Muddy River Media

Frequently Asked Questions

Organization Questions

Registration Questions

Media Content Questions


Organization Questions


Does the Name Muddy River Media have any significance?
Absolutely! The name is based upon the story of Naaman in 1 Kings 5. Naaman went to God’s prophet, Elisha, to be healed of leprosy. He was prepared to purchase this healing by bringing gold and silver worth almost 2 million dollars in today’s market. Upon being told to wash seven times in the Jordan River to be healed, Naaman left in a rage! In his opinion... the Jordan River was a mudhole. Cooler heads finally prevailed, and Naaman, freshly healed, returned to pay for this life-changing event. But it was not to be. Elisha would not accept any payment. It seems a muddy river had the ability to bring life change with no charge, when God was involved. We want our ministry to help people move toward powerful life change, all free of charge.


How can I help Muddy River Media?
There are several ways you can help Muddy River Media freely provide media to churches.

1. We need Prayer Support. Help us keep on track by praying for this ministry. If you want to receive our regular Muddy River Media prayer emails click here here to let us know.

2. We need additional Financial Supporters. The reason we are able to provide these materials free is because we are a mission organization, completely dependent upon the donations of individuals, churches, organizations, businesses and foundations. If you would like to help Muddy River Media click here.

3. We need more Content Producers. If you want to contribute videos, stock photos or illustrations that Muddy River Media can offer freely to churches, click here for details.

4. We need Musicians. Do you have the ability and tools to be able to create soundtracks for videos? Muddy River Media is looking for people who will be able to create custom soundtracks for new videos we are producing. If you are interested please contact us


Can Mark Fogarty come to speak or lead a workshop for us?
Absolutely. Get in touch with us and we'll work out the details. For more information about Mark’s workshop topics click here.


What is your statement of faith?
To read Muddy River Media's statement of faith, click here.


How is supporting Muddy River Media different than a monthly subscription service?
The big difference is that MRM is a non-profit ministry not a company. When a person or church gives us money they ARE NOT purchasing a product, but rather they are supporting a missionary. The concept of missions is for people and churches to support a ministry or missionary to go help others who cannot help themselves.

If a church supports us, they do so not because of what they might receive in return, but because they share our vision of helping churches around the world. It's a bonus that what we do will help their ministry as well. If a church chooses not to support us, they will still be able to freely download content from our website. I can't see that happening with the monthly subscription companies. (Don't misunderstand us though, we think that what these Christian media companies do is awesome - They rock! They produce awesome products. - we're not knocking them at all. We're just doing something different.)

There are literally thousands of churches in North America alone, who cannot afford to pay $15US to download a 2 minute video clip to use once in their Sunday morning service, let alone $50-200US to buy a small group video series for their youth ministry. The sad thing is that the churches that could most benefit from these types of media are the churches who cannot afford to buy them.

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Registration Questions


If the content is free, why do I need to register to download?
With registration we are able to do several things. We can have a better idea of where the videos are being used, both in geographical and ecclesiastical terms as well as what size churches we are assisting. We are also better able to communicate with those who are using our videos to keep them informed of new content and other news.


Why do you require so much information about our ministry when we register?
This is so we can statistically know how, where and for what purpose our resources are being used. This helps us understand what type of media to produce. If the majority of people registering list Children as their main area of ministry, we would then make every effort to create more media for that target audience. These statistics also help us to encourage our regular supporters with an overview of the number, size and general locations of the ministries being assisted by Muddy River Media.


What will you do with my email address? What if I don't want any emails sent to me?
Your email address is used to validate your account registration... without a valid email address you cannot create an account at Muddy River Media.

Other than using your email address for validation purposes, Muddy River Media will also send an occasional email to you (and when we say occasional, we mean occasional... perhaps once or twice a year). These emails will usually have something to do with special new media uploaded to our site. In fact, do not be surprised if the only email you receive from us each year is informing you of our Special Christmas Media Bonus Pack.

