This Article is printed in the JulyAugust 2011 edition of the Adventist Messenger.

The Seventh-day Adventist church has always been on the cutting edge of technology.  When radio began in the early 1900’s, the Adventist church was there producing religious programing with H.M.S. Richards on the Voice of Prophecy. When TV began in the 1940′s, the Adventist church was there producing the first religious programing in color with William Fagal on “Faith for Today”.  Back during the Milleriate movement, Joshua Himes used technology in the form of charts and print media so effectively that people begin calling him “the Napoleon of the press”.

While attending Camp Meeting this July in the BC Conference, I had the privilege of talking with a pastor who, just like Joshua Himes, is on the cutting edge of technology.  Michael Campbell, lead pastor of the Wichita Seventh-day Adventist Church, uses many forms of technology to communicate, share and interact with the congregation on a daily basis.  He describes technology as a tool that multiplies his efforts to build community.

“I made a commitment to the church on my first Sabbath to communicate”, says Campbell, and he is aggressively following through with that commitment.  On that first Sabbath, he asked members for their name, phone number and email address. Within a month, he collected approximately 90% of the congregations emails.

With that newly created list of emails, Campbell started sending out a weekly email newsletter that He describes as “one of the easiest, simplest ways to communicate”.

Campbell says one of the challenges he faces is how to meet the needs of the younger generation.  He found that one of the best ways to do that is to engage them through another technology; texting.  He regularly sends out text messages to individuals he did not see in church telling them that he missed them and hopes everything is going well.  “It makes people feel more connected,” says Campbell.

During a sermon about Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector, he asked the congregation, “what would you do if Jesus came to your house today?”  He put his cell phone number up on the screen and asked people to respond by texting their answers.  He received about 30 responses including one from a 13 year old who said he would clean up his room and then bring Jesus in, make a root beer float and sit down to talk with Jesus about his spiritual life.  On the way out of church he gave Campbell a high five.

“It was amazing to see people sitting forward, engaged and listening intently because they had contributed something to the sermon”, says Campbell.

Another cutting edge technology that Campbell has used during his sermon is a live poll.   He displayed a question with multiple answers on the screen and had people text in their votes. “Texting provides a dynamic environment to engage the congregation with the church service,” he says.

The Wichita South Church actively uses social media.  In fact, they have a church position called, Facebook Coordinator.  Campbell says Facebook is a communication tool that his church regularly uses to send out notices of events and invites.  He says it serves as a gentle reminder of what is going on and gives people an opportunity to respond to the invitation.  Also, it gives you an idea of how many people are planning to attend the event.  “We also use Facebook to post sermon topics, ask a question or get feedback from people,” he says.

The Wichita South Church also uses the social medium called Foursquare for members to check in at church.  It acts as an online attendance tracker.  People can check in at the keyaus in the lobby or on a mobile phone.  The names of those who took the time to check in go into a draw for a price at the end of the service.

Campbell tells me they are currently working on a new design for the church website as well as an iphone app in the near future.

“God has used technology in the past, I’ve seen it. And He will continue to use it in the future,” says Campbell.

For more information about the Wichita South Seventh-day Adventist Church or to contact Pastor Campbell, visit their website at http://www.wichitaadventist.org.

Lights, Camera, CTV

“It has stood the test of time, God’s book, the bible.  Still relevant in today’s complex world.  “It Is Written”, sharing messages of hope around the world.”

I think it is safe to say that most of you reading this article are familiar with what you just read above.  You guessed it.  It is the words to the opening video for each “It Is Written” television broadcast.  And for 28 years, that is indeed what “It Is Written Canada” has been doing, “sharing messages of hope around the world”.   Currently, “It Is Written” is “sharing messages of hope” across Canada on CTV every Saturday morning at 11am.

Since it first started in 1973, under the direction of Pastor Henry Feyerabend , “It Is Written” has been on the cutting edge of technology.  Two years ago I had the opportunity of seeing first hand just how important technology is to the production and delivery of the “It Is Written” broadcast.  At the rented studio in Burlington Ontario, the “It Is Written” team had just begun a 2-week marathon of recording approximately 68 programs a week in English and Portuguese.

While I watched and learned for a week over Doug Bruce’s shoulder, the production manager for “It is Written Canada”, I couldn’t help but wonder how approximately 30 years worth of technology had shaped what “It Is Written” is today.

To answer that question, I recently had the privilege of talking to Pastor Bill Santos, speaker/director for “It Is Written Canada”.  In our conversation Pastor Santos told me that technology currently plays a major role in nearly every stage of the production and delivery.  He said that when “It Is Written” began, they were recording 1 program a week.  Today with advancements in technology, “It Is Written” can record up to 12 programs a day.

“Newer technology has allowed us to capture more programs in less amount of time.” Pastor Santos said.  “In one word, it’s faster. Faster to prepare programs and faster to capture the programs.”

The access that the Internet provides facilitates the ability to have a continual online presence 24/7.  “A web presence with the television program has really been a significant enhancement” said Pastor Santos.

