New Approach to Lay Evangelism Draws Thousands - 2001

More than 3,000 people were baptized in Butuan City, Mindanao, Philippines, on January 27 following a three-week lay evangelistic effort featuring digital video disk (DVD) technology, according to the Adventist News Network. The series, sponsored by Adventist-Laymen's Services and Industries (ASI), demonstrated the role of lay involvement and the use of technology in communicating the Christian message of hope.

More than 70 business people and students from the United States took part in the series, along with local pastors and Adventist church members who hosted sites, acted as translators, and provided vital logistical support. The nightly meetings were held at 336 sites across the region; the meetings at the 34 primary sites were based on a new DVD-based evangelistic program developed by Adventist Digital Media, based in Portland, Oregon, USA. In the months leading up to the event, local church members and pastors prepared the way for the evangelistic program, baptizing an estimated 4,000 new believers. Please remember these new believers in your prayers and remember the ASI and local teams that God will continue to bless their efforts.