Uriel Castellanos, communication director of the Chiapas Mexican Union, speaks to more than 1,500 Adventist digital evangelists from throughout the territory during the first GAiN Chiapas Conference held in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico, Feb. 17-18, 2023. Yanina García, associate communication director stands on stage next to them. [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
Over 1,500 Seventh-day Adventist communicators, digital evangelists, and influencers from throughout Chiapas, Mexico, gathered for a first-ever Global Adventist Internet Network (GAiN) event in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, to be inspired, learn new technologies, and use their skills to share the hope of Jesus around them and in their digital communities. The hundreds crowding the Chiapas Convention Center, mostly young people, were encouraged to embrace every opportunity to serve the church with their gifts and tools provided during the Feb. 17-18, 2023, event.
“This is a good moment, a necessary and very urgent one for all of our young people as a well-organized united army ready to spread God’s message through all possible digital media formats,” said Pastor Ignacio Navarro, president of the church in the Chiapas Mexican Union. The GAiN Chiapas event was held as part of a comprehensive strategy the church in Chiapas began in 2018 to seek out and provide opportunities for young people to become digital evangelists across the state, Navarro said.
Dozens of keynote speakers joined the hundreds of young people as delegates from their local churches to attend GAiN Chiapas at the Chiapas Convention Center in Tuxtla Gutierrez. [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
One of its main objects was to strengthen communication teams across the eight regional fields in Chiapas, said Pastor Jose Luis Bouchot, executive secretary of the Chiapas Mexican Union. “Digital media has gathered us with a single mission to establish a communication network throughout the territory with evangelistic purposes so we can reach each field with its 31 regional coordinators, 228 district coordinators and 1,500 local church coordinators,” he said.
Communication Director of the Inter-American Division Abel Márquez congratulated church leaders and organizers for holding such a large GAiN event, a historic one held across the Inter-American Division. He reminded communicators that the mission of the church is to inform, share and grow. That means heeding the call to collaborate more with the church to that end. “This event that brought you here is also for you to exchange emails, learn about new digital ministries that are advancing the mission of the church.”
A GAiN Chiapas delegate snaps a photo during the two-day conference event, Feb. 17-18, 2023. [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
The GAiN Chiapas event featured digital communication in news writing, cinematography, audiovisual productions, artificial intelligence, creating social media ministries, as well as topics focused on identity and mission, generating specific content to share, algorithms among others.
Advancing the mission of the gospel
Pastor Sam Neves, associate communication director of the General Conference, challenged the delegation to keep focused on advancing the mission of the gospel which are at their fingertips. “There are many tools that we can share with others that will streamline your ways to share the message of salvation,” Neves said.
Pastor Sam Neves, associate communication director of the General Conference speaks during a special panel with keynote speakers on Feb. 18, 2023. [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
A creative disciple
Among the speaker forums and interviews with “creative disciples” (or communicators) from the region, Carlos Florentino stood out above the rest. At 25 years old, Florentino traveled from the mountainous region from Nuevo Orizaba, a town in Palenque, Chiapas, where power outages are common and the internet is scarce. He likes taking things apart. He came up with a way to receive the transmission signals from a church in Chiapas through specific mechanisms to share with church members and friends. Florentino shared how he loves mechanical engineering, but his mother became ill so he could not continue his study. He demonstrated how he makes his computer receive transmissions during the event.
Carlos Florentino (left) of Nuevo Orizaba, a town in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, explains how he adjusted his computer with several tools to transmit a spiritual program from a church in the city to his home church in the mountainous region where he lives, where power outages are common and internet is scarce. Pastor Daniel Torreblanca (right), youth ministries director of the Chiapas Mexican Union interviews him. [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
Investing in digital evangelists
Creative, innovative, and dedicated young people like Florentino is what the church in Chiapas will continue to invest in and strive to keep them engaged as digital evangelists spreading the hope of salvation wherever they are, said Uriel Castellanos, communication director and main organizer of the event. “The church has equipped every one of the conferences with basic equipment for each team to begin producing since 2020, and that has continued training and providing opportunities to grow,” said Castellanos.
