Day: July 8, 2025

Who is shaping the culture? 

Missions isn’t just about geography—it’s about influence and if we’re really serious about shaping the next generation—about discipling young minds and hearts, we must come to terms with one undeniable truth:

Popular culture is not random. It’s crafted. And most of it is crafted by the media.

Whether it’s the music we enjoy, the movies we watch, the trends we follow on TikTok, or the cartoons our kids binge on—you better believe someone is preaching a message.

And the crazy thing? We don’t even notice half the time.

Let’s make it real.

Have you ever seen a 5-year-old throwing a superhero-themed birthday party? The party packs are covered in Spider-Man. The birthday cake has Batman on it. The T-shirt says “HULK MODE.” The school bag? PJ Masks. The water bottle? Paw Patrol.

From Nigeria to Nairobi, Namibia to New Zealand and all over the world, children everywhere are being influenced by these characters.

You might think it’s not a big deal. Until you realize these characters don’t just entertain—they teach. They shape our kids’ imaginations, desires, even their values. Whether it’s Punjab, Captain America, Elsa, Barbie, or some new talking animal on Netflix—these aren’t just characters. They are cultural messengers.

Now, let’s talk music.

Some of the dance moves we now call “trending” are straight-up copy-and-paste from music videos. Lewd lyrics. Half-naked bodies. Fast money. Reckless living.

Our kids aren’t inventing these moves—they’re imitating them. Because that’s what media does—it disciples by exposure.

Even the way we dress, talk, or act is rooted in what we’ve seen. A reality show here, a viral reel there, a scene from that one movie that “everybody” watched. And it begins to feel normal.

It’s no wonder Jesus didn’t just say, “Go and make believers.”

He said, “Go and make disciples.”

Because someone, somewhere, is always doing the discipling.

So here’s the deal:

If we as Christians truly want to make a difference—if we want to raise godly children, influence society, shape culture—we must engage the media space. Not just criticise it. Not just avoid it. But create in it. Compete in it. Influence it.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2”

We need Christian:

• • Cartoon creators with a calling
  • Animators with a message
  • Film producers revealing the truth
  • Fashion designers designing glory
  • YouTubers reshaping the narratives
  • Music artists with a conviction
  • Techies with a testimony
  • Storytellers carrying the story of redemption

…putting out content that is wholesome, family-friendly, and spiritually sound.

Because silence is not neutral. When we don’t speak, other voices will fill the gap.

Let’s stop thinking the media is “their thing.”

It’s our thing too. Especially if we believe that the earth is the Lord’s—and everything in it.

Remember, the ‘Go’ Mission is just as relevant in the media as well as in the fields.

So the next time you hear a kid singing lyrics that make you cringe… or see a birthday cake with characters you can’t even identify… ask yourself:

Who’s shaping the narrative?

And what are we doing about it?

May God raise up a generation of creatives, storytellers, and culture-shapers who will shine light into the world’s noisiest spaces.

Because the Gospel isn’t just good news on Sunday—it’s good news for every screen, stage, and stream.

By Niyi Osomo

Nurturing Hidden Treasures: Discipleship in Missions. 

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking to a group of passionate young people at a Campus Outreach Program. The theme was “Nurturing Treasures by Vision,” and while standing before them, sharing what God had laid on my heart, I realized something powerful:
I wasn’t just preaching.
I was remembering.
I was remembering how my own journey began—how someone once looked at me not just for who I was but for who I could become.
That’s the power of vision.

It Takes Vision to Recognize Hidden Treasure
One of the truths I shared with those students is this:
❖ It takes a man or woman with vision—not just eyes—to recognize a treasure when it doesn’t look like one yet.
You see, real vision is not about what currently exists. It’s about what can become.
Most of the time, treasures don’t shine on the surface. The most precious materials in the world—gold, diamonds, lithium—are buried, dirty, and unremarkable when first discovered.
But that doesn’t change their value.
Their worth is in their essence, not their appearance.

A Kingdom Perspective: Matthew 13:44
Jesus gave us a stunning illustration in Matthew 13:44:
❖ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

The treasure was always there.
But it took someone with a vision to recognize it. It took someone willing to invest everything to claim it.
That’s how discipleship often looks.

That’s how many young people look today unnoticed, unpolished, sometimes even broken.
But God hides glory in dust and destiny in the ordinary.

My Story: A Life Changed by Vision
I know this personally.
❖ Nineteen years ago, I was one of those “hidden treasures.”
I didn’t look special. I had questions, weaknesses, and rough edges. But God sent someone into my life—a man with vision.
He didn’t just see who I was at the time. He saw who I could become.
And so, he discipled me; invested in me; challenged me; corrected me; and walked with me.
He saw a treasure where others may have seen trouble.
And that vision changed my life.
That’s why I said to those young people, and I say to every leader reading this now:
❖ We don’t need more celebrities in the Church. We need disciple-makers. We need people with a vision.

Jesus Didn’t Choose the Polished
When Jesus began His ministry, He didn’t recruit religious elites.
He didn’t select polished Pharisees.
He called fishermen, tax collectors, and misfits.
He wasn’t just raising followers-He was preparing co-labourers for the global harvest.
❖ But because He had vision, He took time to model life, teach truth, build relationships, and nurture destiny.
Those raw men became the apostles who changed the world.
If Jesus did it that way, we cannot afford to do otherwise.

The Call to Leaders Today: Raise Treasures with Vision
And now, in our own generation, especially in Africa, we are surrounded by unrefined treasures.
Our secondary schools, campuses, vocational centres, churches, and seminaries are filled with young men and women carrying global callings and kingdom destinies.
But without vision, they remain buried.
Without discipleship, they remain raw.
❖ Africa must stop exporting raw treasures, only to buy back the processed versions.
Let us raise our own. Let us disciple them ourselves.

This is how we transform our society.
This is how we raise marketplace missionaries, kingdom professionals, cultural architects, and nation builders.

The Challenge: Stop Looking for Finished Products
So, here’s my charge to every pastor, youth director, church planter, mission mobilizer, and believer called to raise others:
❖ Stop looking for perfect people.
❖ Stop waiting for polish.
❖ Look for raw treasure.
❖ Be willing to nurture, disciple, and refine them.
Because the next great movement of God won’t come through celebrities.
It will come through visionary leaders who raise others with intentionality and purpose.

Let’s Walk the Jesus Road
Discipleship is not a side-project in missions—it is the very heartbeat of missions.
Thus, if we want to raise the next generation of disciples, we must walk the long road with them through their mess, through their questions, through their process.
Rather than retreating from vision, let’s press forward nurturing treasures who will shine across campuses, boardrooms, industries, and nations.
One disciple at a time.

By Niyi Osomo