An estimated one million homes tuned in to view a series of programs produced by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Serbia and broadcast by 14 cable television stations December 3 to 22.
An estimated 1 million homes tuned in to view a series of programs produced by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Serbia and broadcast by 14 cable television stations December 3 to 22.
Radisa Antic, president of the Adventist Church in the South-East European region, presented the 18-program series entitled “The Words of Love, Truth and Jesus Christ.” The series was recorded in the new Novi Sad church and was broadcast six evenings each week during prime time.
“The time has come when we can use the electronic media to preach about Jesus Christ our Saviour to many thousands and millions of people,” said Antic. “When this opportunity came our way we didn’t want to miss it, and so we came together as a team of 40 people, put the structure together, and asked the Lord to bless. A miracle took place and, once again, the scripture is right when it says that ‘with God all things are possible.’”
During the three-week broadcast period, thousands of people phoned in to chat about issues relating to the program, say organizers. Thousands more logged on to the Web site, www.duhovnihorizonti.info, to get more information and summaries of the sermons. According to Miodrag Zivanovic, director of the church’s regional Bible Correspondence School, more than 700 people have enrolled in Bible study courses, with the number still increasing.
“Many Adventists have been watching the series together with their neighbors thus creating a network of small groups,” reports Stevan Bodonji, evangelism director for the Adventist Church in the [North Conference], and one of the organizers of the series. “After watching the program they were able to discuss the topic and to encourage each other,” he said.
A number of national and local papers reported the event. One newspaper article quoted a leading Orthodox bishop who said, “What kind of power leads these people to produce modern, factual, and colorful religious programs which are persuasive to viewers?”
Bertil Wiklander, president of the Adventist Church in the Trans-European region, headquartered in St Albans, England, was a guest on one of the evening programs. “This is a modern way of outreach that fits Yugoslavia at this point in time very well,” he observed. “When I saw the mobilization of gifts and the inspiration for mission of the entire church in Novi Sad, I knew that God would bless the effort.”
Miroslav Pujic, communication director for the Adventist Church in the Trans-European region and producer/director of the program, says, “This new evangelistic initiative proves that if members are fully committed and ready to sacrifice their time, money, and energy in order to present Jesus to the secular world, God is ready to bless. God is ready to open doors and venues we couldn’t even imagine. God is ready to soften the hearts of thousands sitting in front of the television screens.”
There are currently some 8,100 Adventists in the Church’s South-East European Union, worshiping in 206 churches.
