Hope Channel Inter-America schedules its official launch for July 2016

IAD President Pastor Israel Leito leads a prayer of dedication for the entire Hope Channel Inter-America evangelism initiative to God on Oct. 29, 2015, during the church’s year-end meetings at IAD Headquarters in Miami, Florida. Image by Keila Trejo/IAD

November 5, 2015 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens/IAD

Top Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Inter-America voted to launch Hope Channel Inter-America’s three channels in the coming months after approving the comprehensive budget that will drive the most ambitious television evangelism initiative ever undertaken in the vast territory. The approval came as more than 140 church administrators accepted next year’s budget of the channel on Nov. 2, during the weeklong church’s executive committee meetings held in Miami, Florida.

IAD Communication Director Abel Marquez, updates committee members on plans and updates for the three new channels. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

“The church is moving forward with Hope Channel Inter-America, a strategic plan that is taking us to invest more than 7 million dollars over the next five years,” said Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America as he spoke to the committee members.

Subsidies from the General Conference and the Inter-American Division (IAD) will be combined toward the budget for each channel. Nearly 900,000 U.S. dollars in 2016 will be used towards the rental of the satellite, service contracts, equipment, production and materials of the three channels in English, Spanish and French.

“With our board organized, our strategic plan laid out and our budget approved, we can proceed with the task before us to launch the new channels,” said Abel Marquez, communication director for the church in Inter-America.

Marquez updated committee members on how the channel will proceed with the scheduled official launch in July 2016.

Already, collaboration between the Canadian Union, North American Division and the Inter-European Division and our French Antilles Guiana Union territory have begun for the French channel, said Marquez.

The three channels will be part of the Hope Channel television network as Hope Channel Inter-America in English, Esperanza TV in Spanish and Esperance TV in French.

Marquez explained that the master control equipment of the three channels will be located at Hope Channel’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the IAD will operate and manage the channels, pay satellite fees, produce and schedule programs, and promote the channel across its territory.

“This is your channel, so your territory will represent Hope Channel,” stated Marquez to union church administrators.

Several Union presidents hold their new Roku boxes on stage before the special prayer of dedication for the success of Hope Channel Inter-America. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

Programming will rely heavily on productions from the IAD Headquarters Office, and 18 media centers across the IAD territory, as previously discussed during a territory-wide advisory meeting held earlier in March, said Marquez.

“Our first step will be to build a series of programs to fill the channels with our media centers which have already been producing series for Hope Channel and Esperanza TV,” said Marquez. The media center in Montemorelos University in North Mexico, and Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union as well as Northern Caribbean University’s media center in Jamaica have been program contributors to the Hope Channel network already, he added.

Production training, networking and collaboration with the rest of the growing media centers in Inter-America will be the next step, he explained.

Each union president was given a Roku streaming television box to take back to their unions and to make plans to purchase more for their local churches and their communities.

Committee members paused last week to pray and dedicate the entire Hope Channel Inter-America evangelism initiative to God and His guidance so that millions of future viewers across territory and around the world can embrace the gospel and become disciples for Jesus.

The opportunity to plant the seed of hope through the channels will be a powerful blessing, said Marquez. “We hope plenty of fruit will come forth and that we may see many lives transformed by the gospel of salvation,” Marquez said.

For more information on Hope Channel Inter-America, visit us at interamerica.org