Church growth and increasing church awareness in South America are a result of the church “working with communication professionals,” said Siloe Almeida, communication director of the South American region of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Almeida comments came after a week-long symposium dealing with the “History of Adventist Communication in Brazil” at the Sao Paulo Adventist University College (UNASP), Campus Engenheiro Coelho, Oct. 17 to 24.

“Today’s discussion in our church in Brazil includes articulating a vision for a comprehensive approach to church awareness. A meeting like this symposium helps to look back at where we were, but also step forward, recognizing contemporary needs,” he said.

“Last year we organized a region-wide communication conference here on this campus which today is seen as a watershed of serious communication activity,” Almeida said. “Today, scores of communication clubs have sprung up in local congregations, in both large metropolitan areas as well as smaller, rural communities. Church members are saying that we need to look better, sound better and be a more active part of the community.”

“Historical facts talk about the early pioneers of the church and leaders who were actively pursuing public relations in communicating the message of a fledgling faith community. Their camp meetings were advertised, and press relations were a part of the leadership,” said Ray Dabrowski, communication director of the Seventh-day Adventist world headquarters, and one of the presenters at the UNASP symposium.

In 1912, with the appointment of professional news reporter, Walter Burgan, established the Press Bureau department for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It has since been recognized as a pioneering move for a corporate church’s communication arm.

“Ninety-two years ago, after the early successes in the middle of the 19th century with publishing and disseminating their message, our church continued in its pursuit of communication methods as [a] faith community and sought to be involved with contemporary communication technologies, including radio and television broadcasting, the use of satellites and now the Internet. These methods and functions are not an end in themselves. We have always seen them as beneficial to communicate the message,” Dabrowski added.

Almeida commented that “when the church began and pursued its presence in the communities of the day, they used all the media available at the time. So, what did they have then? They had printing and they had newspapers. And they went after them. Any wonder that they grew?” he asked.

At the conclusion of the meeting, participants expressed their conviction and vision of communication as it relates to the mission of the Church. The resulting 10-point Statement of Consensus, is to be shared with the leadership of the Church, as well as published in a book with presentations from the symposium.  Included, is an appeal for services in the area of communication to “be carried on by media professionals ... such as journalists, advertisers, public relations practitioners, marketing professionals, book editors, broadcasters, and cinematographers, who demonstrate denominational commitment.” This conviction was expressed in the context of developments and challenges for the church in public relations, print, broadcasting, and online media. 

The document also stated that “there is a need to invest in technological expansion of the current media [channels] and in academic training of future professionals to work not only for the Church but also for the large society.”

The symposium identified a need for specific, strategic programs to include communication training, “providing the opportunity for the development of new talents; and demonstrating the evangelistic potentials of the media.”

It also recommended establishing “strategy committees” on all levels of the church “to become a permanent nucleus of professionals intended to structure the communication policies for the Church.”

Consistent with the integrated mission-driven program of the church in South America, the document also stated that the “Communication Departments should structure their relations with the secular media, [so as to] make the biblical message relevant to the society and increasing, therefore, the evangelistic potential of the Church.”

The document also stated that church communication should be used as a “tool for rescuing and highlighting the moral and ethical biblical values neglected by the contemporary society.”

Commenting on the symposium, Alberto R. Timm, director of the Brazilian Ellen G. White Seventh-day Adventist Research Center, who, together with Laerte Lanza, dean of the School of Social Communication at UNASP, organized and coordinated the event, said that “by having historical data on the table before you, you are availing yourself of means to analyze what you have at present, and also what strategies could be developed for the future.”

As the symposium was the first of its kind in Brazil, Timm especially noted the contribution that the different presentations made to the understanding of the church’s mission in Brazil. “We are better off knowing what has preceded before us, duplicate that which was good, and avoid future mistakes,” he added.