2015 Summit of Adventist Internet Workers and Initiatives is On Line

By AT News Team, Feb. 11, 2015:   This year the annual gathering of Adventists who use the Web for ministry will be a live online event open to all who are interested. It begins today at midnight GMT. That is 7 p.m. in Washington where the denomination’s headquarters are located, 4 p.m. in Los Angeles and 8 a.m. tomorrow in Manila.

The Global Adventist Internet Network (GAIN) is a yearly forum organized by the communication department of the General Conference (GC) of Seventh-day Adventists. It includes both denominational employees and independent initiatives. It will continue through Sunday (Feb. 15).

The keynote speaker today is Nancy Lamoreaux, chief information officer for the GC. Her focus will be on how the Web relates to the mission of Christ in the world and the diversity of methods the Internet makes available. A panel discussion with live question-and-answer time will follow each presentation.

Other speakers will include Jesse Johnson, president of NetServe about the free StudyTracker software his company developed to support custom development of Bible studies on line; Harvey Alferez from the school of engineering at Montemorelos University in Mexico on building mobile apps; Kirk Nugent, IT director for the denomination’s Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division; Daryl Gungadoo, global resource engineer for Adventist World Radio; and Sven Fockner, Bible correspondence school director in Europe for the denomination.

Two American pastors will share the results of experimental projects. Pastor Dean Waterman will talk about multi-site churches that use technology to connect multiple locations for live worship and learning activities on a regular schedule, weekly or more often. He is lead pastor at Courthouse Road Adventist Church in Richmond, Virginia. Pastor Jerry Chase from Akron, Ohio, will demonstrate the use of mapping software for planning outreach and church planting, as well as a powerful tool for strategic planning by conferences and institutions.

Pastor William Costa, communication director for the GC, will preach for the worship service on Sabbath. D. P. Harris, chief information officer for Loma Linda University, will speak on interactive engagement on Sunday.

The complete agenda and the schedule for rebroadcasts designed to cover all the time zones around the world can be seen at www.gain.adventist.org on the Web. It is necessary to register for the event in order to gain access to the online sessions.