Abraham Bakari to Lead New Office Connecting Media Contacts With Local Churches

Abraham Bakari, a veteran of radio and television broadcasting across West and Central Africa, will lead a new effort at Hope Channel International to bring media audiences into local congregations. He produced this year’s Africa for Christ campaign, broadcast from Lagos, Nigeria, across the continent on television, radio and social media.

Bakari “will work closely with our global network to develop and implement strategies that help every Hope Channel entity align its media strategies with intentional evangelism that connects people with the local church,” Vyacheslav Demyan, president of Hope Channel International, wrote to network leaders. Demyan linked the office to the network’s goal “to reach one billion people with the message of eternal hope by 2030,” adding, “But reach is only where the journey begins.”

Bakari brings more than 25 years of experience in communication and media ministry. Demyan also asked for prayer for Bakari’s family. “I would be grateful for your prayers for Elder Bakari and his wife, Monica, and their four children as they navigate this important transition,” he wrote.

Bakari directed Adventist World Radio’s Fulani program from 2000 to 2002, then led communication and radio work for two regional church organizations: the Central Africa Union Mission from 2005 to 2014 and the Cameroon Union Mission from 2014 to 2021. Since 2021, he has served the West-Central Africa Division, the church’s regional administration based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, coordinating Hope Channel across 22 countries. He holds a master’s degree in communication from the University of Yaoundé II, earned in 2011, and a 2023 certificate in digital humanities from Harvard. He is completing a Master of Divinity at the Adventist University of Africa. He speaks Fulfulde, French, English, and Mada.

The campaign, Africa for Christ: Arise in Hope, ran from April 26 to May 9, 2026, and Bakari led Hope Channel International’s work on the ground. At the General Conference’s Annual Council in October, Bakari reported more than 58,000 baptisms. He also produced and managed Almost Home in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in 2023.

Abraham Bakari, who has spent 25 years in radio and television across West and Central Africa, presenting the case for integration at the Annual Council. Photo: Tor Tjeransen / Adventist Media Exchange (CC BY 4.0)

In his Annual Council remarks, Bakari described “the missing invitation,” the gap between attracting an audience and bringing people into fellowship. “Millions can listen to what we are sharing on the radio, but very few will come and access our church or our meetings,” he said. For Africa for Christ, he explained, broadcasts were accompanied by personal invitations, with people available to answer calls and direct viewers to local meetings. Media and members worked together, he said, “and we call this integration.”

“We don’t measure success by impressions. We don’t measure success by the number of people reached,” Bakari said. “We measure success by the impact because we have invited, we have connected, and we have taken the step of discipling.”