{"id":21001,"date":"2024-11-20T12:48:53","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T12:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/?p=21001"},"modified":"2024-11-20T19:39:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T19:39:05","slug":"gain-europe-communicators-meet-with-clear-mission-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/gain-europe-communicators-meet-with-clear-mission-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"GAiN Europe Communicators Meet with Clear Mission Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">20 November 2024 | Budva, Montenegro [Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Around 280 Seventh-day Adventist communication, personal ministries, publishing, and media ministry professionals, along with church leaders from 42 countries, gathered for the opening of the annual Global Adventist Internet Network (GAiN) Europe event in Budva, Montenegro, on November 15.<\/p>\n<p>Attendees, who serve in Adventist radio, TV, digital, and publishing ministries across dozens of European countries, met to learn about trends, discuss strategies, and focus on collaborative efforts to share Jesus more effectively.<\/p>\n<p>From the outset, leaders reminded attendees that the event, under the theme \u201cConnected: Deeper and Wider,\u201d was focused on witnessing and mission-oriented initiatives. \u201cWe are here for the sake of communicating the gospel,\u201d David Neal, communication director of the Trans-European Division and one of the main organisers of the event, said. \u201cOur goal is to learn how to communicate in order to share Jesus better.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_21023\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21023\" style=\"width: 629px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-21023 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135995_DSC_6524-4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"629\" height=\"354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135995_DSC_6524-4-1.jpg 629w, https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135995_DSC_6524-4-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135995_DSC_6524-4-1-500x280.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135995_DSC_6524-4-1-350x197.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-21023\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cWe believe that if we are spiritually connected, that\u2019s also the foundation for working professionally together,\u201d said Klaus Popa, president of Hope Media Europe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Hope Media Europe director Klaus Popa agreed, also emphasising the collaborative nature of the initiative. \u201cFrom the very beginning, GAiN was about connecting,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cBut then, we quickly began to be more strategic about what we do. We quickly realised that collaborating and working together would bring all of us further than walking alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Working Across Ministries and Departments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This synergy arises not only from reaching out to other communication departments for cross-media initiatives but also from connecting with other ministries and departments of the Adventist Church.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_84501\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"  data-origwidth=\"800\" data-origheight=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3_5sD-SI9LY?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/ted.adventist.org&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&rel=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"GAiN Europe 2024 Budva Highlights\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure>\n<p>Popa reminded attendees how, for the first time in 2023, regional communication leaders invited personal ministries leaders to meet with GAiN. Now, in 2024, they are including youth ministries leaders and young creatives as well. All of this, he said, is accompanied by a clear spiritual component. \u201cWe believe that if we are spiritually connected, it provides the foundation for working professionally together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paulo Macedo, Inter-European Division communication director and another of the main organisers, agreed, calling on attendees to own the mission goal of the communication enterprise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s not make this just an event,\u201d Macedo said. He urged every attendee to \u201cstop waiting for institutions to do the work, or for ministries to do the work, and instead focus on the people you want to reach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a special greeting, Billy Biaggi, a general vice president of the General Conference assigned as an advisor to communication, called on Adventist communicators to focus on the witnessing facet of their work. Referencing Isaiah 60:1 \u2014 \u201cArise, shine; for your light has come!\u201d \u2014 Biaggi encouraged Adventist communicators to reach out to dispel the darkness of this world with the light of the gospel. \u201cIf you let your light shine, \u2018the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Grace, Grace, and more Grace!<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_21020\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21020\" style=\"width: 629px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-21020 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135994_DSC_6703-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"629\" height=\"354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135994_DSC_6703-1-1.jpg 629w, https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135994_DSC_6703-1-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135994_DSC_6703-1-1-500x280.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AME_100135994_DSC_6703-1-1-350x197.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-21020\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cThe strongest argument in favour of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian\u201d, quoted Tjeransen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In his keynote message, Tor Tjeransen, communication director of the Norwegian Union Conference, prompted attendees to use their lives as a living testimony to reach others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want people to experience the joy of living a life filled with purpose and meaning,\u201d Tjeransen said. However, he acknowledged, \u201cNone of us think that in order to do that, we need better studios, newer cameras, the latest in AI technology \u2014 that\u2019s not the most important. The most important thing to communicate Christ is who we are,\u201d he emphasised, \u201cbecause if our lives do not match our message, our message will fall absolutely flat.\u201d He quoted Adventist Church co-founder Ellen White, who, in her book The Ministry of Healing, wrote, \u201cThe strongest argument in favour of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian\u201d (p. 470).<\/p>\n<p>Tjeransen shared various experiences from his own journey, where he experienced \u201cGod\u2019s grace in action.\u201d He then asked Adventist communicators to acknowledge God\u2019s grace in their lives and extend that grace to others. \u201cWe are the most powerful argument for Christ because we are connected to His grace,\u201d Tjeransen said. \u201cThis is what GAiN is all about. We are here to hone our skills to communicate the grace of God by becoming a person who is true, honest, and authentic \u2026 connected to God, to one another, and to the community, by God\u2019s grace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\" data-jetpack-block-initialized=\"true\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container swiper-container-initialized swiper-container-horizontal swiper-container-pointer-events wp-swiper-initialized\">\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">[Photo: Tor Tjeransen and Nikolay Stoykov\/Adventist Media Exchange (CC BY 4.0)]<br \/>\nThe original version of this article appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/adventistreview.org\/news\/adventist-communicators-in-europe-meet-with-a-clear-focus-on-mission\/\">Adventist Review.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Increasing collaboration across church ministries and departments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":20949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1592,1569,1572,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bosnia-herzegovina-montenegro-north-macedonia-serbia","category-communication-media-technology","category-evangelism-mission","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21001"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21082,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21001\/revisions\/21082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}