After Five Years, Hope Channel Inter-America Gears Up For Further Growth
September 17, 2021 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News
Five years after Hope Channel Inter-America was officially launched, Seventh-day Adventist leaders plan to expand programming across its three channels, which represent the three official languages in the territory – English, Spanish and French.
The plan is to establish to more media centers, create more digital productions, more relevant programs and tackle social media networks more, said Abel Márquez, executive director of Hope Channel Inter-America. “We have many challenges facing us because of the pandemic; more and more people are interested in shorter, on-demand programs, and we must continue to focus on being accessible to more audiences with the message of hope.”
Abel Márquez, executive director for Hope Channel Inter-America speaks during a short social media post on Sep. 15, 2021, announces the five-year anniversary of the channel since its officially launching in 2016. Hope Channel is looking to expand to additional media centers in Inter-American Division institutions, universities and unions, as well as expand programming on social media platforms. [Photo: IAD Screenshot]
Hope Channel Inter-America is part of the global network of Hope Channel Adventist television channels on Satellite Eutelsat 113W.
“We are celebrating our five-year anniversary and we are happy to see how far the Lord has blessed this venture,” said Márquez. “During these first five years, our affiliated media centers have produced series, films, shorts, spots and so much more, while Hope Channel Inter-America coordinators in the unions have worked diligently to distribute the channel through cable companies in hundreds of cities and regions.”
Host and guest of a new series entitled “Hecho para mi” (or Made for me) is a new series which highlights the Bible as a guide for spiritual enrichment in any profession or job an individual may have. The new program will become 27th monthly series produced by the media center in Montemorelos University, Mexico, and will soon be featured on Hope Channel Inter-America. [Photo: IAD Screenshot]
“It’s really a dream come true to reach this far with 65 original productions airing in our channels mostly in Spanish and in French,” said Márquez. That’s equivalent to one new program running every month for the past five years, he added. Series include programs for children, young people, the family, and adults ranging from educational subjects, worship, study of the bible, health, cooking, art, personal stories, missionary work, and more.
The French channel runs 24 hours a day online and includes productions made in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Haiti. The English channel continues to run the same programming as Adventist Television’s Hope Channel and it is transmitted via satellite, Roku, cable companies, and online.
A group of singers record a musical number at a Seventh-day Adventist Church in West Venezuela as part of a new series coming up soon on Hope Channel Inter-America. [Photo: IAD Screenshot]
According to Márquez, among the 18 media centers across the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory, 14 of them are actively producing segments for the channel. There are also project collaborations with production centers within IAD as well as with the world church, he added.
“We want to work on getting all 24 unions on board, each one with a production center, and see each Adventist university in the territory set up with a media center also be part of growing unique programming,” said Márquez. So far model university studios in Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica, and Montemorelos University continue to contribute with significant programing.
A report from the Epar Adventist School in Martinique where students talk about the plants they have grown is featured in a segment on the Hope Channel Inter-America in the French channel recently. [Photo: IAD Screenshot]
“One of the greatest blessings from God is to have Hope Channel Inter-America reaching millions of people with the message of hope in the territory these past five years,” said Pastor Elie Henry, president of the church in Inter-America. “God prepared the way to use this medium to connect with so many who need to know Jesus and His love, while also strengthening church members’ spiritual life as well.”
To learn more about Hope Channel Inter-America and view on-demand programs and resources, visit hopechannelinteramerica.org