More than 100 communicators from the culturally unique area of the Southern Asia-Pacific region gathered on January 26–28 to kick off 2023 with exciting new advances in the communication and digital ministry field. This meeting highlighted the collaboration of strategies, cultures, and various contextual approaches in presenting the gospel to a diverse audience.
The General Conference Communication team flew to Manila, Philippines, for a division-wide gathering of communication leaders, Hope Channel managers, Adventist World Radio executives, digital evangelists, and social media strategists. Pastor Guillermo Biaggi, vice president of the Adventist World Church, led the team of GC Communication leaders in laying the groundwork for God's Word to be shared in many ways, both offline and online, in what is considered a historic occasion for the Adventist Church in the Southern Asia-Pacific.
The vast work of the Communication Department in the Adventist Church revolves around strong foundations through various programs like the GAiN (Global Adventist Internet Network), ANN (Adventist News Network), Adventist Communication Training (ACT), service and support, communication and integration, public relations, and evangelism and care.
Elder Williams Costa, director of Communication for the Adventist World Church, began the conference by referring to Jesus' followers and their approach to the mission. Costa went on to say the major objective of one’s job as a communicator is not merely to innovate and devise strategies to reach the world but also to relive the inspiration that one can experience from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
“More than the training we will have in this meeting is the desire to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,” Costa stressed. “We can have all the training we want and all the meetings we can attend, but if the Holy Spirit is not in our midst, we will not achieve anything.”
Understanding the significance of knowing the intentions behind writing stories makes the content more engaging and effective across all generations. Alyssa Truman, assistant director of Communication, described how Adventist News Network touches the lives of its readers for a worldwide audience.
“Our job with our story is to inspire our readers to fall in love with Jesus and to understand the church better,” Truman said. “We cannot do this by reporting who, what, when, where, and how; these are facts. We need to get to the ‘why’ of the story. Why does it matter to our readers? Why does this matter to the world? That is how you get to the heart of the story.”
Pastor Sam Neves, associate director of Communication, observes the fast-changing trends in this digital era and the world's rapid technological progress. He discussed how the church uses creative technologies to spread the gospel online.
“There are many tools developed by AWR, Hope Channel, and the Communication department to help advance the mission Jesus gave the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” Neves said. “I want to highlight Adventist Teams in particular as we focus on our members becoming digital missionaries.”
The Adventist Church has been interested in experimenting with novel ways to convey the gospel to diverse segments of society. Heroes is a Bible trivia game that uses an interactive quiz to make Bible learning enjoyable and engaging. This app addresses the opportunity of reaching more than 1 billion gamers in Asia alone.
Delegates who were new to the communication field shared their perspectives on how they interpreted the conference and how it affected their missions when they returned to their respective mission fields.
“The conference helped me understand deeper the dealings between them, especially the scheme we already have in the South Philippines, specifically in Digital Missionary Volunteers,” said Glenny May Lumactud, a digital missionary from the South Philippines. “I was delighted with our lecturers and speakers’ timely, informative, and amicable atmosphere.”
The world is growing rapidly in various forms of technology. The church is encouraged in this part of the world to respond and take the challenge of running along and keeping pace with innovations and developments. Through these media, the mission can progress like never before and help people understand the Bible to find freedom, healing, and hope in Jesus.
The original article was published on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division website.