By Abigael Wambua

East- Central Africa Division headquarters, Nairobi-Kenya

August 19, 2026

What if the smartphone in your hand is more than a device? What if the platform you have built is more than a space for followers? What if your voice was given to you for a purpose far greater than visibility?

Those questions formed the heartbeat of the keynote address delivered by Elder Yohannes Olana,the  East-Central Africa Division (ECD) Treasurer, as more than 160 content creators and influencers gathered at the ECD Auditorium in Nairobi for the opening of the ECD Content Creators Summit.

Invited by Moses Maka, ECD Executive Secretary, to address the gathering, Elder Olana spoke from a place that has become increasingly evident in his leadership, a deep appreciation for media and its potential to advance the gospel.

Photo: Elder Yohannes Olana, ECD Treasurer

His message was drawn from Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet and tell My people their transgression.” For Elder Olana, the command was more than an ancient instruction to Israel. It was a present-day commission to a generation with unprecedented access to people's attention.

“We are called to speak. We are called to testify. We are called to lift up our voice because the world is listening.” The world, he emphasized, is listening in places the Church can no longer afford to overlook.

A Vehicle For Mission

“Your content is your vehicle for the mission,” he told the creators.

In an environment where TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, podcasts, and other digital platforms shape how people think, communicate   and form communities, Elder Olana urged the Church to recognize the mission opportunity before it. Creators do not merely carry a message ,  it is a sacred message they carry. That distinction became central to his appeal.

Content creators, he said, are not simply people producing material for digital consumption. They are influencers, ambassadors and watchmen; people positioned to shape thoughts and direct attention.

A voice can encourage someone. A voice can bring hope. A voice can lead someone to Christ and sometimes, one message can reach the world.

When God says, “Do not whisper, Lift Your Voice!”

There are moments, he said, when God does not call His people to whisper.

This is one of those moments. The Church has a message for a world filled with competing voices; voices of fear, materialism, confusion, false worship and human tradition.

Against that noise, Adventists have been entrusted with a voice of hope: the Word of God, the Truth of God, the everlasting gospel, the call to repentance and the promise of Christ's soon return.

The question, therefore, is not whether there are enough voices. The question is which voice will Christian content creators choose to amplify?

Examine your   platforms honestly, Elder Olana, Insisted,

Are they using their influence to create division or unity?

To promote themselves or glorify God?

To generate noise or communicate truth?

“Don't compete with other voices,” he urged. “Be faithful with God's voice.”

Photo: Summit Delegate

From Experience to Testimony. 

Taking the creators back to Acts 4:20, where Peter and John declared that they could not stop speaking about what they had seen and heard. He pleaded the   creators to begin there. Experiencing Jesus Christ. If Christ has changed your life, you have something to share.

The mission, he said, is not reserved for pastors, evangelists, or professional communicators. Every believer has been given an opportunity to serve.

The Media Passion Behind the Message

Elder Olana's appeal carries particular weight because it reflects his own conviction about the role of media in mission.

He has consistently advocated for qualitative membership over merely quantitative growth, a conviction that reaching more people must ultimately lead to deeper transformation.

For him, media can help carry the gospel farther, but reach alone is not the destination.

The goal is impact. The goal is transformation. The goal is to place the message before people who may never walk through the doors of a church.

He likens media's reach to the angels described in Revelation carrying the everlasting gospel, visible to a world that is already looking toward the sky.In the same way, media is already everywhere. 

Identity. Unity. Mission.

Elder Olana eventually brought his appeal into three simple responsibilities.

Identity- Before asking what should I say? Creators must know who I am and whose I am. Their identity is rooted in Christ and in the Church's calling to proclaim the everlasting gospel.

Unity-The creators gathered in Nairobi come from different countries, cultures, languages   and platforms. Their methods may differ, but the mission is one.

Many languages. One message. One mission. One voice.

Mission-The command to lift up the voice belongs to every believer. Every platform can become a point of contact. Every conversation can become an opportunity. Every creator can participate.

The voice God gave you, has a Purpose, Lift it!

The value of the voice is not determined by the size of the audience, but by faithfulness to the One who gave it.

Now is the time, Treat it with Urgency.

Lift Your Voice!