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I Am Second

By Victoria Childress
June / July 2010

Question: How do you ignite a massive evangelism movement that draws hundreds of thousands of people using relevant, modern technology? Add to that the ability to intrigue and capture any audience (not a specific group of people, religion, or nation), while uplifting the name of Jesus using the same force of a secular major advertising campaign? Something to the likes of Nike or Coca Cola?

Answer: You don't. God does. And God has.

I Am Second, a Common Thread
I am Second is a simple website with crisp, high-quality videos of people sharing their pasts, including pain and redemption. That is it. We are not selling anything (except I am Second t-shirts) or trying to promote some ulterior message. Black setting, white chair, camera crew, and the subject. Pastors, soldiers, rock stars, movie stars, pro ball players, politicians, college students, pageant queens, and housewives all tell their stories. Although they come from very different backgrounds, they all have one thing in common: Jesus and his grace, restoration, and love. They are all stories anyone, anywhere, can relate to.

 
So I am Second is able to platform that commonality. It is this thread that allows people to come together and know that although we may look different, we aren't so different after all. This simple commonality is why the campaign and the website remains as powerful today as the day it launched. Little instruction is needed! What better way to invite your friends into a group and talk about life's issues? Churches are gravitating to the simplicity of I am Second because of its grace and its modern nature. Everything that we try to say in a Bible study or group gathering is simplified and powerfully told through the website.

Getting Involved
Recently, iamsecond.com incorporated a new “Get Involved” section to the website. It adds a new dimension to the experience—a dimension that encourages people to start a group based upon the same principles used by church-planting evangelists all over the world. For the masses, iamsecond.com is a place and an opportunity where people can hear a story and tell a story. When the element of people became the driving force behind the spread of I am Second, the strategy for reaching the masses became that of e3 Partners': equip, evangelize, and establish.

Shannon Culpepper, an undergraduate of Southern Methodist University and a storyteller on iamsecond.com, has spearheaded the group initiative on several college campuses in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She gathered materials from the website (downloadable curriculum such as the Video Discussion Guide), invited some friends to meet at the local coffee house, and brought her laptop. They watched the videos and discussed their thoughts, and for some it brought about resolutions. For others, it was a seed planted. She did this every week for several months during the school year and the impact was and still is profound.

McKinney Fellowship Bible Church has taken I am Second by storm. They have started groups and held community affairs centered on the I am Second theme. For their Easter service this past April 2009, the congregants wore I am Second t-shirts; on-stage sat a white I am Second-inspired chair with a crown of thorns in its seat. They played the videos during the service and members of the congregation filled the stage with I am Second inspired "cardboard testimonies" saying "Bound-I am Second-Freed" and "Lust-I am Second-Love."

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Victoria Lynn Childress is writer/editor for I am Second and e3 Partners Ministry. She has been writing for Christian-based ministries and organizations for nearly four years and is continuing her educational studies in the writing field.