Departments

Communication & Media

About the Department

How people and organisations communicate has changed more in the last decade than in the previous century. The explosion of online social networks and an ever-increasing reliance on smartphones has transformed both personal and corporate communications and radically altered the landscape of traditional media approaches.

The Communication and Media Department of the North England Conference aims to communicate the Seventh-day Adventist Church's mission, vision, and plans and enhance and develop its image in the perceptions of church members and community. We endeavour to maintain and create a favourable impression of the church, its mission, life, witness and related activities through modern technologies. The department functions as the hub for all internal and external regional news, press releases and publicity related to the Seventh-day Adventist church in the north of England.

One of the department's main focuses is training and empowering church members interested in communication or who have been elected in their local church to serve as the communication leader. The training seeks to equip individuals with the skills to write news articles, take accompanying photos, publicise events, create and maintain relevant websites, amongst other things.

Our Department's objectives

The objectives of the department are categorised into four:

  1. Corporate Identity & Public Relations. Enhance the implementation of our Adventist brand and create a more cohesive Conference-wide public image.
  2. Media. Develop high-quality, relevant content for both internal and external purposes. Inspire members to engage and work with the NEC, and utilise the Media Centre.
  3. Internal Communication. Evaluate and improve the channels of communication between the administration and workers. Provide resources to workers on how to effectively use their digital presence to further the efforts of the gospel, as well as equip them to empower their local churches in digital evangelism.
  4. External Communication. Develop digital content for non-Adventists that local members can use to share the Adventist message. Produce an NEC Hub to collate all resources created by departmental leaders that our members can easily use and access.

Director's role

The Communication and Media Department is a 100% budget. The director's role includes, but is not limited to,

  • Develop a multi-channel communications strategy driven by the NEC's mission, values and goals.
  • Identify creative and innovative ways to communicate the gospel in the North of England. Develop high-quality media content for both internal and external purposes.
  • Implement and raise awareness of the Adventist church's brand guidelines.
  • Progress the NEC Media Centre and appropriately equip it to be used by our departmental team and local members.
  • Manage the AV requirements for other NEC departmental days or residentials.
  • Oversee the various external communication channels such as the Conference's social media accounts, the NEC Communicator and the website.

Reporting local church events

It’s wonderful to read about what’s taking place in our churches across the Conference. "A thankful heart enjoys blessings twice—when they're received and when they're shared." It encourages others and inspires them of potential ministries ideas they can implement in their churches.

By writing 200-to-300-word articles and sharing them with us, you could feature on the NEC website, in the NEC Communicator (i.e. the monthly newsletter), the BUC News and the Messenger Magazine. We make available all articles for the BUC to pick up and use in their publications. Email your news article to communications@necadventist.org.uk.

Weekly devotionals

Launched in October 2023, we are releasing a weekly devotional featuring our President, Pastor George Kumi. In the midst of our busy lives, these 3-minute devotionals are designed to provide a spiritual boost at the start of each week. The devotionals are filmed in various churches across the Conference. The first quarters have been filmed in Area 4, featuring Leicester Central, Derby Bethel and Chester Green, and last quarters spotlighted two churches Area 2. These devotionals are by our president, filmed in our churches, for our members.

We encourage you to embrace this opportunity for personal and collective spiritual growth. Do share these messages with your members that are released to the NEC’s YouTube account (@NECAdventist). Here’s the link to the playlist: https://bit.ly/4b3a0RM.

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: http://eepurl.com/hUXkbL

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:

CCLI licenses

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: 

On 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/.

netAdventist 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.

Photo repository

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.
 

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. 

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.

Other helpful links

Joe Philpott

Joe Philpott

Director

Department: Communication and Media

22 Zulla Road, NG3 5DB  Nottingham, United Kingdom.

Phone: +44 115 960 6312