At the end of December 2022, John Warkentin completed his active service with Multiply and entered into retirement in California. He recently sat down with fellow media team member, Eric Geddes, to discuss aspects of his career as a missionary storyteller.
Eric: How did you first get involved in missions?
John: When my wife, Geri, and I were newlyweds in California, we went to banquet for what was then the Board of Missions and Services. We were young and we heard this call to give. We were also broke financially, living month to month. So, we knew we couldn’t give much money to missions, but we thought maybe there was something else we could give—our lives. That was back in 1974, and we’ve never forgotten that moment, and we’ve pretty much been involved in missions ever since.
Eric: How about your involvement in media ministry?
John: I was in a movie theater (believe it or not, God speaks to me through movies). I had just finished watching this film called “End of the Spear” based on the true story about five missionaries who were martyred in South America. It was a powerful film and, as the closing credits rolled, I was sitting there crying, tears streaming down my face. Geri was beside me and she turned to me and said, “What’s going on? Why are you crying?” I told her that I wasn’t crying because of the content of the movie—which was impactful—but I was crying because I heard God saying to me, “These are the stories that I want you to be telling. Why aren’t you telling them?” I felt convicted, so that night, I went home from the theater, and I stayed up until 2:00 AM filling out an application for MB Mission to join their media team.
Eric: How has your role in media ministry changed over the years?
John: For the past fifteen years, I have served as a global missionary telling God’s stories through video and photography. I traveled a lot and worked closely with our missionaries, telling their stories. But over time I also got more involved with the media team based in North America, and in developing our global media network, which focused on connecting with anyone within our organization worldwide that was working with storytelling, in photography or video. And then, during the last four years, I have focused mostly on training others. I did some production, but I was laying most of my production down and was investing more and more of my time training others in media ministry.
Eric: You traveled a lot. What was one of your most memorable trips?
John: I love engaging new cultures and people and I have so many highlights. But I’ll choose my trip to Mongolia. It was my second time there, and I was scheduled to do a media workshop, training people how to tell stories using video. Really, I went there to train one person who worked with our team in the north. But, as we planned the event, it grew. As word spread and interest developed, we decided to host the workshop in the capital, and suddenly we had several other Mongolian ministries wanting to send team members to the training. They were all so hungry to learn. We held the workshop in an apartment in Ulaanbaatar, and I just remember waking up every day, having breakfast, and then people all came to me for the workshop. And it was simply amazing to see them all grab onto how to do storytelling with video. When I left, and I thought about it, I realized that I had trained people who could reach throughout their country. It was such a multiplication factor that I had never even dreamed of. And those people are still using their media gifts in Mongolia to this day.
Eric: What was your favourite part of your media ministry?
John: I love photography and video. But more than those things, I love telling peoples’ stories. That is my passion, and my calling. When I get to know people as I interview them, as I spend time with them, it’s amazing how I’ve been impacted by people, and how God has used me in their lives. It’s amazing. If you look at my body of photographic work, you will see not just beautiful landscapes or settings, but people in every image. I’m drawn to people.
Eric: When you were away from home and away from Geri, what helped you stay connected?
John: When I went on trips, Geri would give me verses of Scripture to take with me. So, I always had a word from God, or she gave me a word or a song that I would listen to. Those things actually gave me a sense of peace, a sense of home, a sense of her touch. And we did connect when we could, when I had internet. Of course, she prayed for me, and sometimes she was prompted to pray when I was sick or in trouble in some way. At times like that, we were together in spirit through prayer. And that made me feel at home.
Eric: What’s next for you and Geri?
John: In terms of concrete plans, we have chosen to participate in a two-year course on spiritual direction, and I’ve also been invited to train national leaders in other countries on how to use their cell phones in video ministry. So, I’ll be traveling again to do that. These are things that we’re praying and asking God about. But I feel that God has awakened me to the fact that each day is a miracle of life. He wants us to trust him and treat each day as if it might be our last. Life and death are very close to one another, closer than any of us realize. As you’re younger, you think that you have all these years to live, and death is just so way out in the future. But at this stage of life, my sense is that God is saying that life and death are actually very close together. I need to treat life with respect, and to trust God with every day, every moment. Most of all, I’m just grateful that I can have a real relationship with Jesus. I can spend time with him. I can speak to him. I can listen to him. I can simply just be with him. That’s mind boggling, but it’s something I’m learning about right now.
WATCH
To watch the last video that John produced for Multiply, go to
multiply.net/story/god-is-calling
