Mobile Ministry Magazine

The other day, while presiding over our youth meeting, I whipped out my Palm Tungsten T5. We were practicing a musical skit, so I cued up the song on my T5.

One of my teens looked at quizzically and asked, "Hey, it that an iPod?

This underscores a serious and snowballing issue in our inner cities. As we learn how to funnel technological resources as a viable means of sharing the Word, we may also be creating (or at the very least increasing) gaps in accessability.

Take a situation in a nameless school in the midwest. At one school, situated in the inner city, a teen from that school that attends our group said it would be foolish to bring an mp3 player to school; even more foolish to leave it hanging around. You wouldn't own it too long.

Compare this to a school close by, but in the "burbs". When I talked to teen from that school, who just got a new iPod, about keeping it safe, she laughed. "No one would steal it. Everyone has one. Some people have two."

Believe it or not, many families in our United States that lack some...well, you know... "amenities" that some of us consider crucial to life. The internet is not as common as we may think, and when it is available, dial-up is the norm. How do we expect these kids (and their parents) to understand how Bible+ has revolutionized my life? How do I meet them on their terms, and not force them to be served on mine?

As ambassadors of technology, we may have to be just that: ambassadors of technology. We need to teach people, even those who may not have the means, to take note of the shifting sands. To be more stereotypical, while "Shaniqua" may be able to create a Podcast and apply to Moody online by her 14th birthday, "Bob" may be languishing on the other side of town, at a school that has no money for the latest desktops, and whose parents consider keeping the lights on a wee bit more important than knowing the specs on the latest PDA.

It doesn't stop at ministry-related issues. How about life skills? Are we helping prepare people for a world where jobs are applied for online? Where e-commerce and Paypal are considered normal? Where banking can be done remotely (mine is 600 miles away)?

I can renew my registration and get a replacement license online. A lot of utility companies actually charge customers for opting for paper bills. Uncle Sam gets your tax returns quicker if you e-file and do a direct deposit. The list goes on and on...

So, back in the present, I face a simple dilemma. I can get all huffy, wondering how anybody could confuse my beautiful T5 with another gadget. Had he not seen me read biblical verses from it? Had he not seen me share pictures, write plays and such? How in the heck could anyone think it was an iPod?

Or, I could take the time to show him, and all my young people, how I used it to try to be a better minister. I could show them how my T5 helped me propagate His message. I could use it as an example of how God could be glorified, even when on the
move. And how Gow would always move, regardless of how much or how little we do.

The ministry might be mobile, and ever changing; yet, His faithfulness is the same forever.

This article was submitted by Tre/Stryker. If you have an article or idea for an article that you want to contribute, shoot us an email and we will post it (pending review of course)