Mobile Phones to Help Raise Church's Profile in the Asia-Pacific Rim
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A mobile phone text messaging project and a campaign to make Seventh-day Adventist church buildings more attractive are just two elements of a plan to help raise the profile of the Adventist Church in the southern Asia-Pacific region. |
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Communication meeting in the Philippines involved Adventist communicators from the region, including Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Larry Feir is responsible for Adventist communication in Manila and the northern part of the Philippines.
Jonathan Catolico, communication director for the Southern Asia-Pacific region, left, in conversation with John Banks, associate director of the communication department for the world church.
Philippine communicators in conversation. From left: Larry Feir, Trinidad Fortaleza and Ultimino L. Rivera Jr.
A mobile phone text messaging project and a campaign to make Seventh-day Adventist church buildings more attractive are just two elements of a plan to help raise the profile of the Adventist Church in the southern Asia-Pacific region. Meeting in Silang, near Manila, May 27 to 31, the church's communication professionals resolved to use both high-tech and more traditional approaches to increase public awareness of the church. "Our society needs to know us as positive contributors to the daily life of our neighbors," said Jonathan Catolico, Adventist communication director for the southern Asia-Pacific region.
The Silang meeting identified a "text message ministry" as one of the programs that will receive priority in the church's communication plan. The program calls for the development of an effective system to transmit short text messages to cellular phone users in the Philippines and throughout the region.
"This technology has pushed the Philippines to the forefront," said Catolico. "We can even cite its effect on some of the political outcomes in recent months. The power of the text message has generated interest among Adventist young people as a tool to be used to share the gospel message."
The action plan gave an example of a text message that could be used: "Jesus s comin, r u redi? Call or txt_____ 4 mor nfo."
The church in the Philippines has also identified the appearance of church buildings as an issue that plays a significant role in how the Adventist presence is perceived in a community. "Our church buildings need to look better," said Larry Feir, communication director for the church in the North Philippines. "We are taking a strategic, intentional approach by having a country-wide church building appearance-improvement program."
Both Feir and Catolico added, however, that public perception ultimately hangs on what we do and how we live, rather than just what we say. "There is a lot of poverty in our country," said Feir. "As a church, we need address some of the questions our neighbors are asking. We need to be a part of the solution to the daily problems of our country."
"We are already involved in a meaningful way through the service of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, community service programs, and other similar activities, but there is much more that as individual Christians we can do," Catolico said. "We should look at ways to address issues that impact society, such as poverty and the growing AIDS epidemic."
Church communication leaders in the southern Asia-Pacific region also plan future events that will involve lay Adventist communicators, some of whom may be "sitting in the pews wondering about how effective we are in what we do," said Catolico. "Together with lay church communicators, we want to develop a strategy to make a difference in the society at large."
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