Northern and Milne Bay Mission in Papua New Guinea equipped church members with practical skills for digital ministry during a five-day media and communication training program.
Held at Alotau Town Seventh-day Adventist Church from September 7 to 11, the training brought together 64 church elders, youth leaders, media volunteers and pastors.
Mission communication director Ismael Bambi and Central Papua Conference Flying Angel Ministry director Isaac Manu facilitated the program, which combined practical media skills with a focus on using digital platforms for evangelism.
In his opening address, Mr Bambi encouraged participants to rethink how the Church approaches evangelism in an increasingly digital world.
“We no longer need to travel far to find the world,” he said. “The world is literally inside the devices resting in the palms of our hands.”
He encouraged participants to see smartphones, social media and streaming platforms as opportunities to share the gospel and reach people who may not otherwise connect with the Church.
With OneVoice27 providing a framework for the training, workshops covered multi-camera video production, live streaming, software for church administration and digital broadcasting, and the development of engaging faith-based content for social media.
Participants also gained hands-on experience with media equipment, troubleshooting audio-visual issues and setting up cost-effective streaming systems suitable for churches with varying levels of resources.
Other sessions explored sound, visual projection and media presentations for worship services, while group discussions gave participants an opportunity to share challenges and solutions from their local churches.
The program concluded with a consecration service, during which participants committed to using media responsibly, creatively and faithfully to share Jesus throughout Milne Bay Province and beyond.
