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he 2018 Global Adventist Internet Network (GAiN) Conference was held at the Korea International Exhibition and Convention Center (KINTEX) in Goyang, Korea, from August 8 to 12. About 250 participants from 40 countries, all of whom work for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in media and communication-related roles, attended the event hosted by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (GC) Communication Department. Some GAiN attendees serve as communication directors in local regions, others are Hope Channel and Adventist World Radio producers, church administrators, internet developers, journalists, IT experts, and software developers. All of them came looking for ideas, suggestions, and projects that will assist them in developing more effective online ministry, said organizers. Adopting the motto “Mission First. Go Forward!” the program focused on internet evangelism, identifying the event’s purpose as “how to find people, establish relationships, and take them all the way to baptism,” according to GC communication director Williams Costa. Speakers such as Kennedy Global founder and CEO Kurt Kennedy, GC Communication associate director Sam Neves, GC Communication assistant director Brent Hardinge, and Center for Online Evangelism director David Sharpe presented on various topics including branding, funnel marketing, calls to action, digital marketing, and search engine optimization. Kennedy’s presentation focused on how the power of a brand helps give a company its value. Neves, on the other hand, argued that the Adventist brand shouldn’t promise freedom, healing, and hope — but help in understanding the Bible, which leads to the others. “It is Jesus who brings the freedom, healing, and hope,” he explained. Hardinge discussed an update of the Adventist.org identity project. He showed participants the design principles operating on the latest website version, and its flexibility and variability. He talked about more features and functions including, among others, one for signing up for a Bible study and another that helps someone find a local church. Read more...