January 18, 2008 Santiago, Chile…Rajmund Dabrowski/ANN
Ewaldo Bustos' enthusiasm is contagious as he describes how media has changed the Seventh-day Adventist Church's image in his country over the past decade. As director of programming and production for the church's communication center in Chile, Bustos has overseen a reprogramming of the church's attitude toward media.
“For a long time [Adventists] were mostly unknown to the public. Our media work is now changing the image of who we are,” he says with a smile that seems permanent.
“Today, [Adventist media in Chile] has a name, and that name opens doors.”
At Santiago-based Centro de Comunicación Adventista Nuevo Tiempo, Bustos coordinates a team of 12 people involved with Adventist radio and television programming in this South American country of 16 million. A former advertising CEO, Bustos accepted his current position four years ago when the church invited him to use his skills in Adventist media.
Today, Bustos, 55, still pushes the edge of Christian communication. “We cannot make a dent in social and spiritual influence unless we listen to what people are talking about. That's the edge I am walking on,” he says.
“When someone writes: 'Your channel gives me peace,' I know it's worth the effort.”
Religious broadcasting is on the agenda of many churches in many countries around the globe. However, Adventist broadcasting in Chile puts Adventists ahead of others with six open channels and 37 cable TV stations, as well as 25 FM stations and one AM station covering the entire country with religious programming.
“We don't regard it as a monopoly, but others envy our vision and media presence,” Bustos says of the church's 70 percent potential audience reach in Chile, one of the largest countrywide Adventist broadcasting networks in the world.
Bustos says the church in Chile takes seriously the “great responsibility” of wisely using that level of influence. Even individual church members feel a sense of ownership over the church's programming, he says.
Many of Chile's 127,000 Adventists refer with pride to Nuevo Tiempo and how it is changing the place of Adventists on the Christian landscape in Chile.
Patricio Olivares, director of the Nuevo Tiempo Center, explains that the church aims for two outcomes with its programming. First: “An internal outcome for the church in which our people feel they can fully identify with the content of the programs.”
A second objective relates to the church's influence in society and its image in the community. “We focus on breaking down the barriers and prejudices that people in general have toward Adventists,” Olivares says.
He says they try to present “a church that can be taken seriously, whose people view life in an intelligent way with a purpose that is both open and attractive.”
Not all can be accomplished overnight.
While the church's TV and radio programs are gaining new viewers and listeners, Bustos says the church in Chile still faces challenges. Perhaps the greatest one is transferring the warmth seen on Nuevo Tiempo programming to the pews of local churches. Those who visit a local church are often confronted with indifference, Bustos says, citing letters and comments he has received. “I was invited to come, but felt I wasn't welcomed,” one reads.
“What is needed is warmth to welcome those who cross our doorstep as a result of watching or listening to Nuevo Tiempo,” Bustos says. “When we state that 'this was a message from your friends,' we should reflect that in real life. It complicates matters when our viewers or listeners discover something different in the way we act.”
Bustos smiles when he recalls hearing about Lucy, a women who was so enchanted with the Nuevo Tiempo programs in Santiago that she installed five television sets — one in each room — so as not to miss the program. It goes without saying that she joined an Adventist church, he adds. Church growth statistics reveal Lucy is among some 6,500 people who have joined the church because of contact with Adventist media.
Nueveo Tiempo radio draws an estimated audience of 50,000, many of whom tune in for two annual series of programs called “Interactivo,” during which three pastors discuss Bible doctrines in a live, colloquial and entertaining manner. Audience members are invited to follow a study syllabus in a home setting of church members. The attraction of each program also rests on monologues by well-known actors creatively depicting Bible topics.
“So often we do not think of how to make our programs exciting. We resort to showing talking faces. But the viewer needs to feel the program,” Bustos says.
With the popularity of Nuevo Tiempo TV and radio programming, Bustos now wants to step up the Adventist Internet presence in Chile. “Having only 1,200 daily visitors to our Web site is not enough,” he says.
“The Web presence is a black spot for us. It needs to be developed to make our message attractive to the online community,” he adds.
Bustos also believes Nuevo Tiempo could be more genuine.
“We need to speak less and show what we really do. We need to connect the dots between media and education, between media and disaster response and community involvement, between media and youth activities; between media and our health and joy of life,” Bustos says.
“It's exciting to see that we can make a difference in people's lives. In Chile, many people are accustomed to listening to Christian broadcasters who are asking the audience for money. Many are turned off,” Bustos says.
“We surprise listeners by not asking for money. Instead, we introduce them to Jesus with no strings attached.”
-Adventist News Network
