21 November | Pravets, Bulgaria [Marcos Paseggi]
It all started in 2015 with a dream of bringing Seventh-day Adventist media organisations together to join human resources and expertise in collaborative initiatives. “The question was ‘Can we work together? Can we find a way to cooperate?’ ” shared Hope Media Europe president Klaus Popa during a presentation at the Global Adventist Internet Network (GAiN) Europe convention in Pravets, Bulgaria, November 15.
That primitive dream has so far resulted in multiple cross-media projects that include TV series, movies, reels, and books. After humble beginnings with a 2015-2016 production titled Rest, the GAiN Europe network projects were followed by This Is My Mission (2017-2018), Fathers (2018-2019), Uncertainty (2019-2021), and 700 Years of Happiness (2021-2022). Then since 2023, Adventist media organisations have partnered on several series under the general theme My Greatest Purpose.
Leaders behind the initiative reminded GAiN Europe attendees that these annual or biannual projects have enlisted Adventist filmmakers, authors, and other creatives from across the world to articulate various topics that appeal to all audiences, even in a post-Christian secular environment. According to Adventist media leaders, these initiatives have resulted in more than 1,000 minutes of documentaries with participation from media professionals from dozens of countries and have been translated into dozens of languages. They also include narrative films, clips, and short stories for social media, along with several books with dozens of contributors from around the world.
Seeking Purpose
The 2023-2025 project, My Greatest Purpose, seeks to feature people who found ways of answering to the question “What matters most in your life?” series producer Adrian Dure says. “This is not just about what you achieve, but the lives you touch and the change you inspire.”
Producers behind the latest initiative experimented with a new approach that included the contributions of public figures. Dure shared that the project includes three documentary series. The first, titled My Greatest Victory, features six top-rated athletes and sport players who share how they find purpose in life beyond their specific disciplines. They include Australian Olympic medalist Nicola Olyslagers, who is not shy about her love and devotion to Jesus. Also freestyle football world champion Aguska Mnich, who shares how knowing Jesus transformed her life.
One of the new episodes of the series includes the life story of Pieter du Preez, a South African athlete in paratriathlon. In 2013 du Preez was the first tetraplegic person to ever compete in an Ironman Triathlon. He also competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and won gold at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the time trial. “Meeting Pieter and spending two days with him and his family changed me as a person,” said episode producer Andre Brink. “I don’t think I can ever complain about anything after that.”
The series My Greatest Venture, on the other hand, features entrepreneurs and businesspeople who share about their experiences, goals, and challenges. Finally, My Greatest Decision features musicians who delved into the secular world before surrendering their lives and talents to Jesus.
The Purpose series also includes Inner Space, a short film created in partnership with the North American Division and the Sonscreen Festival, and a book titled Purpose.
Dure, Popa, and Brink also announced a new series of Animal Encounters, a series that takes a group of young people to various countries to learn and experience the beauty of the animal world. Animal Encounters 3, which is set to premiere in 2026, was filmed in Australia and New Zealand, they reported, and includes top-of-the-line cinematography and exciting new episodes.
Different Takes on Finding Purpose
After Dure’s presentation, Romanian book editor and professor Norel Iacob discussed some of the features of the new collaborative volume. Purpose: Humanity’s Sacred Quest demanded two years of hard work, Popa and Iacob acknowledged, involving authors from several continents. It is the fourth volume produced by these cross-media collaborations. The first three totaled 812 pages and involved 58 authors from 32 countries and 11 Adventist Church divisions or major regions.
“We strived to bring people together from all over the world,” Iacob said. The books, written in English, have been translated into several languages, including Romanian and even Russian.
The new volume features 20 authors not featured before, currently residing and serving in 11 countries, Iacob reported. It includes authors who serve at universities and have doctoral degrees, or who are candidates for doctoral degrees. The volume is divided into five sections, and includes 11 concepts or notions from around the world on how people find purpose in life.
Feedback From Readers
Iacob invited three GAiN participants who had received a copy of the book in advance to share their impressions after reading it.
The first was Stein Vegard Halvorsen, a designer and marketing coordinator from Norway. After reading part of the book, he said, “It feels like we have a seat at the table where people are much smarter than you are, [and yet] the conversation is not inaccessible, because they talk about things that resonate at the deepest level for all of us.”
For Paulo Macedo, Communication director of the Inter-European Division and former book editor, the books produced by these collaborative initiatives “relate to the most common human aspirations” (previous titles include Fathers, Uncertainty, and Happiness). “The [Adventist] Church has other content that brings doctrines and mission, but I can assure you that you won’t find this kind of content anywhere else. This is what [sets] this project apart.”
According to Macedo, content like this one, which is focused on an existential approach, helps us to come closer with other people who are not on the same page doctrinally speaking. “It helps us to find common ground,” he said. The overall message at the end of the day is “Our true purpose can be found only in God.”
Iacob agreed. “This is really a book for the seekers, for people who have questions and are in search for answers,” he said.
[Photos: Marcos Paseggi]
The original version of this article was posted on the Adventist Review’s website.
