Since 1912, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has recognized communication as a necessity for church growth and awareness.
Since 1912, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has recognized communication as a necessity for church growth and awareness. This year, the church celebrates the 90-year anniversary of Adventist communication.
Already in the 1870s, Ellen G. White, a founder and leader of the church, was urging a widespread, aggressive use of public media. But it was in 1912 when the church founded the Bureau of Press Relations, which later developed into the Bureau of Public Relations, a precursor to the current Department of Communication.
Formal communication within the church developed out of necessity, comments Howard B. Weeks, director of the department from 1956 to 1962. Standing for the separation of church and state, the Adventist Church came under intense scrutiny and public pressure in the late 1800s. The need for a more systematic plan for public information was realized with the creation of the corporate communication office in 1912.
This decision became a historical landmark in corporate communication by a Christian church. Evidence indicates that the 1912 decision produced the first such organized “public relations” activity in a Protestant denomination, with the appointment of Walter Burgan. Before 1912 several of the departments had previously engaged in various kinds of press relations activity. It was concluded, however, that a separate office should be set up with a specialist in charge to conduct such work on behalf of all the departments and the church at large.
From the beginning with press relations, Adventist communication evolved into new arenas, including the use of public media to present the church’s message. In the area of broadcasting, Adventist radio program, “The Voice of Prophecy,” was aired in 1937, hosted by H.M.S. Richards. Later, television became a massive communication medium for the Adventist Church. Programs such as “It Is Written,” “Faith For Today,” “Breath of Life,” “The Quiet Hour,” cable television in the Caribbean, and lay television initiatives, such as Three Angels Broadcasting Network, all are examples of the church’s intentional interest in mass media in outreach and public awareness programs globally.
Refocusing of the definition of communication in the early 1990s led to the beginning of Adventist News Network (ANN), the news agency of the church, operated by the communication department at the church’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Adventist News Network reports church news every week, and, as of last September, television viewers receive Adventist NewsLine, a weekly news program produced for the Adventist Television Network.
Presently, apart from the news service, the department oversees numerous communication initiatives for the world church, and is involved in the field of public relations, media relations, and Web development. “Building bridges of hope” is the department’s vision statement. It follows up on the communication vision for every Seventh-day Adventist: “Seventh-day Adventists will communicate hope by focusing on the quality of life that is complete in Jesus Christ.”
Ninety years later, the Adventist Church continues to be at the forefront of using technology in its communication activities, including the Internet and satellites to broadcast its message around the world. Adventist Television Network and its regional partners, such as Adventist Communication Network (ACN) in North America and ADSAT in Inter and South America, are examples of the church’s satellite initiatives.
“This anniversary offers an opportunity to pay a tribute to the creative services of all communication leaders—directors, associates, assistants, secretaries and consultants—throughout the church, including those at the world church headquarters,” says Ray Dabrowski, director of communication for the Adventist world church. “Today, we are simply following in the tradition of professional excellence in communication.”
Reflecting on the state of Adventist communication today, Dabrowski adds that “effectiveness of our communication can be measured by the efforts we make to bring the church’s presence and message to the society in which it exists. That’s why one wishes that every Seventh-day Adventist would regard themselves as communicators. This calls for a daily question: How active are we in the communities we live in?”