In a move to further expand the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s emphases on evangelism and growth, an Adventist World Television Taskforce was established by the Administrative Committee of the church’s General Conference. 

The taskforce is to consider viability to set up an organization that would combine the existing event-oriented satellite ministry of the Adventist Global Communication Network (AGCN), and respond to a need to create an on-going television ministry aimed at programming offered to television viewers internationally.

In introducing the initiative, Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide, said that it expresses “a desire of the world church to broaden its satellite television ministry and allow the existing and new opportunities to complement each other.” He also said that “we are not looking at it as a television station-purchasing initiative.”

“It will be important for us to evaluate the potential of using television by the world church internationally and broadly in the future,” Paulsen added.

“Television is a significant contributor to evangelism, education and training, an instrument of our mission as a church. We desire to broaden this ministry already in use to the advantage of the church’s mission,” said Ted N.C. Wilson, a general vice president of the General Conference, who was named chair of the taskforce.

In light of five decades of Adventist television ministry, the taskforce will look at creative opportunities to proclaim the gospel in years to come. The taskforce will work in the context of achievements and experience of varied media ministries, including the “It Is Written” telecast, as well as the international, and lay initiatives in television programming. In several parts of the world, Adventists operate media production centers, television studios and broadcast facilities. In the past five years, the AGCN initiative has established a network of more than 12,000 downlink sites, largely in local churches, and brought numerous satellite television programs to virtually all continents of the world.

The taskforce, whose membership is made up of church and lay media professionals, including representatives from AGCN, the General Conference, “It Is Written” and the Adventist Media Productions, is to prepare a memorandum presenting a concept proposal to establish the Adventist World Television organization, its program production and delivery mechanism.