Mobile Ministry Magazine

Over at the Digital Sanctuary, a post and conversation has been going on entitled 10 Challenges facing the Church in Cyberspace. Now, I'll not take her points and just reiterate them here. Its better (for our needs) to look at these challenges within the lens of mobile technology and see where challenges and solutions might be a bit more of a behavior change than a technological one.

(1) Accept the Virtual World's significance:
Its not just virtual, its mobile and virtual. Content is not respective of the tool anymore, and therefore the church's response needs to accont for this. Not just a mobile version of a website either, integrating SMS/MMS, and teaching about security and safety online needs to be areas where the church steps into and innovates.

(2) View online expressions of Christianity as valuable extensions of real world faith:
Take this how you want to, but frankly speaking the current and next generations of Internet users are not living two lives (online and offline). The two intermingle and therefore what they do online with faith has just as much importance as what they do offline. In other words, get on their phone and see what they are living out from what you are/aren't teaching.

(3) Embrace the opportunity for Church without borders:
This should go without saying on a mobile site, but think about it. If you are mobile, time and geography are only contexts, they are not content. Learn to get out of the idea of content and context (in terms of location) being the same and see how the Church can and should engage people outside of traditional locations.

(4) Welcome the presentation of God's Word in the vernacular of current culture :
Ok, so we aren't going to be using IM chat in the mist of a service (all the time), but understanding how language is changing within the context of mobile and Internet will help you decode how best to engage people with Christ.

(5) Respond to the globalization of the planet with hope:
Nuff said; its all possible. Let's just show folks how God's folks can bring the hope of the Gospel with it.

(6) Develop and maintain an online presence purposefully populating cyberspace :
How do you do this with mobile? Easy, get out of the house and create a mash up map where you let people know that they can engage you and Christ and utilize healthy boundaries (presence notifications in phones and common sense with people) to emphasize that you are reachable as well as available. Mobile allows this more than any other medium, and its getting better.

(7) Establish virtual outposts for evangelizing, preaching, equipping & training :
Ok, the cynic in me says get a Mobile Web Server and do something fun :) But this is as simple as just making sure that your mobile tools are not just tools for being productive but also an outlet to teach. Our best reference is Inner-Linked; taking what we've learned from using the tech and making a place to teach usability and accountability in the forfront of that use.

(8) Create interactive portals for experiencing Church (streaming media):
This is the same as #6 in terms of mobile. Everything about being mobile is interactive, take advantage of it (as the kids with the PSPs and DS Lites how to do it if you aren't sure).

(9) Practice spiritual disciplines in the global online conversation :
You are not immune from laws, nor can you claim that ignorance is a calling card. From end-user-license agreements, to service agreements, to warranties, to local and international laws, we are responsible for upholding those things that God has allowed rulers to establish. And from there, we find innovative ways to address Christ-less-ness in areas where those laws curtail the freedom to believe on Him. This also includes personal boundaries towards use and being connected; learn how to disconnect and make engaging people the point of mobile tech, not just falling in love with the shiny-shiny.

(10) Encourage strategic investment in the iGeneration:
Donate, set up scholarships for execllence, teach, develop programs, work alongside those that already have programs, or simply just connect with people and families in need to knowing that digital is life-next.

Now, its your turn. Go and teach all, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You've got mail to deliever.

Labels: children, church, community, computer, content, culture, Internet, mobile, mobility, stewardship, sustainability, website

One of the comments and observations that I get around these days is that people do not look at discipliship (apprenticeship) as they used to. Part of that is indeed due to the speed of life and the technology that has gone along with it. However, I'm the last person to say ditch the tech because we cannot do things the way we used to; there's a response to being more successful in the context of discipliship given these days and times. It's up to us to figure that out, and then make sure that people don't miss Christ, no matter how fast they are able to SMS.

Identifying the issue means only that we know what the problem is - how do we effectively disciple one another in a culture where instant information and communication leaves little room for patient wisdom to take root? Thankfully, there are some examples of things we can do, and the tech that we have is a good tool to facilitate it.

The personal approach (John 4:1-42):

We are indeed familiar with the story of the Samaritian woman at the well. But unlike those times, we are apt to catch people in all manners of uncomfortable times. Here we take a slow yet open approach to discipliship: confront with the truth, speak slowly, and then before the person leaves your presence give contact information (phone, email, IM, blog, etc.) that will enable them to keep that point of contact with what you have given them. No, there's not much you can do until they reach back out to you, but in this kind of in-and-out engagement, the approach is to keep it personal and not push the person towards anything but the truth of the Gospel. Use the tech in order for them to have a teather towards affirming your works as on Jesus' team.

The Community Approach (Exodus 18)

This story also remarks of being familiar, however one of those questions do tend to remain to those who might not have studied this text throughly - how did Moses keep up with the smaller group of folks that he assigned as managers? In this case the tools of phone, email, and SMS would come in handy. However, it would also be smart to be like a cartographer and get a map mashup of those areas that are in play so that in terms of a physical understanding of the scope of ministry that one doesn't lose heart with the boundaries and the aims.

The other aspect of that map mashup comes in play for those being led, they can see the scope and followup from the inside with issues that might not be as aparent from your top-down view.

These are just a few applications of where modern tech doesn't mitigate the responsiblity of disciplship, it makes it more granular. We can utilize mobile and internet services and devices in order to facilitate communications in the way that they were designed to do. And at the same time, understand that we don't have to know everything. The models of discipliship that we used to use still stand, we just have more avenues towards making sure we don't miss something.

Labels: communication, community, culture, discipliship, people, tech