The communication challenges of a global church are proportionally gigantic. Seventh-day Adventists have been discussing efficient ways to communicate the biblical message of salvation to different audiences with extremely diverse cultural characteristics for two decades. The worldwide meeting is called GAiN, an acronym that stands for Global Adventist Internet Network. The meeting focused especially on actions in the digital environment. 

The event brings together professionals from different communication segments who work directly or indirectly on institutional or non-institutional communication projects. The event has already been hosted by countries and regions such as Jamaica, the United States, Hong Kong, South Korea, Brazil. This year's event took place from July 10 to 13 in the city of Chang Mai, northern Thailand. 

The great forum awakened the 550 participants to two very clear dimensions. One of them relates to the production of films, series, and other cinematographic products in the context of evangelization. The emphasis was placed on the need to produce more material to reach people who want to know the Bible. 

GAiN also provided moments of inspiration regarding missionary projects, especially those carried out in Asia. Many of these initiatives use digital technology to enhance results.  

A Challenge Called Asia 

Asia is a vast continent where Christianity is a minority, and Adventism is in its infancy. Even so, the Church's missionary efforts are increasing in intensity and frequency.  

Religiosity in Southeast Asia, which is predominantly Buddhist, is considered a natural barrier to the advancement of Christian initiatives. What is clear is that the typical communication productions of Christians need to be combined with communication work based on interpersonal relationships.  

Khamsay Phetcharaun, the director of the Buddhist relations center at the Adventist world headquarters, explained that beliefs such as Buddhism have a completely different view from Christianity in their conceptions of God, human suffering, and even rituals of faith. In his opinion, a new Adventist member needs much more acceptance because they become part of a new family when they changes religion. 

Efficient Communication 

In Southeast Asia, for example, more precisely in the Philippines, the Seventh-day Adventist Church maintains an online evangelism center. Currently, 42 young missionaries between the ages of 20 and 25, representing 20 different countries, teach the Bible and give attention to people interested in knowing more about the God revealed by Adventists.

Elexis Mercado, the center's director, said that around 50 Bible studies are sent to people every month, most of whom live in Asian countries. Between January and July 2024, at least 16 people were baptized as a direct result of this work. In practice, these missionaries, who usually work on the project for a year, pray, talk, and offer Bible courses to people who come to them through contact with the content generated and shared on social media. 

In South Korea, an experiment with paid advertising on social media seeks to attract people to learn more about Adventists and their teachings. Seungcheon Ji is a pastor, the communications director, and digital evangelist at an administrative headquarters located in Gwangju, a three-hour drive from Seoul, the country’s capital. He states that the pilot project began just over a month ago in four congregations. According to Ji, in one church, the digital campaigns offered prayers to people through Facebook and Instagram.  

The reach of the advertisements, in just one church and over a 30-day period, reached more than 63,000 people within a five-kilometer radius of the congregation. Of these people, 101 responded, and a total of 40 were evaluated as the most promising contacts. Among the 40 most interested, just over 60% maintained some type of engagement due to the prayer requests; 20%, however, responded actively and even showed interest in attending a service at an Adventist congregation.

Further south in Asia, in India, social media has also become an important channel for transmitting biblical hope. Ranesh Jadhav, the Communications Director of the Adventist headquarters in that region, also mentions the use of social media such as Facebook and other systems (WhatsApp, YouTube and even traditional SMS) to bring the biblical message to people in a universe of 18 different dialects and languages. “Our work is constant, and we maintain a connection with local pastors in order to visit these people who find us online,” emphasizes the leader in India. 

The training of future communicators and technology specialists is also a concern. During the event, Joanne Park Kim, the director of Education for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mongolia, presented plans to build an international educational institution for up to 200 students in a location 25 kilometers from Ulan Bator, the country's capital. The idea is for courses to begin operating in full in 2026 and focus on communication, technology, agriculture, health, well-being, and other areas. The project accepts donations.

Media with Spiritual Impact 

Williams Costa Jr., the leader of the Communication area of the Adventist world headquarters, stressed the need for greater production of films and series for evangelization. He said that the objective of films and series, that is, audiovisual material, is not to offer entertainment but to serve as a missionary resource to bring thousands of people to Christ.  

The motivation to increase the number of Adventist titles in the film industry came from the producers. This was the case of Kyle Portbury, executive producer of the film Hopeful (not yet available in Portuguese) and How It All Began, works that portray the beginnings of the Adventist movement. He highlighted the importance of audiovisual resources in creating a better experience among people and, therefore, causing a more significant impact in the case of the biblical message.  

The same idea was put forward by Terry Benedict, who co-produced the famous film Hacksaw Ridge, about the Adventist conscientious objector Desmond Doss. The Adventist filmmaker pointed out that Jesus successfully used parables to convey His message to people of all classes and backgrounds.

Carlos Magalhães, director of Digital Strategies at the South American Adventist headquarters, presented the results of one of the oldest Adventist audiovisual content platforms in the world, Feliz 7 Play. Today, the South American Adventist channel has more than 3,000 pieces of content in its portfolio, has around 4 million views per month and has also been responsible for influencing people to be baptized. Magalhães emphasized that it “was not created to simply have films and series, but to dialogue with the new generations, as it needs a space to talk to them through this type of content.”  

Strategic Communication and Innovation 

The event also highlighted the importance of strategic communication. Sam Neves, associate director of Communications at the Adventist world headquarters, reaffirmed the need for the different Adventist communication institutions to join forces so that professionals can be strategic supporters of the leadership in fulfilling the mission of preaching the gospel. 

Regarding innovation, Jorge Rampogna, Communications director of the South American Adventist headquarters, shared some results of mobilization and engagement of young people on a Metaverse platform established by the Church to strengthen prayer communities and Bible study. A concrete example is the life of Ideli Pirani Ferreira, from São Paulo, baptized in 2024 in an Adventist congregation after participating in the 10 Days of Prayer program and being embraced by the virtual community. 

Journalist Deborah Lessa, who volunteers at the Adventist headquarters in Ireland, said the impact of GAiN worldwide “was an incredible and inspiring experience. Participating in events like this gives us a greater understanding of how the Adventist Church has been fulfilling its mission through technology and digital media in different parts of the world.”  

She explains that, in her sphere of activity, one of the Irish projects to reach more people for the gospel is related to the production of a documentary called A leap of faith, which will explore the growth of the Church in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.  

The original article was published on the South American Division Portuguese website.