A community in your hands

The Very Rev Albert Bogle highlights the global rise of the smartphone as an opportunity for sharing the gospel

I ONCE visited a church in India to find the pastor repeatedly shouting ‘hallelujah’ down a distorted microphone. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, especially on the ears.

In some way, this experience illustrates the importance of using technology in an appropriate way when it comes to considering its use as part of the Church’s mission strategy.

According to Statista, by 2025 it is estimated that there will be 18 billion mobile phones in use worldwide. Many of these phones are increasingly being used to surf the net, text, access banking facilities, pay bills, and develop social networks. In short, the mobile phone has become a community of friends, family and business all rolled into one.

This is why Sanctuary First has been developing our mobile App that allows you to read, comment, save and share Christian material that can speak into the lives of our friends and family.

We believe it is already an effective way to use technology to develop and nurture gospel communities around the world. Over 60% of people now use a mobile device to connect with Sanctuary First. This means that people are taking advantage of travelling time to listen to podcasts or read blogs or join the early morning 7am prayer time, being broadcast live at present on Facebook but soon to be broadcast on the App and the website. Connect Group material is also becoming a popular download for many within our congregations who want to study the Bible but have limited opportunities to attend in-person groups.

We are living through what can only be described as one of the most exciting eras of history, when it comes to scientific discovery and changing social patterns. Already the 21st century has become known as ‘The Bio-tech Century’. Advances have been made in all the emerging technologies (bio, nano, virtual reality, info/digital, artificial intelligence, and robotics). These developments will have profound implications for the Church and her mission, particularly in our theological understanding of what it means to be human beings uniquely created by God. The fact is many of the first scientists were people of faith, and indeed it was their passion for the Glory of God being revealed through creation that drove them on to make their inquiry. Scientific discovery and theology need not be in conflict.

At a time when many in the church feel discouraged because they see the old patterns of church life declining. I believe it is time to lift our eyes in order to see and understand a different perspective.

The words of the prophet Isaiah brings to mind the voice of God: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isa 43: 19). The new thing is that there are more and more opportunities opening up for the message of the gospel to be shared and lived out.

I recognise the tools we use to help others understand the gospel need to be chosen carefully and wisely, and be appropriate for the situation. Whether it be the tools of medicine, the use of the internet, the publication of a book or the volume of a microphone, just because we have them available does not mean that we always have to use them, and when we do we should do so with integrity. But let us rejoice in the fact we have them and we can use them to reconnect with lost generations. ¤