The theme of the Northeastern Conference Communication Department during this quadrennium is “Changing Communications From a Department into a Ministry.” After successfully branding the face of the conference in 2022, this year’s aim is to create relevant and spiritual online content for members and visitors alike. To that end, Northeastern has launched a new media ministry called Lighthouse Media Studios, the media arm of the conference. The lighthouse has been a symbol of the Northeastern Conference since its inception in 1945. Lighthouse Media Studios is responsible for providing audiovisual assistance to the churches, departments, and at major events, as well as producing on-demand content.
Its first production is a growing online show titled “The Confessions Podcast” with host Duddley Francois, Northeastern Conference communication director, and co-hosts Edsel Cadet, Berea Boston church pastor; Michelle Mota, Brownsville church pastor and Northeastern Conference assistant ministerial director; and Ingrid Pierre, special assistant to the Northeastern Conference Youth Ministries director and executive committee member. This vibrant new podcast focuses on everything from current events to biblical relationships, church administration, mental health, and faith from a millennial perspective. By the grace of God, it has grown to be a popular podcast within the Adventist Church, with more than 500 downloads in its first three weeks. The podcast is streamed live on all Northeastern Conference online platforms and is available on-demand on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever podcasting shows are downloaded. Episodes cover topics such as tithing, divorce, church hurt, conflict resolution, suicide, and much more.
Lighthouse Media Studios has also created a show for children called Northeastern Kids. A caricature of Pastor Francois is the main character of the show. Known to the children as “PDF,” he teaches lessons from the Bible and life to children in simple ways. Northeastern Kids was created as a resource for children’s ministries, parents with small children, and Adventurer clubs across the conference. It has already been used for camporees, youth rally days, church children’s corners, and much more.
By the end of the summer, Lighthouse Media Studios is looking to produce a second weekly podcast titled “In-Formation,” a devotional show on religious liberty, NEC News (a quarterly report on events around the conference), as well as provide on-demand sermons from featured pastors within the conference. These shows and others will be available on the Lighthouse Media Studios YouTube page, as well as on the conference’s YouTube page (youtube.com/@NortheasternConference).
Lighthouse Media is aiming to build a streaming application with all available sermons, shows, podcasts, and news broadcasts by the beginning of 2024. “In connection with the proclamation of the message in large cities, there are many kinds of work to be done by laborers with varied gifts. Some are to labor in one way, some in another. The Lord desires that the cities shall be worked by the united efforts of laborers of different capabilities”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 109.
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—Communication staff, Northeastern Conference
