BY TAMARA SHETLER

HREE ANGELS GLOBAL NETWORKING (TAGnet) began simply enough. Sean Carney, a self-described "computer geek" from Canada, asked God what he could do to further the gospel. During a prayer at the 1993 Adventist-Laymen's Services and Industries (ASI) national convention in Toronto, Canada, God answered Sean with an idea that would eventually help Seventh-day Adventists tie their worldwide ministries together through a global network.

Upon his return to British Columbia, Sean went online with other Adventists, explaining his idea to organize an Internet-based outreach ministry. His thoughts sparked the imagination of Gary Regan, a computer network engineer living and working in California's Silicon Valley. After weeks of online chats, Gary and Sean met in the San Francisco Bay Area to discuss ways of turning this idea into a reality. Shortly afterward, Sean moved to the heart of the technology industry-where inspiration is a prerequisite for innovation.

"I was impressed that the Bay Area was where I should be," said Sean. "I felt that God was directing my life, and the only thing that I had to do was trust Him and step out in faith."

Sean soon landed a job as Internet publishing manager at Apple Computer, the perfect stepping-stone for his future venture. The Adventist Church in Sunnyvale served as the incubator (a safe place for hatching technology ideas) that Sean and Gary needed to move forward.

Team Spirit
Several talented engineers in the church stepped up to provide support, including Gordon Harty, now the chief technology officer for TAGnet. Technology savvy volunteers are a key ingredient to their success. Two volunteers relocated to the Silicon Valley in order to give one night a week-David Burry, Webmaster/engineer for Adobe Systems, and Joel McComb, Webmaster/designer for 4D, Inc. "Volunteering at TAGnet has allowed me to be part of a project that enables ministries, churches, and organizations to spread the gospel online," explained McComb.

By trading real estate for bandwidth, Mountain View Academy, in California, became the first Adventist school with a T1 (very fast) Internet connection. When TAGnet was launched in July 1995, the first six months saw about 3,800 visitors per week. Now the site hosts more than 130,000 unique visitors and 4.5 million hits per week. Thousands of churches, schools, ministries, and conference-based organizations are "live" on the Internet through TAGnet's services.

LifeTalk Radio, Adventist World Radio (AWR), and Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN) use TAGnet to broadcast live audio and video feeds across the Internet. Azure Hills (California) CrossWalk Ministries broadcasts live streaming video of their services every Sabbath. Last summer the Central California Conference broadcast every meeting in the main auditorium of Soquel camp meeting, allowing thousands to tune in to see and hear the daily presentations.

The Internet has emerged as the major communication tool for the twenty-first century. No business can truly be successful without a Web presence. This instantaneous, always on (not to mention inexpensive) mode of communicating has the potential for being one of the church's most creative ways to communicate the gospel. It is simple and relatively easy to use, which makes it quick and inexpensive to share literature around the world. For example, AWR uses TAGnet to distribute radio programming to its 55 stations worldwide, which then broadcast it on shortwave radio throughout the 10/40 window.

Anyone Can
At the request of pastors who wanted to create and maintain church Web sites using existing office staff, Nancy Lamoreaux, director for integrated technologies (IT) for the North American Division, asked the TAGnet team to come up with a solution to empower local churches without a major technology infrastructure behind them to design and maintain their own congregational Web sites. WebSite Builder 1.0 is the direct result of hundreds of pastors who visited the TAGnet booth at the General Conference session in Toronto in 2000.

"WebSite Builder is a great way for churches to get their Web sites up and running," explained Lamoreaux. "The North American Division endorses WebSite Builder as a premier option for anyone wanting to build and maintain their own Web site."

Many months and tens of thousands of dollars later, WebSite Builder 1.0 enables any church, school, ministry, or conference to create and upload its information onto the Internet using only an Internet connection, basic word processing skills, and a Web browser. WebSite Builder costs only $45 per year (just $3.75 per month) for TAGnet members (member dues are $40 per year).

Now that the creation and maintenance of a Web site is simple and affordable, every church-based ministry can have a Web presence. In fact, every church in North America does have a Web site through a recently released North American Division Church Directory.

Successful Web sites refresh their content regularly. TAGnet's new service, "News and Events," is online now, enabling members to upload information onto a central database regularly. News and calendar pages are dynamically created and organized by location and topic. For example, news and events from local churches are shown within the local conference section. Maintaining a fresh and timely Web site is a tremendous resource for local members. Future offerings include articles, mission opportunities, employment openings, and more.

Making Connections
Since 1995 lives have been changed and prayers have been answered via the TAGnet service portal. One example: Adventist World Aviation (AWA) posted a need for an airplane on their Web page. A visitor was inspired to donate a twin-engine Navion (that needed a little work) to their mission. On that same site a motivated mechanic donated three months of his time and energy to getting the plane in flying order. More stories are posted at www.tagnet.org. You can upload your story at the same address.

One of TAGnet's goals is to be the premier search engine for all things Adventist, to be the clearinghouse for information and data on every Web site sponsored by conference- or lay-based ministries. Content managers are adding to the database weekly, as well as writing programs that keep the listings up to date. Advanced Content Management Services are also available to larger organizations such as unions, conferences, departments, and publishers.

The Internet has made it possible for people to stay connected all over the world in real time. Never before has our world seemed so small, which makes fulfilling the gospel commission more of a reality than ever before. TAGnet wants to be there-on the front lines of technology mission, providing services that enable a united church body to post the words of hope, love, and salvation in written, spoken, or acted form to those who have yet to hear Jesus' name.

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Tamara Shetler is a media consultant who lives in California.