The Seventh-day Adventist Church has redesigned its Web site, www.adventist.org, giving more focus to the people of the Adventist Church rather than administration structure. The Adventist News Network is no longer a prominent feature; instead, visitors can choose from some 15 profiles of Adventists around the world.

"When visitors come they see it's about people, not about [church] structure," says John Beckett, webmaster for the Adventist Church world headquarters. "Seventh-day Adventist people from around the world are the centrepiece."

News headlines are not banished from the main Web page, however. Now, they scroll vertically across the top, and are linked to the Adventist News Network Web page at http://news.adventist.org

The simpler design was chosen not to promote itself, say church leaders, but to have a more mission oriented focus. Links at the top of the Web page continue to offer navigation to various church departments and study aids, including the weekly Bible lesson.

"The church has been repositioning itself; connecting itself more to society and to the marketplace," says John Banks, media relations director for the Adventist Church.

"We hope this will show our visitors that we are a global church whose members express their faith in many ways," adds Beckett.

Vignettes include the story of a municipal judge who holds Bible studies in her home; a couple who brings a message of hope to one of the planet's smallest places; and a "church planter" whose vineyard is a café in Denmark. These brief stories, and others, offer a more personal view of the Adventist Church, say church leaders.

"I believe this new site delivers a fresh, vibrant and focused view of what's going on in the church," says Mark A. Kellner, assistant director for news for the Adventist world church.

"It's easy to sit in your church--wherever that is--and forget that you are part of an international movement," he says. Some 20 million people attend Adventist Church services each week worldwide. "It's my hope that this news Web site will help the church feel more connected."

Until now, the church's Web site attracted about 30,000 visitors a week. With the change, church leaders expect numbers to increase and to attract visitors to stay longer.

Both Web pages were created by Prevario, a graphic design company operated by Adventist Bryan Gray, who also designed the Adventist Church corporate identity logo. Beckett served as primary technical coordinator and programmer for the new Web sites.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a long history of using technology to spread the Gospel message. It began one of the longest-running religious radio broadcasts, "The Voice of Prophecy," 75 years ago; was one of the first to utilize television in the 1950s; and moved into the digital age with an online presence nearly 20 years ago on CompuServe. The church created and operates one of the largest private satellite communication networks in the world, as well as media centres in many parts of the world that produce television programming for their regions. [Editor: Ansel Oliver for ANN/APD]