Association "Novomedia" brought together more than 70 colleagues for the Christian Media Weekend. Among them members of Novomedia and new face of Christian media projects from 17 cities of Ukraine.

The main purpose of the event - to communicate, learn, share experiences, to pray for the media and to have nice rest in a pine forest.

The day began with a general prayer of praise and worship. In a short sermon the participants were meditating on what media professionals can take for their life and work from certain Bible passages.

At the lectures on different areas of the media world during the day the participants were getting practical tips and inspiration. Among the speakers there were: Ruslan Kukharchuk ("Novomedia"), Andrei Kolodych and Sergei Pogrebnyak (project "ZhIVYakom"), Olesya Dolina (Kyiv Regional TV-Radio Company), Alexander Dzhusupov (Novyy Channel), Olga Kulyk (InVictory Media), Alla Sobko (Corporation "Є"), Svyatoslav Batov (SMM-specialist, blogger), Vladimir Bagnenko (creator of the studio "The Word").

What you hear in the ear, that preach you upon the housetops

President of the Association "Novomedia" voiced key words and messages for the year 2015:

commitment (to God, to vocation, ministry);

solidarity (put each other over yourselves; we need each other for a common work and ministry; help others and ask for help for yourself);

media production (to be not only activists, but to engage in business creating real projects).

"In Matthew Gospel , 10:27,  we find the words of Jesus Christ, as if they are addressed towards reporters:" What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops., "- the head of Novomedia began his speech.

Ruslan Kukharchuk proposed to use a broader concept than just a journalist - media worker. So this group of people is called to work hard to get the Gospel message known to as many people as possible.

"The media often become the voice of the evil that promotes anti-Christian and anti-human values. New media workers have to take responsibility for the transformation of the media ", - said Ruslan Kukharchuk. For the same purpose, on the initiative of the Association, the National prayer for the media in Ukraine is being held every first Sunday of December. Ruslan Kukharchuk encouraged the participants to introduce such a tradition in their churches, because then the attitude towards journalists will change and the awareness of the importance of their work will be higher and the concentration of resources in this direction will be more fruitful.

The Internet which keep changing

Several sessions were dedicated to the Internet and social media world. Svyatoslav Batov gave a lecture on the rules of eco behaviour to Facebook. And Dennis Semenyuk told about new trends in the network and what one can do on the Internet during the global crisis.

There are some trends in the media: the audience is becoming more multitask (as a consequence - it is difficult to focus on one thing), and the media, on the contrary, more specialized. Demand becomes on journalism of opinions rather than factual material and quick information - consumers want an extended information. Virtual reality and devices that collect a maximum of personalized information will affect the user content.

Catch life!

Andrey Kolodych and Sergey Pogrebnyak, musicians and authors of popular online project "ZhIVYakom" shared the experience of creating this project and about their creative life in general. "Catch the moments and ideas - and immediately try to implement them, without leaving it for later. The most important is what we do in this life now, "- the creators of the project commented.

Be loud and united voice of truth, peace and faith

Over the past year and a half there was a radical change of rhetoric in Ukrainian secular media, speakers noted. If earlier Christians were called sectarians, the events on the Maidan, and the war in Eastern Ukraine changed a lot. Patriotism and active volunteer support of evangelical churches have broken the ice prejudice.

However, one should not stop there, we should continue to affirm Christian ethics in the society through the media. Therefore, during the Media Weekend participants identified key priorities for Christian media workers in the year 2015:

the theme of the natural family

«gluing” the country

fight against corruption

goodness is in trend/ honesty, morality

demonstration of the unity of denominations

information security of children and adolescents

media exorcism + elimination of occult themes

faith, hope and future - in Ukraine

the role of Christians in voluntary work

A farewell is not for us!

Three days passed quickly. Christian Media Weekend – it is a holiday for colleagues and, of course, a work for them.

Looking back, one could really see that in many speeches, sermons and lectures the same ideas were echoing in a surprising way. Attunement of hearts and minds!

It was great to see participants of all ages - very young children, students and adults professionals. We were pleased to have such a number of professionals: journalists, TV presenters, directors, copywriters, SMM-ers, site developers, editors ... They work both in religious and secular media, gradually accustoming the unbelieving colleagues to respect their believes and not to make them to do things that are contrary to their faith.

Before leaving for their towns and churches, the participants staged a small concert, which served as sharing their talents. Songs with guitar, poems recitation, inspirational wishes ... Journalist colleague from Lugansk played a medieval Irish Christian song. Young mother form Slavyansk Olesya Dmitrieva recited a poem dedicated to the memory of four ministers of the Protestant church killed in her city.

The program of the Christian Media Weekend included also a lunch on a fresh air, free time in the gym, games, photo shoots and much more. Finally, the participants sang with Julia Dzhusupova an incendiary song about Ukraine, then made a final prayer and took the overall picture.

And how all what was planned will be implemented, the participants will find out at the next Christian Media Weekend in the year 2016.

Read the comments the participants

Press-center Novomedia Association