Mobile Ministry Magazine

Missions is a work of bringing Christ into the lives of others, sometimes through social engagement tasks. Though building wells, schools, and orphanages, we hope that engaging a group socially would present a chance for sharing Christ. And that by doing this, there is a chance for a younger generation to rise into better conditions spiritually, physically and socially. Given the pace of technology and the widening of social classes, this aim for missions seems more important than ever. I've seen technology education as being a solid part of the missions effort, just one not always taken advantage of (Geekcorps being an exception).

By no means can I compare the OLPC project to these and other mission efforts, but I can ask the question of whether the type of door is the same, and one that those that can in the Body should take up. In brief the Give 1 Get 1 challenge is such:

Starting November 12, One Laptop Per Child will be offering a Give 1 Get 1 Program for a brief window of time in North America. For $399, you will be purchasing two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home.

Considering the ability of the OLPC XO laptop, it would seem that this could be a win-win for churches/organizations who are looking for ways to smartly integrate computer learning programs into their own ministries, and yet also provide a means for another to receive a tool that can be later used to educate and empower.

A recent review of the OLPC program and device by the New York Times talks about this challenge as more of one to our own egos, rather than the ability of the device, as it is pretty well designed for not just productivity, but learning.

From a missions perspective, a church/org could purchase a number of the OLPC XO laptops, and then train a missions team to go domestic/overseas where this is deployed for shared learning workshops. There, besides speaking on technology, designing backend infrastructure, and the like; the mission of living side by side with one another can be seen, and the correlation between Christ-living and tech-living can be seen. Considering the newness of tech as a ministry this might be a stretch, but this is something that if a church/org that is well endowed can do, it could make for a considerable short and long-term impact.

The only lingering question that I have for the OLPC is whether an organization can purchase a number of laptops, and then be notified as to where it will be going. I would assume that in the case of such a large purchase, that the partnership between the purchasing organization and the overseas recipient would make for another meeting of the challenge this mobile technology tool seeks to pursue.

Labels: mission, mobile, tech