News

Avondale College is now providing news and event listings to more than 900 new websites. The websites belong to Seventh-day Adventist churches, schools and entities in the South Pacific and are part of the South Pacific Web Network project.

This means news and events from Avondale are now automatically updated on Adventist websites that are part of the network. The new websites are interconnected through common software, making the South Pacific the first of the worldwide church's divisions to develop fully functional interactive websites that link its entities throughout the region.

The websites, including hosting requirements, are free for 12 months. The project is an initiative of the church in the South Pacific's Adventist Media Network (AMN).

"Linking Avondale to this web network will mean better integration of news and information between church entities," says Jeanelle Isaacs, AMN's electronic media officer. "This is an exciting time for us in the South Pacific as it means we will have a powerful and united presence on the Internet."

Churches can post photographs and recordings of sermons to their websites, invite visitors to submit prayer requests and offer resources such as Bible study courses. The websites can also be updated automatically with news and events from other churches, the church in the South Pacific and other entities such as Avondale.

"Churches with websites will provide useful information that will make them more accessible to the community and potential visitors," says Jeanelle. "Even if nobody does anything to the website, elements of it will still change regularly, and fresh information is one of the important factors for website visitors."

AMN is working to ensure continued financial support for the project so cost will not inhibit churches from having a website.