Seventh-day Adventist local congregations around the world will soon be able to have their own Web page on the Internet, based on a consistent format including dynamic content, video feeds and podcasts.

Already, the netAdventist.org service is available in the United States of America, and other world church regions have expressed interest in utilizing that service. At the same time, the church's North American region is offering AdventistChurchConnect.org , a hosted service that provides a free Web site to its congregations.

The effort to put local Adventist congregations online continues a tradition in the Seventh-day Adventist church of utilizing technology and the Internet to meet local needs as well as reach out to neighbours. Adventists were among the first denominations to utilize an online network, CompuServe, to establish an internal communication system among its global branches, and in 1995 was among the first Christian churches to establish an Internet Web site, www.adventist.org , which has grown substantially over the past decade and is widely regarded as the premier source for official information about this Christian world communion.

Three Angels Global Networking, or TAGnet, an independent ministry that is supportive of the Adventist Church's mission, is running the netAdventist.org service. According to the TAGnet development team, an Adventist congregation can have a fully developed Web site offering local weather; Sabbath sunset times; interactive Bible studies and podcasts from It Is Written, an international Christian television ministry; streaming audio and video clips, as well as live streaming of the Hope Channel, the church's cable and satellite television network, and LifeTalk Radio. Also available are the full resources of BibleInfo.com , which allows users to ask a Bible question and receive a full study on the topic of their choice.

The netAdventist Web infrastructure was introduced, and enthusiastically received by Adventist church communication leaders, at the March 2006 World Communication Advisory meeting in Laurel, Maryland (USA). It was also presented to participants representing the world church at the Council of Evangelism and Witness meeting on April 10 in connection with the world church leadership's Spring Meetings in Loma Linda, California.

"It's a fantastic tool," commented Swiss Pastor Ulrich Frikart (Berne/Switzerland), president of the Euro-Africa region of the church. "We are interested in using this product and will study the feasibility of its deployment in our part of the world."

Paul Ratsara, president of the church in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean region, with headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa said I "would like to blanket my region with this tool. This is a God-given method to reach this generation. We can put our churches into a network community to reach out and Tell The World, as our vision challenges us," he said.

Local content can be integrated with items from regional and global church sources, says Danny A. Houghton, executive vice president of TAGnet, which is headquartered in Fallbrook, California (USA).

"Churches can have a blend of local and national content, with all the resources moving through the local church portal," Houghton said. The idea is to keep Web surfers connected to a specific Adventist local congregation, in the hopes of strengthening their links to that location, he added.

Using the Internet to find spiritual resources is an increasingly common experience in the United States, the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a non-profit group in Washington, D.C., noted in April 2004. A Pew survey found that 62 percent of an estimated 128 million Internet users surfed the Web for spiritual content; 17 percent have looked for information about where they could attend religious services, and it is that group that the netAdventist project, and the North American Adventist church Internet project, both hope to reach.

The netAdventist system incorporates news feeds gathered from a number of sources, including Adventist News Network (ANN) as well as various supporting ministries, to provide churches with interesting and fresh content. Bible study materials include the Discover Bible study series, a series of prophecy lessons featuring Pastor Mark Finley, and the ability for churches to upload audio recordings of weekly sermons, which users can hear online or download for later use. Once uploaded, a local church's audio sermons are automatically formatted for podcasting as well.

Churches in a nearby geographic region can share local news items, sermons, event listings and other resources, automatically. This feature, among others, will help promote a sense of community among congregations and their members, said Jesse Johnson, TAGnet president.

"Churches aren't islands; now we have created online communities for them," Johnson said. "We've got to draw the members to the Web site."

Currently, netAdventist sites can be prepared in English and Spanish. Portuguese, French and German versions are also being developed, as part of a global rollout of the service.

"This project is in line with our church's value of unity, providing a common platform for Seventh-day Adventists around the world," said Rajmund Dabrowski, director of the communication department of the world church headquarters and a member of the TAGnet board of directors. "I believe it will also enhance the quality of life for church members and friends, helping them to stay connected to local congregations."

This Web product responds to the convergence approach currently prominent in the online business. "What makes this product attractive is that you can have audio, video, print, and other communication options all at once, instantly and in one place. The netAdventist convergence also extends to linking the Internet users with the local community where they can meet Christians in the reality of their faith and mission," Dabrowski said.

Through an initiative called AdventistChurchConnect.org -- unveiled in 2005 at the region's year-end meetings -- the North American Adventist church is committed to helping its local congregations establish a presence on the Web through free, pre-designed Web site templates, according to a report in the official church paper Adventist Review.

Congregations in that region which need a Web site will have approximately eight different templates to choose from and will not have to worry about updating content because the North American region will handle updates and editorial/evangelistic content. The Center for Creative Ministry and AdventSource are being contracted to create approximately 1,300 articles per year that will address urban issues, family life, youth and young adult topics, healthier living, stewardship, devotionals, and Biblical teachings. Other site features will include links to Discover Bible Guides, AdventistBookCenter.com and streaming video and audio from the Hope Channel and LifeTalk Radio. Churches will be encouraged to look deeper into further developing their church's web presence.

Writing in the January, 2006 issue of Practicing Communication newsletter, Don Schneider, president of the Adventist church in the USA and Canada, said that "the mode of communication the Internet offers has the potential to be extremely influential and pervasive ... It is our desire to have Adventist churches represented on the Web sooner rather than later." According to Schneider, in addition to creating uniformity in the church's URLs, and providing consistent, accurate and updated information, the Adventist Church Connect service will also create a "'branding' identity" making "it easier to find a church's Web site even without using a search engine like Google."

There are additional levels of the Adventist Church Connect service that are available for an added charge, according to a letter from Brad Forbes, AdventSource director: A "church can add up to 30 modules that include [a] calendar, email newsletters and podcasting," he wrote. AdventSource is also managing the program, whose technology comes from SimpleUpdates.com.

After implementing this project initially with churches, schools in the Seventh-day Adventist education system will have the opportunity to take advantage of a similar resource, North American officials said. .

Established in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1863 and with headquarters near the capital city of Washington, D.C. for more than 100 years, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a protestant mainstream denomination, is active in more than 200 nations around the world, with an extensive network of medical and educational institutions. Each week, an estimated 30 million adults and children attend Adventist worship services worldwide. [Mark A. Kellner and Christian B. Schaeffler for ANN/APD]