Some 5,000 clergy across South America, representing many different denominations, tuned in for a satellite training seminar in early September. The three-hour program was organized by the Seventh-day Adventist world church ministerial association, and broadcast live from the Adventist media center in Nova Friburgo, Brazil. It concentrated on the theme of church growth, and dealt with challenges and issues faced by ministers of all faiths.

The satellite program, broadcast in Portuguese and Spanish, was just the latest in the so-called PREACH series. According to Nikolaus Satelmajer, associate ministerial secretary for the Adventist Church and PREACH coordinator, these unique continuing education programs have touched a chord with clergy around the world.

“We’ve conducted more than 1,000 professional church growth seminars worldwide in recent years,” says Satelmajer. “But the use of satellite technology means we can bring outstanding speakers to places where they might not otherwise be available.”

Registered participants in the past have included groups of clergy gathered in churches or on campuses, as well as chaplains who participate from hospitals and prisons. In one case, a group of navy chaplains participated in a live broadcast while aboard a submarine.

Since 1998, when the first PREACH event was broadcast, there have been eight satellite seminar events, including uplinks from Korea and the United States. In April this year, clergy around the world took part in the biggest undertaking to date. The event, billed as “the largest-ever worldwide live satellite broadcast for clergy,” was broadcast from Edinburgh, Scotland.

The most recent event, the third to be broadcast from Brazil, featured Adventist speakers Alejandro Bullon, ministerial secretary for the church in South America, and Jonas Arrais, associate ministerial secretary.