SePUM Communicators and Creatives Join SSD COMMLAB, Boosting Creative, and Digital Evangelism
Communication Laboratory or COMMLAB 2 is re-launched by the Communication Department of the Southern Asia–Pacific Division (SSD), the 11-country headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventists, lured a total of 124 Delegates and about 80 volunteers and staff to upgrade and boost the skills of communicators and creatives from union and mission fields with the inclusion of educational and health institutions, held at the Convention Center of Life Hope Impact Center, Silang Cavite, on March 12-16.
Southeastern Philippine Union Mission (SePUM), the youngest union within SSD, sent a delegation of Communication Directors, writers, sound and audio editors, social media managers, and other communicators called creatives to represent its five missions: Davao Mission (DM); Southern Mindanao Mission (SMM); Northern Davao Mission (NDM); Southeastern Caraga Mission (SECM) and South Central Mindanao Mission (SCMM) with two institutions, the South Philippine Adventist College (SPAC) and Adventist Hospital Davao (AHD), and similar representations from the unions, missions, hospitals, and schools from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Timor–Leste, Malaysia, Myanmar and the growing territories of the Philippines all believing in the importance to enhance communication skills and obtain new knowledge, innovate traditional evangelism strategies with a digital twist, and even use suitable social media platforms to spread the gospel of salvation in this modern generation.
The arrival moments at the airport started to make the teapot boil, and the initial catalyst sparked on the opening night. Mr. Nilo Cabatingan, SCMM Treasurer and Communication Director, exclaimed: “I’m excited about the event because we arrived without information. We are hopeful that after the discourse, we can achieve a knowledge level of 8.”
The first lecture after dinner was on filmmaking, teaching creatives how to achieve the best cinematography using lights and camera settings. The moments after the lecture, 12 teams whose members were from different origins possessed varied expertise or levels of understanding about the tasks- either advertisement of various topics or a documentation video of the events.
The HESHBON, named after the SSD Communication director Heshbon Buscato, is the point-system-currency used for renting out gear such as cameras, tripods, production lights, etc., should cover all production costs. Groups could obtain those cards by answering trivia questions or meeting the requirements for a unified team.
The beautiful Wednesday started with a lovely message: “Our Artistic decisions also reflect how generously the Lord has blessed us” from the morning devotional Speaker, Sir Rhoen Catolico, Communication Director of SePUM. He reminded everyone about the senses or ethics needed at work as ministers, communicators, and influencers: Responsibility, Urgency, Respect, Integrity, Creativity, and Mission.
Subsequently, there were plenary sessions in the morning and Breakout Sessions at three different venues in the afternoon, while the 12 teams religiously followed their production schedules. The essential topics where one can gather Heshbon cards used to finish a film were Article Writing, News Writing, Creating Program Segments, Event Management; Social Media Management, Improving Brand Perception, Digital Assets and Security; Event Photography and Workflow Same Day Edit Workflow; News casting and Anchoring; Principles on Writing Script for Segments; Article Writing; Producer’s Workflow, Social Networking Service Outflow, Social Networking Service Brand Development; Social Media: Corporate Ethics and Management, House Audio and Livestream Setup, Audio Sweetening, Producer’s Craft, Hope Channel Brand Positioning, Event Planning; Project Management; Creating President’s Report and other hint–providing insights during post-lecture discussions from witty speakers from the host country and abroad.
Mr. Eduard Rodriguez, Assistant Communication Director of SSD, said, “We document the story because we want the church to be involved. Amplify the story to make it an inspiration for others.”
The Praise Night on Friday, with young people from different walks of life who sang praises and shared testimonies. Sabbath School came in the morrow with video reports presented by missions, conferences, unions, and institutions wherein you can see God’s leading as the ultimate factor in the success of evangelism in every nation, no matter how difficult the challenges they faced. The Hour of Worship echoed with so much reassurance from the song of communication directors whose contributions to the digital media ministry are communicable. The message on miscommunication, language barriers, and cultural differences echoed the hall from God’s mouthpiece: Chanmin Chung, Senior Director of Television, Distribution, Hope Channel International, Inc. The unforgettable funny videos ended up with insights into the realities of this world.
Chanmin said, “It’s hard to touch the hearts of the people if we don’t understand their cultural background.” This training was provided so we could create appropriate content for our target audience, which includes people from every corner of the earth.
The Sabbath afternoon became a film parade of excellently created religious documentary films and advertisements generated by the 12 groups of delegates all sharing their precious Heshbons. The ad on Adventist education won third. A docufilm on Praise Night won second place, while the Green Moss’ event documentation and Purple Aster’s ad on Religious Liberty was First Placers.
Something exemplary and worth sharing: all extra Heshbons were donated to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). Not a competition but to inspire communicators from different fields to keep writing stories; three unions with vast and consistent participation in news writing articles related to their local programs and events received citations and gift certificates. Central Philippine Union Mission, Southwestern Philippine Union Conference, and Malaysia Union Mission were adjudged as First, Second, and Third placers, respectively.
The delegates felt intense cohesiveness during the event’s last session: the sundown worship. Seated at the amphitheater bleachers clad in black uniform while the sun slowly glid at the rear portion of SSD edifices, Pastor Heshbon Buscato, SSD Director for Communications, thanked everyone, cracked hilarious lines but put so much emphasis on this note: “Continue to be the hands, ears, and feet of Jesus.”
Noreen Sumalpong of the Samar Mission gave a conclusive intuition: “Crafting platforms that connect us with our intended audience is essential. As Adventist communicators, our core mission is to convey the message of Jesus effectively to the people”. For good measure, Michael Varona, as one of the organizers, stressed out beautifully: “Whatever we create, we need to do it the best as we can.”
Definitely, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can! (SePUM Communication)