A special live satellite broadcast on February 11 hosted by evangelist Mark Finley aims to strengthen the Seventh-day Adventist Church's mission of helping others in the tsunami-ravaged areas of South Asia, church officials say.

"In producing this program, we wish to raise awareness of the post-tsunami needs and to help strengthen the Adventist Church in the regions affected by the tragedy so they can be more effective in helping their communities -- spiritually [and] physically," says Gary Krause, director of the church's Office of Mission Awareness, which is producing the program.

Adds Finley, who is director of the church's Office of Global Evangelism, "The church must always be ready to meet the mental, physical, spiritual and social needs wherever it ministers. Today, we must be where the hurt is, and where people are asking, 'Where is God in the midst of human suffering, where is He when I hurt?' That's why we're involved in responding to those questions."

"It's a compassionate response to help the church in these areas be more effective in doing what they should do in these communities," Krause adds. "The tsunami occurred in [a part of the world] where the church is both weak and economically poor. We can help the church in these regions to show Christian compassion to their communities in a time of crisis."

Dubbed "Hope in Tragedy," the program will feature reports on how the tsunami affected the church and the ongoing relief efforts. The program will feature several Adventist leaders, including Pastor Jan Paulsen, world church president, and will be interspersed with inspirational music.

"This is an opportunity for the church to be more effective in helping the general community," Krause says, noting that money raised could fund "opportunities such as orphanages, health programs, hospital community programs and more spiritual ventures the church in these areas may wish to implement."

Both the Hope Channel, a Seventh-day Adventist Church satellite broadcasting outreach, and 3ABN, a private ministry supportive of the Adventist church, will carry the program.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a mainstream Protestant church with more than 25 million weekly worshippers in 114,000 congregations in 203 countries and areas of the world.