It is not possible to unsubscribe from these occasional emails... if you are a registered, active user, your email will be included. If you wish to not receive emails from Muddy River Media you will need to delete your account with us. To delete your account simply send a request using the Contact Form. Please include the Username, email address and Ministry Name used in your account.

Rest assured Muddy River Media will not sell or loan our email list to any other organization or entity.


Do I have to be involved in a specific ministry to download your resources... can't I just download them for my own personal enjoyment and use?
Muddy River Media is designed specifically to assist churches and other Christian-based ministries to do the work of the Lord more effectively and efficiently. We strongly believe in the structure and purpose of the local church, as ordained by God.

Our website is set up so that anybody... whether registered or not, can view, enjoy and be challenged by our media. However we do not have the financial resources to pay for increased bandwidth and server costs so individuals download our media for their own personal enjoyment.

This is one reason why we require specific ministry information during the registration process.


Is it that important for me to read Muddy River Media’s Terms & Conditions?
While there is a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo, there are several things in the Terms & Conditions that are important for you to know. Some key restrictions worded include:

• You cannot use ANY resources from this site for commercial advantage or private monetary compensation.
• You cannot use ANY resources from this site for any purpose other then leading people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
• You cannot use the trademark or service marks of Muddy River Media or represent your organization as Muddy River Media or affiliated with Muddy River Media.
• All registered users agree to receive one or two eNewsletters each year. These emails usually are reminders of media available, and may include opportunities for users to donate to Muddy River Media.


Why does the site sometimes make me agree to the Terms & Conditions again when I login even though I have already done it once?
Occasionally Muddy River Media has to make changes to the Terms & Conditions of the user, which is the license between MRM and you the user. When a change is made, the next time you login as a registered user, the site will require you to agree to the updated Terms & Conditions.

During the login procedure after a change in the Terms & Conditions you will see a link that says fill in the blank... click this to read what changes have been made to the document.

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Media Content Questions


Should I download everything on your site regardless of whether I need it now or not?
No, please do not do that. We ask you to assist us by being good stewards with our financial resources. Since we pay for our bandwidth and server costs, the more downloads we have the more money we have to pay. It would be very poor stewardship for you to cause us expense for a resource you have no intention of using now, or ever.

As well, while you are busy downloading all those files you may never use, another user is trying to quickly download one file vital for an event starting in 5 minutes. (yes... we know that some users leave things to the last minute.)

Our site will be here next week... next month... next year when you do have a use for that illustrative video or motion background. Then, by all means, come download it for free!


Can we make copies of MRM materials?
By all means. We want to help churches spread the Good News. If there is something MRM has on our website that helps do that, please, please, please use it, copy it... give it out... whatever! All we ask is that you obey the download license agreement, especially in regards that you do not charge for it, you do not claim it as your own creation, and it’s purpose is leading people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.


What are Associated Files that I sometimes see on the download pages?
Some pieces of media come with additional resources, such as small group leader guides, promotional graphics, alternate video formats and others. These associate files help churches get leverage the power of the media.


Do you accept video ideas?
Sure… if you have an idea for a video, feel free to let us know. We just can’t guarantee that we will use it. We currently have way more video ideas than time to produce them.

If you have an idea for a video, let us know.


Don’t your Modern Media Montages violate Copyright law?
Copyright law is a difficult area to wade through. US copyright act has a 4 part test whether the use of copyright material can be deemed fair use.

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

In weighing the balance at the heart of fair use analysis, courts return again and again to two key questions:

1. Did the unlicensed use transform the material taken from the copyrighted work by using it for a different purpose than the original, or did it just repeat the work for the same intent and value as the original?
2. Was the amount and nature of material taken appropriate in light of the nature of the copyrighted work and of the use?

In light of this, Muddy River Media’s Modern Media montages are considered mini-documentaries, quoting copyrighted works of popular culture to illustrate an argument or point. This is one of 4 classes of situations which under the now widely accepted Documentary Filmmaker’s Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use is considered fair use.

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