In 2008, billboards went up on a few Texas roadsides around Dallas/Fort Worth with the words “I Am Second.” There was no explanation, just a statement that left observers hanging–intentionally. Those first curious passersby who just had to know more learned about I Am Second, a campaign to share the gospel through videos. Told in a straight-forward and authentic way, the videos captivated viewers with stories of a different kind of life, one where God comes first. Today, I Am Second videos have been viewed 150 million times by the peoples of 230 countries. What began as a local campaign has become a brand, a specific style of visual storytelling, with global appeal that engages and empowers viewers, inspiring their faith.
“There is power in the story because, with no spin or interpretation, a person's story can't be debated.”
—John Humphrey, Vice President and Executive Producer of Film Projects, I Am Second, Dallas, TX
Editor's Note: John Humphery from I Am Second will be presenting a keynote at the upcoming Capture Summit, July 25-27, 2022 at The John Maxwell Conference Center at 12Stone Church in Metro Atlanta.
The early days
John Humphrey, Vice President and Executive Producer of Film Projects, I Am Second, Dallas, TX
It has been 13 years since a generous local businessman approached John Humphrey, executive producer at e3 Partners Ministries, looking to fund a marketing campaign that would share the gospel and inspire faith in the surrounding communities of Dallas/Fort Worth. While e3 Partners Ministries had a long history of making church accessible through its many global church plants, this challenge was different. “It required some innovative thinking,” Humphrey recalls. “We were talking about reaching people locally, so after a good deal of brainstorming we decided that the most effective way to reach the busy people of Dallas/Fort Worth was to leverage a media campaign, one that would make them stop and think; a concept so intriguing that people would see the billboards and have to ask, ‘What does that mean?’ Then, they’d have to check it out for themselves.” With that vision–and a tagline engineered to make people curious–the I Am Second project took flight.
According to Humphrey, timing for this type of campaign could not have been better, as the project's first efforts hit the streets at the same time as the steep rise in online video content was just beginning to gain traction. “At the time,” he says, “brands were making the most impact, like Apple and Coca-Cola who built a persona around their media efforts.” In that same vein, I Am Second would use films to provide an authentic space where people could talk plainly. As Humphrey notes, the storytelling was not to be ‘churchy’, but with intention and reinforced with strong creative design and editorial voice.
“We joined that early media movement with a unique message of our own through a series of 20 short films,” recalls Humphrey. The straightforward format of the films aimed to capture the true and authentic story of each individual and how their life had been changed. I Am Second stories were told mostly by everyday people, but sometimes by celebrities, too, like musician Brian Welch of the popular band Korn; Bethany Hamilton, a champion surfer; novelist Anne Rice; and actor Stephen Baldwin. At the end of every story, the person summarized their new life with a singular, bold statement: “I am second.”
Learning to scale
“Our focus stayed on the region initially,” says Humphrey, “with a mix of high-profile, nationally known names and people next door. But after the first three years, we saw the concept had caught on elsewhere.” Suddenly, Humphrey and his e3 Partners Ministry teams were organizing production units for shoots in Kansas City, Orlando, and Nashville. “The timing of our media outreach project with the emerging video platforms worked in our favor,” he says, “and before long our productions were being viewed around the world and we were trying to figure out how to scale.”
Humphrey and his local team worked on scaling the regional non-profit to cover multiple regions. This required a solid concept that additional remote teams could follow and production designs that were portable. “It also became obvious that to make the project reproducible and mobile would demand both good relationships and good communication with the video professionals that we would be setting up in other cities,” Humphrey notes. As projects developed, so did the project’s relationships with production professionals who would deliver the final product. “To be successful, everyone involved has to have a well-formulated goal in mind. Know your purpose for the film,” he says, “and what the final product is intended to do.”
What began as a local campaign has become a brand, a specific style of visual storytelling, with global appeal that engages and empowers viewers, inspiring their faith.
The modest set, iconic white chair, and clean, basic lighting used for I Am Second storytelling serves to focus attention on the most important elements of the production: the story and the person.
The modest set and clean, basic lighting used for I Am Second storytelling serves to focus attention on the most important elements of the production: the story and the person. As a result, vetting both the speakers and the stories are key. “The object is to understand the story and let the person tell it,” Humphrey explains. “Keep it their story, told in their words. There is power in the story, because with no spin or interpretation, a person's story can't be debated. Your storyteller is like an eyewitness.”
An important lesson learned along the way was an observation that when someone isn’t experienced giving testimony, it typically doesn’t come out as you–or they–might expect. “These aren’t typically seasoned speakers,” he notes, “so stories can become protracted and winding with the speaker lost in the details.” He has also observed that stories can get emotionally charged, so the ability to listen carefully and respectfully is important in crafting a story, as well as paying attention to the story arc, getting into the story, and resolving it in the allotted time. “This is where the spirit comes into play,” Humphrey says. “In this process, we are the vessel for the Lord to raise up a person to tell their story.”
I Am Second stories [are] told mostly by everyday people, but sometimes by celebrities, too, like musician Brian Welch of the popular band Korn; Bethany Hamilton, a champion surfer; novelist Anne Rice; and actor Stephen Baldwin.
Expect the unexpected
Humphrey also cautions that the storytelling process can take unexpected turns. “Putting together the I Am Second story of NFL football legend Tony Dungy in 2009, we thought it was going to be about his journey as the head coach who led the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl, the first Black head coach to do so,” he says. “The real story turned out to be something quite different.”
“In NFL football coach Tony Dungy, people could see a guy defeated and publicly fired, maybe a guy like them, but God still had a purpose for him.”
—John Humphrey, Vice President and Executive Producer of Film Projects, I Am Second, Dallas, TX
As Dungy's story unfolded before the camera, it became more about dealing with adversity. “How you respond to failure and disappointment in your life,” Dungy says in the film, “says a lot more about you than your successes.” Dungy explores the idea that the Lord had taken many things away from him to see if he was willing to stay with the Lord or go his own way. Dungy was fired after 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before finding a path forward with the Indianapolis team. Humphrey recalls, “He was at a low before he turned himself over to the Lord. But here’s the thing, when we were shooting with him in 2009, it was a tough time with the economy and many men had been or were getting laid off, so the story really resonated. In Dungy, people could see a guy defeated and publicly fired, maybe a guy like them, but God still had a purpose for him.” Putting the Lord first, Dungy found his purpose and continued on his journey, ultimately to win the Super Bowl with the Colts. “You have God and his word on your heart when stories like this reveal themselves,” says Humphrey.
Watch Tony Dungy’s “Is Winning Enough?” video. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5jeKbgeQh8]
Today, John Humphrey serves as vice president of I Am Second, providing strategic, operational, and tactical direction to 12 full- and part-time team members and a handful of outside vendors. He is also executive producer of I Am Second film projects, which continue to tell those raw and real stories through more than 140 films on http://iamsecond.com. In addition to the short film format, the project has created full-length documentaries, miniseries, and books. “I am hopeful that this project has shown the importance of people telling stories,” he says. “When the Lord works through you to help tell a story, it's up to you to follow through in a way that honors him.”
