Summary:

Matthias Media is facing financial threats from the radical changes taking place in the publishing and retailing industry. But at the same time we also have massive opportunities to increase the impact and reach of our ministry through new publishing technologies. To be able to take up these opportunities, we need some help from our friends and supporters over the next three years. We'd love you to pray for us, but we'd also be very thankful to God for any support you can provide in raising the working capital we need. (See below for information about how to make a donation.)

More detailed explanation:

Publishing—whether secular or Christian—is poised at a crossroads, with a posse of serious threats bearing down from one direction, and a horde of mind-boggling possibilities and opportunities opening up in another.

It's certainly that way for us at Matthias Media. The publishing environment for our print-based books and resources is tough and seems to be getting tougher. Margins are being squeezed, sales are largely flat or declining in our more mature markets (Australia and the UK), the exchange rate for our newer market (the USA) is particularly unhelpful, and the whole model of conventional publishing, with its printers and warehouses and bookshops, is slowly coming apart at the seams. When we talk about this last point with people, they often say, "Oh that’s because of ebooks". And ebooks are one factor—but there are others, such as the growing phenomenon of global internet book selling, the explosion of digital and web-based options for communication and content, and so on.

At the same time, though, new digital publishing technologies have incredible potential—not only for creating powerfully effective new kinds of 'books' and ministry resources of various types, but also for spreading and distributing those resources very widely and cost-effectively. This really excites us at Matthias Media, because through digital publishing we can see amazing opportunities to promote and spread good theology, and to produce and distribute resources that facilitate effective ministry. Some of our longer-term dreams—like providing good quality ministry resources to Christians in countries where we could never afford to do so under the old publishing model—will actually be much easier in the new world that is dawning.

So over the next three years we have three key strategies we want to focus on:

➡ PERSUASION—promoting and defending evangelical theology and the people-based word and prayer ministry that flows out of it (in particular through The Briefing);
➡ PUBLISHING—producing the new resources that help people be effective under God in that type of ministry; and
➡ INVESTING—in developing the new kinds of resources and delivery mechanisms that technology is opening up for us.

The real problem Matthias Media faces is that our publishing finances are under real pressure at the very time when we need to be growing our persuasion ministry and investing in new technologies, new people and new approaches for the future. To avoid the threats and take up the opportunities, we need an injection of working capital over the next 3 years—not a vast sum, but enough to allow us to really re-shape and re-invent the way we operate, so that (God willing) we remain a viable and growing ministry that blesses others for years to come.

All this has prompted us to take what for us is a radical step. For the first time in our existence we're seeking to raise money from our friends and supporters to help fund what we do—in particular to help fund our ongoing persuasion ministry and investment in new technologies—new digital publishing pilots, app development, ebook development, and so on. We're calling it the 'Matthias Media Threat and Opportunity Campaign' to reflect the two realities in front of us: the real threat that if we continue business as usual we will almost certainly cease to exist some time in the next two years; but also the opportunity that God has placed in front of us to pursue our vision in a new and potentially much broader and more effective way.

We estimate that the minimum we need to raise in order to keep making progress is around $450,000 over the next three years. This will enable us to pay the people who have the skills to get us to where we need to go, as well as to invest in needed equipment, hardware and software. Of course, if we can raise a little more than that figure, we can push ahead faster and achieve a wider range of ministry goals.

If you can help, please see the information below about how to make a donation. If you would like more information (particularly about our strategic goals), you can download our Invitation to Partner document (PDF), read our recent Annual Update or email us at .

How to donate to Matthias Media's Threat and Opportunity Campaign

There's three easy ways to make a donation:

Through our online store

Simply use the "Donation" box in your Shopping Cart when you place an online order with us by credit card. Please note: If there's nothing you want to purchase from us at the moment, and so nothing in your Shopping Cart, click here first to add a dummy item ($0) to your shopping cart. This will enable you to proceed to the Shopping Cart and make a donation.

Once you have entered the donation amount in the box in your Shopping Cart, click the 'Add Donation to My Order Total' button, and then the 'Proceed to Checkout' button. From there you'll just need to provide your details as you would with any online transaction.

Phone us

Call us on 1300-051-220 and we will be very happy to take a donation by credit card over the phone.

Funds transfer

Make a funds transfer using internet banking. (Note: internet banking is a little more cost effective than using a credit card for larger donations.) Please call us for the account details you will need for this. (Unless you wish the donation to be anonymous, please send us an email to advise us of your transfer so that we can properly acknowledge your generosity.)

We will send you a receipt for any donation received, and we aim to keep providing regular updates to those who have supported us financially.

Thanks for reading and prayerfully considering this request.

Ian Carmichael & Tony Payne
on behalf of the staff and directors
of Matthias Media