Wisconsin—The Wisconsin Conference, along with the Portage district, is exploring a new strategy for evangelism pre-work. Charles Byrd, pastor, came to the district with videography skills gained from his time at Steeple Productions. All four district churches (Portage, Oxford, Reedsburg, and Baraboo) agreed to support Byrd and two task-force workers, Kevin Ekvall and Ezra Foss, in producing 13 evangelistic programs entitled In Search of the Truth and airing them on television prior to the live reaping series in each church.

Positive responses are already coming in from the viewing audience, including over ten requests for study guides, and four individuals visited the Reedsburg and Oxford churches after viewing the programs. Oxford members offered to bring the DVDs to people in their homes and to date are following up on over 30 requests to view these programs.

From his experience as missionary in the Middle East and Saipan, Byrd brings a world view to his search for truth. The series starts with an honest look at whether there even is a Creator God in the premiere program, The Genesis Question. In the second program, Message in a Bottle, Byrd takes a critical look at the most convincing evidence that the One who claims to be the Creator also knows the future with pinpoint accuracy.

The HOPE Channel staff were so impressed with these programs that they chose to premiere this series during the General Conference Session in St. Louis.

Now you can "join" the Byrds as they visit Bethlehem, Qumran, Mt. Nebo, Bethany, Sinai, Gehenna, Mt. Carmel, and Jerusalem where they shot original footage in their search for truth. This DVD series is available at the Wisconsin Adventist Book Center.

James Fox, Wisconsin Conference communication director