Pastor Ignacio Navarro (left), president of the church in the Chiapas Mexican Union, prays for Carlos Florentino (center) and his ministry after committing to paying for a full scholarship to Montemorelos University as Pastor Daniel Torreblanca (right) stands next to him.[Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
It’s not about growing your followers or increasing your likes, said Castellanos. “If you take with you what you’ve learned and the tools you have been given to share Jesus every day, you will be blessed and bless others.” The sky is the limit, he said. “Imagine if 1,500 of those who have been selected by your local church and local field are here for GAiN and you establish contacts with 100 persons who are not part of the church, just think about the impact of reaching 150,000 people.”
Castellanos outlined the upcoming plans, initiatives and activities in which communicator would be engaged in each quarter of this year in support of the missionary endeavors set out by the church leadership in Chiapas.
Abel Márquez (right), executive director of Hope Channel Inter-America, speaks about the production of “Masters of Joy” and praises Lizbeth Elejalde (second from right), program director of Hope Channel Inter-America, for writing, producing and editing the documentary film while five-year-old Iker (third from lef) of Chiapas and his parents attend the special premier during the Global Adventist Internet Network (GAiN) Chiapas event in Mexico, Feb. 17, 2023. [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
Featured during GAiN Chiapas was a special premiere of the new documentary film titled “Masters of Joy” which is part of the cross-media Happiness project by the Global Adventist Internet Network (GAiN) in Europe, and which will premiere on March 20, 2023, through Hope Channel Inter-America as well as other Hope media channels around the world. The film has been awarded the Best Feature Documentary by the Boden International Film Festival in Sweden.
Castellanos was also cheered on as one of the five producers who filmed five-year-old Iker from San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, who, along with his parents, were special guests at GAiN Chiapas event.
Pastor Arnaldo Cruz, communication director of the Southeastern Conference in Florida, challenges the GAiN delegation during the worship service on Feb. 18, 2023, to cling to God and serve Him wholeheartedly [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
A group from the North Colombia Union and North Mexican Union, as well as others from Southeast Mexico and the Dutch Caribbean Union, took part in the GAiN event.
“It’s very exciting to see the fervor of the brothers and sisters in Chiapas and seeing it in person is so inspiring,” said Abdiel Hernández, communication director of the North Mexican Union. “Every quarter we are working as a team in the five unions in Mexico to create content to strengthen our means of communication and this has proven to be very important in advancing the mission.”
Diego Doria (left), production coordinator of Hope Media Center in North Colombia, stands next to his team who traveled from their home country to be part of the GAiN Chiapas Conference. [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
A special segment was dedicated to give awards for best news story, photography and design, social media ministry, and best audio-visual production. “It was important to award those who have been sharing Jesus through every possible digital media, and we are very thankful for each ministry that creates content that may be a blessing to others,” Castellanos said.
Abel Márquez, communication director of the Inter-American Division, hands an award to Yordan Vidal form the Raudales Malpaso Adventist Church, who won for the best in class in the photography category. [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
For Joel López, a GAiN Chiapas attendee and volunteer from Nuevo San Juan Chamula, the event surpassed his expectations — from the keynote speakers to the organization of the event. “We need to be consistent in carrying out our ministries because we can do so much in this life and we should trust in ourselves so that the hand of God can fulfill each one of the goals we have set for our digital ministries,” López said.
The event closed with a special calling for every creative disciple in every digital ministry to commit to sharing hope, impact the lives of three persons and create content that touch lives, not just to be consumers of technology. A special prayer of dedication was led for the communication coordinators of the eight local fields that comprise the Chiapas Mexican Union.
Pastor Abner De Los Santos (third from right), vice president of the General Conference, prays at the end of the GAiN Chiapas event on Feb. 18, 2023. [Photo: Chiapas Mexican Union]
To view the GAiN Chiapas event online, click HERE