Nearly 300 communication professionals and students attended the 2018 annual Society of Adventist Communicators convention hosted this year at the North American Division headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Columbia, Maryland, on Oct. 18-20.
“We’re here to serve with purpose, to have passion in work that we do to spread the gospel, and to build partnerships with communicators,” said Libna Stevens, president of SAC, during her remarks to attendees at the 29th convention.
The three-day event featured professional development workshops focusing on brand identity, information about new technology, tours of local museums, and four keynote presentations from Kaleb Eisele (Humans of Adventism); Erica Jones (“Gorgeous2God); Emily Long, (715 magazine); and Justin Khoe, (That Christian Vlogger).
Dan Weber, communication director for the NAD, said the choice to feature young, innovative communicators who may not yet be widely known was intentional.
The Friday evening and Sabbath morning programming coordinated by the host union (Columbia Union Conference) was also intentional and untraditional. Six diverse speakers shared how they communicate God through their ministries—ranging from assisting immigrants, to raising awareness of poverty and homelessness, to means of identifying community healthcare crises.
The convention also included a well-attended Q&A session with NAD president Dan Jackson, who fielded numerous questions regarding General Conference policies. “The greatest power in the Adventist Church lies with the local congregations,” said Jackson. He went on to explain that the challenges we are currently facing as a world church are predominately ones of agreeing to respect each other’s cultures.
A formal dinner and awards ceremony concluded the event.
The 2019 Society of Adventist Communicators convention will convene in October in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Photos: Pieter Damsteegt, NAD communication
