Itu, Brazil—From September 9–13, 2026, the first Media and Communication Symposium of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement was held at the Southwest Brazilian Union headquarters in Itu, São Paulo.
Under the name “ConnectLight”, the symposium was organized through a collaboration between Brother Carlos Linares, General Conference Regional Secretary for South America; the General Conference Media and Communications Committee; and Conectados com Deus, the Media and Communication Department of the Brazilian Unions.
This first edition was organized especially for Latin America, with seven countries from South and Central America represented. Each participating Unit was invited to send both an administrative leader—such as a president, secretary, or treasurer—and at least one member of its media and communication team. Representatives attended from the four Brazilian Unions and twenty-two Fields, as well as from the Unions in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, Bolivia, and Chile.
Bringing administrators and communicators together was an intentional part of the event. It created opportunities to clarify expectations, strengthen cooperation, and consider how media and communication can become more fully integrated into the Church’s mission and organizational life.
Connected to the Light and to One Another
The symposium began by directing attention to the spiritual foundation of communication ministry. In the keynote address, Sister Larissa Gessner, General Conference Media and Communications Director, encouraged participants to first remain connected to Christ, then with one another, and only then will they be successful in connecting others with Christ.
The presentation also introduced the direction of the General Conference Media and Communications and explored how the worldwide Church’s “Arise and Shine” theme can guide communication during the present quinquennium.
“The Church does not simply need more content; it needs communication that is clear, faithful, and intentional,” Sister Gessner emphasized. “Media and communications is an ecosystem, not an isolated department.”
Throughout the symposium, worship services and devotional messages reminded participants that communication is more than a technical responsibility. It is a ministry through which biblical truth can be presented clearly, thoughtfully, and faithfully to different audiences.
Strategy, Governance, and Institutional Alignment
The program combined plenary presentations with three simultaneous learning tracks: Management and Leadership; Content and Communication; and Technical Production and Broadcasting.
Special workshops with Church administrators focused on strengthening collaboration between leadership and media departments, aligning expectations, and establishing clearer priorities and decision-making processes.
Other sessions addressed crisis communication planning, Brazil’s General Data Protection Law, responsible use of artificial intelligence, and principles for protecting both the Church and the people whose information and stories it shares.
A significant moment during the event was the presentation of the 2026 update to the Reform Movement’s institutional brand. The updated guidelines are intended to make the Church’s Visual Identity easier to implement consistently while providing clearer direction for protecting and representing the identity of the Church across different regions, languages, and platforms.
Practical Training for Communicators
The schedule also included extensive hands-on training. Workshops covered social media strategy, editorial planning, storytelling, campaign promotion, graphic design, mobile content production, photography, video, audio, lighting, set design, projection, and livestreaming.
Rather than learning only through presentations, participants worked together on real communication challenges faced by their Units. Collaborative case laboratories helped the groups identify problems, compare experiences, and develop practical solutions.
This structure allowed leaders and communicators from different backgrounds and levels of experience to learn from one another. Participants were able to share not only successful projects but also common limitations, needs, and opportunities for future collaboration.
The days were full, with simultaneous workshops designed to address as many needs as possible. Yet the symposium offered more than technical instruction. It fostered fellowship and a growing sense of unity among communicators, and between communication departments and Church leadership.
Participants left ConnectLight with renewed hope, clearer direction, practical plans, and new connections extending across national and organizational boundaries.
May the Lord bless the relationships strengthened and the projects begun during ConnectLight. May every skill developed and every communication created through these efforts serve a clear purpose: to reach souls, lead people to Christ, and bring honor and glory to His name.
