Today we’d like to introduce you to John Humphrey.
Hi John, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
e3 Partners, founded in 1987, is a missions organization specializing in gospel training and church planting. I Am Second was started in 2008 as an outreach initiative of e3 Partners Ministry, working collaboratively with a long-time friend of the ministry in Dallas, Norm Miller. Miller conveyed to e3 of his desire to reach out to the North Texas area, specifically his hometown of Dallas, with the gospel. He felt directed to use the media for the outreach and asked e3 if it could help him. Within a week, e3 conceived the basics of the I Am Second campaign: Use intriguing advertising that sends people to a website (iamsecond.com), where people can watch compelling, short true stories of faith, can view and understand the gospel message, and connect with people online or find a local church to attend.
The launch of the campaign in December 2008 was done mysteriously, creating buzz in the community about what the advertising was about. Within one week, the website was being viewed all across the world, and has not stopped. To date the I Am Second content has been viewed nearly a billion times via the website, social media, Youtube, at events, on television, in theaters and in almost every country/territory of the world.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Much has changed in the world since 2008. In the culture at that time, Myspace was still operating, Blockbuster Video was still in business, YouTube was just starting to gain steam, and Netflix had just started streaming video. There have been multiple layers of changes in the economy, social issues, and how people view Christianity.
Regardless of what has happened in the culture, I Am Second has stayed focused on several things: Relying on first=person, narrative accounts of life transformation through encounters with Jesus; Using video storytelling to engage those visiting our content; Providing pathways to watch/see the Gospel message; and directing people to a variety of next steps to grow their relationship with Jesus.
One struggle we have faced is keeping up with the improved technology of the internet, expectations of video viewers, and the content consumption trends of the public at large. We did not realize when we started that the website would require constant attention, punctuated every so often by major overhauls to keep up with the pace of internet growth.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I joined e3 Partners to help launch the I And Second campaign in 2008, after 20 years in sports media production and distribution. This included producing live sports events, stand-alone sports specials, and series, while also managing the business side of rights and story negotiations, making advertising and sponsorship sales, distributing shows to cable networks, and in syndication. Along the way, I also served as a literary agent, co-founded a non-profit organization highlighting character development, and started several ministry and philanthropic endeavors that live on nearly two decades later.
Since 2008 I have handled the same breadth of roles at e3 Partners Ministry, overseeing media for the organization, which includes their day-to-day management of the I And Second initiative, which involves content creation, web technology, digital marketing, customer service, ministry activity, collaboration with partners, and supervising a small team of in-house staff and external vendors.
From day one, we have had a commitment to excellence- everything from the production quality to the story development to brand design and our marketing. We wanted to deliver content and messaging that was shareable to anyone, with no excuses about the quality. We hoped it could stack up favorably side-by-side with mainstream campaigns. What has been surprising to us is how many groups and companies have taken inspiration from I Am Second for their own marketing and ministry activities. That was not anything we foresaw, and find it extremely gratifying.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I like the diversity of culture that is then reflected in diversity of restaurants, neighborhoods, and events. Dallas and its surrounding cities offer a wide variety of activities and lifestyles to appeal to just about anyone.
I least like the crowded nature of development and as an offshoot, traffic. We have lost most of the open space of Dallas and are fast losing the open space in the suburbs. It is sometimes hard to see Texas reflected in the building style, apartments, and office towers.
Contact Info:
- Website: iamsecond.com
