In Haiti, Adventist Communicators are Trained to Connect Better with Their Churches and Communities

Nearly 100 Adventist communicators from Haiti met at the church’s headquarters office in Port-au-Prince, to sharpen their skills and network to better serve their local congregations and communities, Feb. 20-21, 2017. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

February 27, 2017 | Port-au-Prince, Haiti | Libna Stevens/IAD

A core group of Seventh-day Adventist communicators in Haiti took part in special training sessions last week to focus on sharing the message of hope in their communities. Nearly 100 traveled to the capital city of Port-au-Prince to learn more about church initiatives and resources, sharpen their skills, and network to better serve their local congregations and communities during the two-day event held Feb. 20-21, 2017.

Amid the escalating challenges in a country with limited financial resources, frequent power outages, and limited and unreliable internet, the church is serious about the crucial role communicators can play in reaching the fast growing membership, church administrators said.

Abel Márquez, communication director for the church in Inter-America, during one of his presentations during the two-day training sessions. Adventist President in Haiti Pastor Pierre Caporal translates during the presentation. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

“We are living in a world with people who are sick and dying, and our church has the mission of sharing a message of hope so we need you to equip our communicators with the tools to help the church go further and beyond,” said Pierre Caporal, president of the church in Haiti.

“Moving the church further means learning to use all the means available today and teaching others to get involved in sharing hope to see lives transformed in Jesus,” explained Caporal as he addressed the core group of communicators representing more than 1,000 churches and congregations in Haiti.

Coming together as communicators is the first giant step in networking and unifying efforts to connecting better inside the church and then reaching the community, said Abel Márquez, communication director for the church in Inter-America, who led the training sessions.

Márquez stressed the need to create a strong network of Adventist communicators, using social network platforms to spread hope every day, and ensure the church’s image and branding is done correctly, as well as keeping up-to-date with what is happening in the world and actively sharing the impact the church has in its communities with the rest of the world church.

“I see your passion in serving your church and encourage you to become creative disciples in your work as you head back to your churches,” said Márquez. “You are part of this network of communicators across Inter-America and around the world and we can grow better together if you continue actively connecting and being involved in this ministry.”

Communicators were taught practical techniques to improving communication through radio, television and print media, as well as given an overview on how to generate content, networking, innovation and creativity, and more.

The training event, the first since 2006, was much needed in Haiti, according to Pastor Richner A. Fleury, communication director for the church in Haiti, who shared the church’s communication strategy plan for the next four years.

According to Fleury, the church is planning to improve its main radio station, Radio Esperance, which has been struggling due to lack of up-to-date equipment and antennas across its mountainous regions all over the country.

Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

“We have many areas which cannot be reached by the radio waves coming from Radio Esperance, even with the other three Adventist radio stations sharing programming from this station,” said Fleury. “Sometimes power goes off and that affects this ministry.”

The church also plans to upgrade and maintain one main Adventist website from the Haiti Union office with content management from its four conferences and missions this year.

Administrators have also been in negotiation with a television distribution company

in Haiti to include Hope Channel Inter-America’s Esperance TV Channel in its package of television stations, said Fleury.

Seeing things moving forward in the church through the communication training event made Charley Paya very happy. Paya is the communication director for one of the largest Adventist churches in the capital city—Auditorium de la Bible–and has seen the need for properly trained church communicators. For over a year now, he has managed a team of six communicators who go to different Adventist churches on Sabbath afternoons for three-hour training sessions on public speaking, writing reports and communication in general.

“We must have trained communicators serving in the house of God,” said Paya. “There is no excuse anymore to not see better skills at work in our churches.”

Networking will be key in engaging more Adventist communicators to better serve the church, said Jean Carny Felixon, who works with Paya and manages a webpage with up-do-date news about the church in Haiti. Felixon also provides free resources for communicators across the country to use in their churches.

A team of passionate and creative communicators like Paya, Felixon and many others are needed to double efforts in effectively communicating what the church is all about and the visible impact it seeks in the community, said Fleury.

“We need you as communicators to build bridges of hope to transform lives where you are,” Fleury challenged.

There are more than 447,000 Seventh-day Adventists worshiping in 1,083 churches and congregations throughout Haiti. The church operates one hospital, a university and dozens of primary and secondary schools.