Hope Media Europe celebrated its 75th anniversary on July 1. Under the motto “75 Years of Hope,” around 130 invited guests gathered in the media center of the organization in Alsbach-Hähnlein, Germany, for a thanksgiving service, a facility tour, and a music program. Keynote speaker for the Sabbath sermon was Guillermo Biaggi, a vice president for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and chairman of the board of directors of Hope Channel International.

In his introductory remarks, Hope Media Europe president Klaus Popa paid tribute to the commitment of the founders in building up the Adventist media network. He also remembered the recently deceased Arno Patzke, who led Voice of Hope, Hope Media Europe’s predecessor, from 1978 to 1993.

Popa described the goal of Hope Media’s work. “We have always wanted people to get to know God, choose to believe in Him, and enjoy a life full of hope,” he said.

Also present were Norbert Zens, treasurer for the Inter-European Division of the Adventist Church and chair of the Hope Media Europe board; Jörg Dechert, chairman of the board of the evangelical media corporation ERF Medien; Beate Busch, head of programming at Bibel TV; and Sebastian Bubenzer, mayor of Alsbach-Hähnlein.

Zens expressed his great appreciation for the work of Hope Media. He thanked the sponsors and donors as well as the Hope Media team, which, in terms of technology, plays “in the Champions League,” he quipped.

From 10 Minutes of Radio to Full-Fledged TV

In 1948, Max Busch founded the Voice of Hope in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, which produced radio broadcasts. That same year, Adventist visionaries launched a Bible Correspondence School, now called Hope Courses.

Initially, the weekly radio broadcast time lasted just 10 minutes. After moving to Darmstadt in 1959, the work grew stronger and stronger. In 1968, the Blind Audio Library was added, offering Christian audio services for blind and visually impaired people.

In 2006, the company moved to its current building in Alsbach-Hähnlein. The construction of the new media center was made possible by an unexpected donation of 1 million euros, as Günther Machel, then head of the Voice of Hope, reported at the ceremony.

In 2009, Hope Channel, a new television option, was launched. In 2019 it was renamed as Hope TV. Currently, more than 70 employees work at Hope Media.

Production Expansion Plans

Referring to the history of Hope Media, which was “full of miracles,” keynote speaker Guillermo Biaggi spoke of seven miracles mentioned in the Bible: the miracle of creation, salvation, life, mission, faith, hope, and love. An intercessory prayer by Hope Media employees concluded the July 1 service.

During a tour of the building, leaders reported on the ongoing renovation of the media center, which should make it possible to move from 5 to 20 hours of new content every week starting next fall.

The day ended with a classical concert. Lynn My Lin Trinh (violin), Simon Scheibe (cello), and Eva Paul (piano) played works by Camille Saint-Saëns, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Johan Halvorsen.

About Hope Media

Hope Media Europe operates the Hope TV television station, the Hope Bible Study Institute (Hope Courses), and the Hope Audio Library. The media center is part of the international Hope Channel network, which was founded in 2003 by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States and now includes more than 60 broadcasting centers internationally.

The original version of this story was posted by Adventistische Pressedienst.