Media and the New Evangelization: Television as a Means of Sharing the Faith
Editor’s Note: As our team was planning themes and topics for our blog, we found ourselves discussing the New Evangelization. We thought that perhaps we should explore on our blog the meaning and purpose of the New Evangelization and how to live it in our world today.
The Church in Canada is fortunate to have many dedicated women and men committed to finding new ways of sharing the gospel. Therefore, over the next few weeks we will feature posts written by various friends engaged in ministry who are engaged in the work of the New Evangelization. We asked each person to respond to a question related to the New Evangelization. The first of these authors is Sebastian Gomes, a producer for Salt and Light Television. We invited Sebastian to share with us how television offers a way for sharing the faith. We hope you enjoy, and find helpful, Sebastian’s insightful response.
The question is no longer if the Church should be involved in new media and social communications, but how and to what effect. At this point, we should be studying analytics more than user manuals.
So how do we gage the effectiveness of our efforts to evangelize through these modern means? Certainly quality and creativity are essential. In fact, a healthy balance of both can make up for limited amounts of either. But these elements are absolutely vital to catch people’s attention and draw them in.
That means any attempt to bring the gospel to light through media and social communications must be accompanied by dynamic and relevant visuals. We have to look like we belong in the arena of popular media.
We also need to creatively adapt the message. Creativity doesn’t always mean coming up with new or revolutionary ideas. On the contrary, it requires a perceptiveness to the existing ideas around us, most of which come from the culture. G.K. Chesterton once noted a unique quality in the saints depicted in traditional religious art: “The Christian saint always has his eyes very wide open… He is staring with a frantic intentness outwards.” If we can adopt this saintly trait, the ideas and inspirations we need will come to us.
On top of quality and creativity, there is another element that trumps all: content. Ultimately content is what makes or breaks our efforts to evangelize through new media and social communications. Fortunately for the Church, we have the best content out there! Low quality and lack of creativity can never completely hinder the proclamation of the gospel.
At Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation, we’ve decided to throw the nets wide. Our ministry exists on seven media platforms including a 24-hour TV channel in five languages and a comprehensive online presence where you’ll get instant access to programs, live stream, and our blog.
With each new project we try to strike that perfect balance between quality, creativity and content. Throw a few prayers in there to help the dough rise, and you’ve got bread for the world!
Oh, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!
Sebastian Gomes serves as a Producer for Salt and Light Television, located in Toronto. A native of Perth, Ontario, Sebastian went to university at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota where he earned a B.A. and M.A. in Theology and History.
