A day after Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders and administrators across Inter-America vowed to embrace and implement new initiatives, projects, and activities aligned with the church’s ‘I Will Go’ mission strategic plan, a special online communication and media advisory forum was held on Nov. 12th, 2020.

The meeting drew union administrators and executive committee members, as well as communication directors and media staff, to discuss communication tools that can facilitate the implementation of strategic plans at every level of the church.

New paradigm

“There is no doubt that the paradigm of corporate communication has changed over the years, forcing any organization to implement a more strategic way of moving forward than an operational one,” said Abel Márquez, communication director for the church in Inter-America. That vision of moving forward strategically is fundamental because just having communication departments and media experts is not enough, he said. “Communication must be implicit in every action and for that, it is essential to present possibilities to the leadership continually.”

“Today more than ever the message that we have as a church should be shared, especially with so many tools and opportunities available as never before,” said Márquez.

Identity, collaboration, integration, networking, creativity, innovation, technology, and evangelism are all key in carrying out a successful strategic plan as large as the world church envisions in the context of communication, added Márquez.

“We have a special call as individuals and as a church to share the last message to the world with the tools given to us, using traditional media, new technologies, different narrating formats and styles as well as corporate guidelines,” he added. It’s about being more conscious about the task, more relevant, simplifying efforts and collaborating more, taking creative risks, and being more innovative when the message is shared.

The four-hour advisory meeting highlighted the advancements made in Inter-America through radio and television networks, digital communication, and news and journalism over the past five years.

Greater integration and collaboration

“It’s been satisfactory to look at the recent past and see greater integration among institutions, unions, production centers, and the Division,” said Márquez. The church will only be further enriched to share more and reach more, he added.

Inter-American leaders were reminded to focus on mission and depend on the highest source of power - God - to carry out the message of hope in a world desperately needing a Savior.

Church administrators and directors of Hope Channel International, Adventist News Network, Adventist Review, and Adventist World as well as the leaders of the Adventist world church’s communication department presented current vision plans for the new quinquennium.

In addition, church leaders were briefed on the production and programming growth of Hope Channel Inter-America, and were challenged to strengthen their news sharing and social media network strategies as the new five-year period begins.

Sharing the gospel

“Communication and media are having a much greater place in our lives and in our ministry now,” said Pastor Elie Henry, president of the church in Inter-America. “We must make sure we can use what’s available and use it to the full potential for we have an eternal gospel to share.”

The main task in the church is to share the message of the gospel, said Márquez. “We can say that our principal task is to communicate. That means that everyone, members and leaders should think [of themselves] as communicators, putting more emphasis not only on communicating, but communicating effectively,” he said. “That forces us to continually train, continually innovate, and continually ensure that the message can get to people in a simple and clear way that they can understand, accept, and share.”

This article was originally published on the Inter-America Division’s website