Communication & Media
About the department
Communication has evolved more in the last decade than in the previous century. The rise of social media and the widespread use of smartphones have transformed how individuals and organisations communicate, reshaping both personal interactions and corporate strategies, while significantly altering traditional media approaches.
The Communication and Media Department is committed to sharing the mission, vision, and goals of the Seventh-day Adventist Church while enhancing its image among church members and the wider community. Using modern technologies, we strive to create a positive and unified perception of the Church’s mission, life, and witness. Acting as the hub for all regional news, press releases, and publicity, the department oversees internal and external communication related to the Adventist Church in the north of England.
A key focus of the department is training and empowering local church members, especially those elected as communication leaders. Our training equips individuals with skills to write news articles, capture event photos, publicise activities, and manage websites. Additionally, the department focuses on:
Corporate Identity & Public Relations: Promoting a cohesive Adventist brand across the Conference and enhancing the public image of the Church.
Media Production: Creating high-quality, relevant content for internal and external audiences, encouraging members to collaborate with the NEC and use the Media Centre.
Internal Communication: Improving communication channels between administration and workers, and providing resources to help workers use their digital presence for the gospel.
External Communication: Creating digital content specifically for non-Adventists, along with resources for departments and members to easily share and use.
Pastor Joe Philpott
Director
jphilpott@necadventist.org.uk
Director's role
The Communication and Media Department operates on a 100% budget. The director's role includes:
Developing a communications strategy aligned with the NEC's mission and goals.
Creating high-quality media content for internal and external use.
Overseeing the NEC Media Centre and ensuring it’s equipped for NEC and church use.
Managing external communication channels, including social media, the NEC Communicator, and the website.
Dates for 2025
Sunday 26th January: Church Officer's Training: Click here to register
Sunday 2nd March: Photography Workshop: Media Centre, Birmingham. Click here to register
Sunday 20th April: Camera Operators and Sound Techs: Media Centre, Birmingham
Sabbath 12th July: NEC Communication & Media Day: Camp Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, Birmingham
Sunday 7th September: Using Canva for Churches: Online
Sunday 30th November: Improving Church Audio: Media Centre, Birmingham
Media Centre
The Media Centre is a fantastic facility designed to empower Seventh-day Adventists to create and share inspiring digital content. As a key component of the North England Conference's strategic plan, this Centre underscores our commitment to digital evangelism and enables our members to produce high-quality, spiritually enriching content.
Tell your church’s story
It’s encouraging to hear about the wonderful things happening in our churches across the Conference. As the saying goes, "A thankful heart enjoys blessings twice—once when they are received and again when they are shared." Your stories have the power to encourage and inspire others, sparking new ministry ideas that can be implemented in their own churches.
We invite you to share your church’s news by submitting a 200- to 300-word article. Your story could be featured on the NEC website, the NEC Communicator (our monthly newsletter), BUC News and the Messenger Magazine. All submitted articles are also made available for the BUC to consider for their publications.
Email your news article to communications@necadventist.org.uk. We look forward to sharing your story!
Resources
Events in 2025
Stay up-to-date with all the activities planned for the year across the NEC:
Calendar of Events: To stay informed of the latest updates, we encourage you to regularly check the digital version of the calendar, available as an online Word document. Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/4fcDEos.
Event Posters: As posters for individual events are created, they’ll be uploaded to a dedicated OneDrive folder. You can view and download them at any time by visiting: https://bit.ly/3OGDzP2. Posters are neatly organised into monthly folders to help you find what you need.
7Me App: All 2025 events are now available on the 7Me app for easy access at your fingertips.
NEC Website: Events for 2025 are now live on our website. If you need more information about any of them, please contact the director or sponsor organising the event.
Live stream guide, including equipment recommendations
Whether you are just getting started or looking to enhance an existing live stream setup, we’ve created a how-to guide covering the following topics:
Essentials for Live Streaming
Assessing & Auditing Your Current AV Setup
Planning & Budgeting
Equipment Recommendations
Software Recommendations
Best Practices
Click here to access the free guide, which is Notion doc.
TED Communication & Media Manual
The Trans-European Division, in collaboration with other divisions of the world church, have created the Communication & Media Manual. Whist it’s free to read digitally, we’re happy to provide a free printed copy for any individual or local church team.
CCLI
Churches must ensure they are complaint with UK music copyright legislation. In 2022, we introduced a new model of ensuring our churches obtain the relevant CCLI licenses, which mirrors what our sister entities do in the British Union Conference (BUC) and alleviates your workload. These licenses we purchase annually, and, in the summer, we’ll revisit what licenses each church has, allowing you to make any changes based on your current needs.
In 2022, we invited the UK Service Centre Manager for CCLI to join us for a workshop and share about music copyright licenses. You can find the recording of this workshop here:
One final note on CCLI, it relies on us to report what songs have been used in our services when distributing royalty payments fairly and accurately to the artists and publishers. The recommendation is that we do this regularly so as to provide accurate information. For more information on how to do this, visit this webpage https://uk.ccli.com/reporting/.
Monthly newsletter
The NEC Communicator is a monthly newsletter that spotlights local church ministries, highlights upcoming North England Conference events and initiatives, and shares other newsworthy matters. You can subscribe and unsubscribe at any time, and your information will not be passed to third parties.
Take a few minutes and raise awareness of the Communicator in your local church. The more who subscribe, the greater opportunity we have of disseminating information directly to our members. Here’s the link for people to subscribe: https://eepurl.com/hUXkbL.
Free local church website
All churches within the NEC can take advantage of a free website through the netAdventist programme. While the website infrastructure is managed through the BUC – with the Communication & Media Department covering the cost for our churches – churches only manage what text and images are put on it, such as service times and images of recent events. For more information, email communications@necadventist.org.uk.
Free repository of photos
Over the past couple of years, we've gathered images from events into a public repository. They serve as a resource for creating posters, social media posts, and other content. Feel free to use these images for your needs. Here’s the link: https://flic.kr/ps/3XPTaQ.
Volunteer Reporter
The North England Conference (NEC) Media and Communications Department is thrilled to announce an exciting opportunity for individuals to contribute to the Conference’s digital media presence. We are seeking up to five Volunteer Reporters who are passionate about capturing the impactful activities and events taking place within our local Adventist churches and sharing these stories with our wider community.
Adventist brand guidelines
The Seventh-day Adventist Church underwent a rebranding process in 2017. The logo and other brand elements were tweaked to allow for a more inclusive, diverse and united public image. Here are some resources about it:
General information: www.adventist.design
Creation grid: www.adventist.design/global-elements/the-creation-grid
Download the logo: www.adventist.design/downloads/logo