Forty participants, coming from thirteen media centers in Europe, met on February 24–27, 2023, on the premises of Hope Media Europe, in Alsbach-Hähnlein, Germany. During the four days of meeting, the participants had the opportunity to present their specific realities and projects for the future, exchange experiences for their challenges, and find new paths together for the mission through communication.
"The purpose of this meeting was to put in close contact, and hopefully on a permanent basis, those responsible for the media centers in the territory of the Inter-European Division [EUD], joined by some from the Trans-European Division [TED]," explained Paulo Macedo, EUD Communications director. "There was no formal forum at this level for them to exchange information and experiences, coordinate projects, and find a common platform to fulfill the mission through media together. And that is why we have come together here and now."
Media centers represented were from the EUD fields of Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Spain; and from the TED fields, representatives from England, Iceland, Ireland, and Latvia were present. The special invitee was Maksym Krupskyi, director of the Media Center in Ukraine.
The Sabbath Program
Mário Brito, president of EUD, started the Sabbath with a vespers devotional on the topic "Real Purpose in Communicating," based on Ezekiel 47 and John 17.
“The most powerful messages sometimes are not written or spoken. We read people as people read us,” stated Brito. “Think about your intention when you communicate. Is it only to inform? Is it only to train? Is it only to transmit what you think is the right message? Or is it really to change people’s existence? Search for the communication that brings hope and life to people through Christ. And don’t forget that you will not convey hope and life if you, yourself, don’t have Christ. Then you can cooperate with the Holy Spirit to change people’s lives, like the water coming out from the temple and bringing life in the book of Ezekiel.”
On Sabbath morning, David Neal, TED Communications director, presented a special sermon on the hope present in Paul's texts in 1 Thessalonians 5.
“God’s people are meant to bring hope to a world now in permanent global crisis and to people in deep existential crisis. This hope becomes our purpose because a Christian lives a life of purpose, which we find at the cross, in and through what Christ has done for us. Because hope is embedded in the Adventist DNA, we should act and live as an expectant church ready for Christ’s return and, like the Thessalonian church, be a happy, prayerful, and grateful church grounded in grace,” Neal emphasized.
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Florian Ristea, director of EUD Adventist Mission, Sabbath School and Personal Ministries, affirmed that “it was encouraging to see people, especially young leaders, from around Europe being so dedicated and focused on mission and using their creativity and resources in creating content for reaching people in their own countries with the good news. Media is a powerful instrument, and it is obvious that the time has come to become (if it has not already become) a leading force in the church’s mission.”
“The different media centers find themselves at different stages of development of their media ministry work. Coming together as a Hope Media Europe network enables the media centers not only to grow together by learning from one another but also to develop together an integrated media ministry strategy that will increase the impact of the singular media centers as well as of all the network,” said Klaus Popa, president of Hope Media Europe, the media center of the Inter-European Division.
“There was a lot of good news about everything that has been done in mission through communication in Europe, along with promising ideas, plans, and projects for the future. Learning, sharing, and coordinating will save resources and hasten time in our common purpose,” Macedo said. “Just look at the hopeful message coming from the Ukrainian media center.”
“You will not need bread or clothes if you lose all hope in living. We are there to share it!”
During the Media Center Meeting, EUD and TED News interviewed Maxim Krupski, Hope Media Ukraine director.
“First, we saw people suffering and leaving, and we thought everything was lost,” shared Krupski in an interview conducted by Vanesa Pizzuto, associate director of TED Communication, and Samuel Gil, Hope Media Spain director. “Then we started to help people [with] their basic, essential needs. Right after the first few months of war, we realized there is an opportunity to evangelize. People need hope to continue wanting to live.”
Krupski showed a glow in his eyes, coming both from the emotion of speaking about the suffering in his country and the joy of announcing positive news in the midst of distress and uncertainty. “We’ve already had more than 1,000 baptisms since the beginning of this terrible war,” he informed. “And we inaugurated a new studio in the summer,” he announced with elation. “If you had told me we would inaugurate a studio, even before the war, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Ukraine is suffering the terrible consequences of violence and privation for a whole year. At the church level, 8,000 of the 30,000 members have left the country. Nevertheless, mission continues and grows with the 100 staff members working in the seven studios of Hope Media Ukraine.
“We thank all for supporting our people and our members. We are doing mission as needed,” concluded Krupski.
The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-European Division website.