WINTER 2008

• ADVENT PLANET
  For the last two years, a team of young people has been working passionately on a self-given project.  As young Adventists, they found that they did no have anywhere to congregate in mass to talk and address issues that are important to them.  They know that many Adventists use hi5, but found that users there are often bombarded with very non-spiritual material.  This situation frustrated the group so much that they set out to create a website exclusively and strictly for Adventists of all ages.  By word of mouth alone, the site has already had 5,000 hits, but they are still testing a lot of the site's functionality.  Adventplanet offers several features that rival such social networking sites as MySpace and hi5.
  Take a moment and check it out: [ www.adventplanet.com ]

SUMMER 2008

• Bible Lessons for Cell Phones
  The Discover Bible Guides have been reformatted especially for cell phone use. This version is self grading at present. Future plans include interaction between the student and an instructor. 
  Take a look at [ www.biblestudies.com/cell ]

• ADVENTIST CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
  Adventist Christian Fellowship ministers to scores of Adventist youth who attend public educational institutions.  ACF encourages churches located near a public university or college to consider starting an ACF chapter to reach out to Adventist students who might be attenting that university or college.  Through an ACF group, students can find support and resources to thrive spiritually on public university and college campuses.
  Visit [ www.ACFlink.org ] to get connected.

• 25 WAYS TO BRING CHRIST TO YOUR COMMUNITY THIS SUMMER
  You want to do your part to fulfill the gospel commission and bring the people in your community to Christ, but the question is "How?"
  
  As Ellen White counseled in Christ's Object Lessons, "We are not to wait for souls to come with us; we must seek them out where they are" [p. 229]. So this summer, before you put up the tents, rent the halls, print the brochures, or knock on doors, get out there and mingle as one who desires the good of your community.
  
  We hope this guide - filled with practical ideas, innovative ideas, and even some new twists on old ideas will help you get started:
  
  Host a car show. That's one way to get people to locate the Adventist church. New Jersey's Meadow View Junior Academy in Chesterfield is getting ready for its eighth annual antique car show, flea market, and fundraiser that attracts hundreds annually.  Mt Holly pastor Bob Hoyt shows off his 1950 Studebaker and enjoys meeting members of the community
  Adopt a police officer or fireman. Some churches adopt highways.  But if you want to know the people in your neighborhood, why not visit them.  Until recently Potomac's Takoma Park [MD] church pastor, Dan Pabon, served as chaplain of the local police force where he spent time listening, praying with officers, and counseling them during difficult times.
  Give a caregiver a day off. In every community, people care for elderly parents, disabled children, or others need of constant support. 
  
  Read more at [ www.plusline.org/article.php?id=5863 ]

• SOCIAL NETWORKING AND EVANGELISM
  Eric Robinson has written a Facebook Application called Life Questions which allows you to incorporate a block of evangelistic content within your Facebook profile. You can currently link to a range of pages within the EveryStudent.com site, according to your preferece: www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6611135350
  
  He writes, "I was going through my stats today and noticed that since I launched seven weeks ago there have been users of the application from 39 different countries representing the entire globe. The number of users is still only around 350, but I'm hoping to see that grow in the tutorials:
  
  gathadams.com/2007/06/18/how-to-write-a-facebook-application-in-10-minutes
  www.sofewaredeveloper.com/features/develop-facebook-app-072607
  www.virtualmaketingblog.com/index.php/20071022/how-to-make-facebook-applications
  
  It would be exciting to see a range of Facebook applications available, appropriate for different affinity groups and languages.