Mission was the focus of the worldwide Digital Strategy in Mission convention held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from July 8-14, 2024.

The South Pacific Division (SPD) had a strong presence at the Adventist Technology Summit at the start of the week. Several presentations shared the work they have been doing in technology to support the territory's diverse and remote needs.

The conference was opened by Paul Douglas, chief financial officer, and treasurer for the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters (GC), who called for better integration and collaboration across the church, stating,

The Seventh-day Adventist church must employ synergy as a strategic tool to reduce cost, eliminate redundant processes, and eliminate duplication of effort.

Richard Stevenson, GC associate treasurer, shared the seven-point Digital Strategy for Mission document that the GC has developed, which included integration and centralization as well as developing tailored, contextualized digital strategies for each department and ministry.

Ben Thomas, SPD director of technology, operations, and strategy, presented a keynote that focused on prioritizing mission in the technology space, working as one church, and seeking divine guidance.

Russell Woruba, Adventist church member and deputy secretary of the Papua New Guinea government’s Department of Technology and Communication, provided a keynote that detailed Papua New Guinea's (PNG) digital transformation vision as a case study of how to find efficiencies of scale.   

ATS was followed by the Global Adventist Internet Network, known as GAiN, which celebrated 20 years of operation. GAiN is primarily for media and communications people who work for the Adventist Church. A timeline in the location's foyer highlighted the developments in media over the past 40 years, from the invention of the Internet in 1983 to the introduction of smartphones and different social media platforms until today.

The GAiN event began with a parade of nations. Many attendees took the opportunity to dress in their national costumes and marched through the venue, while those watching were given information about the church and country they represented.

Continuing the theme of mission, the GAiN conference featured video reports from the 13 world divisions, the Middle East North Africa Union (MENA)—an attached field of the GC—and the China Union on how communication and media are being used in their regions.  

In the evenings, participants were treated to viewings of documentaries and movies, including The Hopeful, directed by Australian Adventist Kyle Portbury. Portbury held one of the keynotes, tied to the theme of the event, which looked at the importance of telling stories through cinema, one of the last distraction-free zones in the modern world. The Hopeful will be released in Australian cinemas in October.

Other films shown were Return to Palau, a moving true story about tragedy and forgiveness, and Frontlines of Hope, which documents a group of mission-minded men leaving their families at home to distribute Bibles in a warzone.

For attendees like Henrique Felix, these conferences help break down the isolation that can sometimes be felt by small teams working in their own areas of responsibility. “I like the fact that we can better understand and see the big picture of the church in the communications area,” said Felix, North New South Wales communication coordinator.

We see it’s not just us; the worldwide church is moving to the same goal. It’s very inspirational.

Khamsay Phetchareun from the GC Centre for Adventist Buddhist religions gave some context on how those who live in the region believe and what it means when we’re trying to communicate with them.

Students from the nearby Chang Mai Adventist Academy provided some musical items, and participants were reminded of the challenges of reaching out in Asia.

According to Erton Köhler, GC executive secretary, during his Sabbath sermon, while Asia has 60 percent of the world’s population and a larger surface area than the moon, only 17 percent of the church’s membership is found there. Asia contains the most populous island, Java; the most populated region in India; the biggest city, Tokyo; and many challenges for mission.

“We are called to be an end-time movement,” said Köhler. “We need leaders with eschatological vision,” he said.

The Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD) is the SPD’s mission refocus partner, and holding the conference in Thailand was an effort to support and encourage the church in Asia.

The Digital Strategy in Mission was followed by Hope Channel International meetings, an economical way for people to attend all of the events.

The original article was published on the South Pacific Division website, Adventist Record.