He tells me that they receive approximately 600-1000 contacts per month through the phone or online presence.  Out of the many emails received, one particular request has been seen coming in on a more regular basis over the past year.  “People are making comments like,  “I understand you folks are an Adventist ministry, where’s the closest Adventist church?” said Pastor Santos.

Pastor Douglas Pereira, Director of Operations at “It Is Written Canada”, recently received an email from a young man who watches the “It Is Written” Portuguese broadcast.  The young man said he is not Adventist, not Christian, not religious at all but liked the program.  He wanted to know if there was an Adventist church he could attend in his area.  Pastor Pereira emailed him back and gave him the address to the nearest church.  The young man later responded and told Pastor Pereira that he really enjoyed his visit to the Adventist church.  “I found myself praying when others where praying, I found myself following along.” he said, “I even made a few friends and plan to go back again next week.”

“It is Written” has approximately 140,000 viewers each week which makes it the largest congregation in Canada.  There is currently 225 active bible studies and more requests coming in every week by phone or through the website.

“A common misconception we hear is that only old people watch “It Is Written”, said Pastor Santos.  “That is not the case.  There are lots of young people between the ages of 20-55 who regularly watch.”

I asked Pastor Santos if there were any plans for new types of technology in the future.  He said, “I think the audience wants a more interactive experience.” He told me that there are plans to experiment with a Web studio.

“This would allow us the opportunity to invite viewers from the television broadcast to go to our website for a more indebt discussion and to answer questions.” Pastor Santos says that they want to experiment with this type of interactive online technology next season in Portuguese and then try it with the CTV broadcast.

Also, with the television industry moving more and more to on demand programming, Pastor Santos feels that this technology may be the most significant next step for “It Is Written”. “You should be able to watch the program whenever you want.  Whenever it is convenient for you, the viewer” said Pastor Santos.

And now you know the rest of the story behind the production and delivery of “It Is Written Canada”.

For more information about “It Is Written Canada” visit http://www.itiswrittencanada.ca.

This Article is printed in the September 2010 edition of the Adventist Messenger.

A 17 inch window to the World

An interesting thing about technology is that everyone of us is trying to adapt to it’s continual changes and learn how to utilize it’s abilities.  Whether you are in the medical field, building construction, the restaurant business, or a church organization, technology keeps moving and evolving.

I read an interesting statement from a book recently called, “The Elements of Journalism”.  In the book, the author regularly commented about the impact technology is having on journalism.  Connected directly with the communication age that we are currently living in and the interactive online technology available to us, the author said, “Today, people go from passive consumers to proactive assemblers of their own journalism and views of the world.”

As the author continued, he stated, “people have the ability to interact with the news itself as well as the professionals delivering it.”

Being able to interact with people on a global scale is the heart of online technology.
I recently had the privilege of talking with Gary McLain, the Communications Director for the Oregon Conference, about some of the exciting ways they are using technology to connect and interact with people throughout their conference and abroad.

They recently used the technology of live video streaming to broadcast the Pathfinder Fair that was held in Albany, Oregon on May 16, 2010.   “We had about 350 viewers” Gary said, “that added up to just over 9,300 minutes of viewing”.

Those viewing the event throughout the day were of all ages and from many different parts of the United States and Canada. “There were grand-parents who went online to watch their grand-children perform and many of the Pathfinder’s siblings” said Gary.

Harold Reimche, the father of Pastor Al Reimche, president for the Oregon Conference, told me that he watched his son speaking to the Pathfinders in Albany from their home in Kelowna, British Columbia.

But the most exciting story that came as a result of streaming this event involved the Daisy Mae Yoder Award.  This award is given to those Pathfinders or staff who had a tuff time thought-out the Pathfinder year but stuck with it.  Jacqueline McRae, a leader from the Bonanza Pathfinder Club, was chosen this year to receive the award.

Even though Jacqueline could not be present at the Pathfinder Fair, she watched online from her home in Bonanza Oregon, approximately 380kms away. “She could receive the reward even thou she wasn’t there”, said Gary, “and she heard what they had to say.”

Gary said he received positive feedback from those who participated in the live stream of the Pathfinder fair and, “people said it was fun to be part of the event.”

The next live video stream that the Oregon Conference is working on is called, “Reconnect Weekend”.  An event prepared for the Collegiate/young adults that will have been streamed live on July 16-17.  And Sunnyside church will have streamed their “Super Sabbath” live that same weekend.

Another idea for live video streaming that Gary talked about was the possibility to stream a church service to those multi church districts that only get their pastor once or twice a month.
I asked Gary his thoughts on how this technology can be used to “Lead People to Jesus” and he said this, “People who may never step foot into your church have this technology to watch online within the privacy of their own home.”

With the cost reduction of live video streaming now within reach of smaller churches and conferences, this technology provides a way to engage your community or abroad in your programs and events like never before.  There are even free video streaming services available like, “Ustream” or “Livestream” that are worthwhile checking out.