There are several ways to think and talk about mobile. And normally speaking, what’s relevant to one group may not be as rerevant to another. In respect to mobile in ministry, these distinctions often bring up engaging discussions, and sometimes even, unappreciation to the depth that is mobile.

The Outreach Perspective
For example, there’s one type of perspective to mobile that I’ll simply call an outreach-mentality. Here, the use of mobile technology is filtered through the lens of pushing information out to audiences in innovative, fast, and engaging ways. Within this view, we see those people who are media creators who are looking for ways to get their content into the hands of others.

The Needs Perspective
With this view we see mobile defined as the technology that is enabling people and communities to meet some kind of felt need (community development, education, etc.). This viewpoint to mobile can be the most divisive because defining need rarely reaches equally across regions, but has specific contact points of relevance and purpose depending on the group’s needs.

The Additional Screen Perspective
There’s also the viewpoint that mobile is seen as an additonal screen. This viewpoint takes more of a root and use in cultures where mobile competes with other technologies for attention and wallets. It is within this view that mobile is seen more as a push-communications media than its seen as an enabler, and at the same time, its noted for its ability to be relevant at that point because the communication is so targeted.

Many Views, One Served
These are just a few of the noted perspectives that’s seen throughout content that comes through MMM. Interestingly enough, each audience served (the three noted aren’t MMM-specific audiences) wants to better understand and manage mobile, but not within all the potential viewpoints.

Some time ago, it was noted that the benefit of gifts is noticed best when each person with that gift recognizes theirs, and recognizes the gifts of others. In mobile, its vitally important that if you are going to take advantage of its abilities, that you not just understand it within your perspective, but also understand it within the counter-perspectives… doing this, you can avoid the short-sightedness that causes use and innovation, and therefore unity, to falter.