?

2. You started Wellspring Living to help women and girls recovering from sexual exploitation. What programs do you offer to help them?

3. We often hear how sex trafficking is a problem overseas. How extensive is it in the States?

4. Can you talk about the idea behind the “white umbrella” metaphor? What does it mean in practical terms to stand with these women and girls “in the storms”?

5. What’s the biggest misconception people have about victims of sexual exploitation?

6. Your book says that for victims of sexual exploitation, “Recovery is messy but filled with second chances.” What do you mean?

7. What’s the most important thing we need to keep in mind when helping victims toward recovery? What works?

8. What doesn’t work?

9. Worldwide, the sex trade is second only to the drug industry as the world’s leading criminal enterprise. What can we possibly do to turn the tide, both locally and globally?

10. What’s your best advice to someone who wants to start an organization like Wellspring?

MEDIA CONTACT
To order review copies and/or schedule interviews with Bowley, contact Janis Backing at 312-329-2108 or janis.backing@moody.edu.

CHICAGO, Ill. — God has created each of us to play our part in His story. But what does that mean for us individually, particularly when the plot doesn’t turn out as we had hoped?

In the new book, Inciting Incidents: 6 Stories of Fighting Disappointment in a Flawed World, author and self-proclaimed “skinny white girl” Sarah Cunningham has curated the real-life narratives of artists who battle depression, confront cancer, come to terms with past sexual abuse, and more.

There are no “deus ex machina” moments, no false pretense … just raw and compelling storytelling that awakens us to our own inciting incidents, the climactic moments of our lives that play a role in God’s greater story.

“This book is for that moment when you realize the world will not always blaze a trail to welcome you or your aspirations. And it is for those later disappointments, when you come to understand that disappointment and challenge will surface again and again,” Cunningham explains.

Ultimately, the authors hope that many will come to see life’s unexpected plot points as necessary ingredients for deeper peace and spiritual growth that draw us nearer to God.

“Change is sometimes forced on us. Every circumstance comes with decisions to make in how to handle them. The fork in the road speaks of paths that will either lead to healing, or further pain,” notes contributor Tracee Persiko, a counselor and blogger who writes candidly about her own wounds from past family issues.

Each chapter is accompanied by original artwork that sets the stage for each story. The result is a feast-for-the-eyes compilation, a collective call to face life’s imperfections while attempting to do the great things we all want to do. Among the stories featured:

• Blogger Jeff Goins shares the story of how on the streets of Spain, his eyes were opened to the plight of the homeless.
• Worship leader and songwriter Mandy Thompson tells how she discovered the “gift” in her battle with depression.
• Creative director and actor Blaine Hogan opens up about being seized by panic.
• Innovative pastor David Hickman talks about his struggle with the pressure to perform.
• And creative consultant David Wenzel talks about being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and waiting to see God’s purpose behind it all.

Cunningham concludes, “Every time your faith clashes with the reality of our broken planet, it can become an inciting incident. The authors and I hope and pray that something in these stories will incite good and propel the plot of people’s lives forward into greatness.”

ABOUT SARAH CUNNINGHAM
In addition to writing books, Sarah Cunningham happily sinks her imagination into events and projects that attempt to stir extraordinary things in a sometimes too-ordinary world. Her current pet projects include the STORY conference and People of the Second Chance.

Order review copies and schedule interviews with the contributors by contacting Janis Backing at 312-329-2108 or janis.backing@moody.edu.

Connection to church community is crucial to helping inmates re-enter society.

LONGWOOD, Fla. (September 7, 2012) — Northland, A Church Distributed, a congregation of 15,000 that worships at sites throughout Central Florida and worldwide via the Web, is coming to Orlando’s Bridges of America.

The Orlando Bridge is a therapeutic community focused on transforming the lives of adult male felony drug offenders, teaching them to maintain a drug-free lifestyle in a social context. Beginning Sept. 17 at 7 p.m., residents will have the opportunity participate in Northland’s live Monday evening services via the Roku streaming player.

The connection to a church community is a crucial step towards their re-entry into society, explains Dr. Gretchen Kerr, Northland’s director of Life Crossroads, which also takes church services to hundreds of inmates at Seminole County’s jail and Orange County’s correctional facility, and walks alongside them throughout the re-entry process.

“The individuals who worship with us have come to a personal realization that they need real change in their lives. Part of this is to begin thinking about how they will continue their journey when they are released. Becoming a part of a congregation that will welcome them after they are released is an important step in that journey.”

Northland is seeking volunteer worship facilitators to help at Bridges of America and other facilities.

Questions About Volunteering:
Emily Tallman
emily.tallman@northlandchurch.net
407-949-4017

Press Contact:
Robert Andrescik
press@northlandchurch.net
407-900-9496

Gift cards may be the go-to purchase when you’re shopping for the person who seemingly has it all, but research shows that many of them are never used. In fact, one study revealed U.S. consumers have left more than $41 billion on unused gift cards purchased since 2005.

Now, a Central Florida based ministry that has impacted the lives of 10,000,000 men worldwide is inviting area churchgoers to put their (gift) cards on the table to show pastors just how much they are appreciated.

It’s all part of the first annual Pastor Appreciation 5K Run/Walk, coming up on Saturday, October 6, 2012, starting at 7:30 a.m. at Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood. Donated gift cards will be included in gift baskets presented to the senior and associate pastors of each church with race entrants.

Sponsored by Man in the Mirror ministries, the regional event is an opportunity for believers from hundreds of churches throughout Central Florida to say “thank you” at the start of Clergy Appreciation Month—a special time each October that congregations set aside to honor pastors and their families for their hard work, commitment and sacrificial dedication.

According to Dr. Patrick Morley, bestselling author and founder of Man in the Mirror ministries: “A significant part of the health and strong culture of our community is built on the backs of hundreds of dedicated pastors, who week in and week out guide, nourish, counsel, comfort and challenge as many as 1,000,000 of our citizens. This is a tangible way for us to show that we are grateful.”

All event details, race map, registration, volunteer information, along free downloadable posters, can be found at http://www.fleetfeetorlando.com/pastor. The first 300 runners and all volunteers will receive a free “I Appreciate My Pastor!” t-shirt. Pastors and their immediate families are invited to run for free by registering at website above. Any proceeds from the event will be used by Man in the Mirror to help Central Florida churches strengthen men and their families.

Unused gift cards (please indicate remaining values) can be mailed to or dropped off at: Man in the Mirror, 180 Wilshire Blvd. Casselberry, FL 32707, ATTN: Charlene.

For interviews with Patrick Morley, contact Robert Andrescik at rob@mediablanket.com or 407-900-9496.