Digital Evangelism Issues

We are honored to release the 2012 version by Mobile Advance of their 5-minute video explaining the opportunities for mobile ministry in the Majority World.

Please also check our range of FREE ebooks, normally pay-for, that you can download now, on our ebook page.

Download video for use in meetings and seminars: WMV 15.5MB

Check our other news about mobile phones and digital opportunities for cross-cultural missions.

Smartphone use is increasing dramatically in the Majority World. But for many poorer people who own mobiles or aspire to them, a simple phone is all they may afford for some years ahead.

So the new Worldreader system which turns these phones into smartphones of a sort, with cloud storage of ebooks, all accessed via the phone signal, is quite remarkable. Free ebooks can be placed in the hands of African school students, for instance. Read more, and watch the video:

Other initiatives are also enhancing mobiles in Africa, for instance Message Optimizer. There are growing opportunities for evangelism, discipleship and development. Follow the #mobmin hashtag for Twitter news, and check our recent posts about mobiles.

Kindle ebooks

The free download period for these these two Kindle titles has now expired, though they are still cheap.

If you don’t have a Kindle, then download from Amazon a free Kindle reader for your PC or smartphone, link it with your Amazon account and you are ready to go.

You may need to switch to your local Amazon store for these titles if you are outside US, and the link shows up as ‘pricing information not available’ – if it is available in your country, a link on the right-hand side will appear for you to switch countries and get the download button.

The Final Assault: A Novel about Finishing the Task by Steve Smith, highly recommended on church planting.

Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism by Carl Medearis. Another highly-recommended title.

Here’s Google’s newly-released video presentation of their Project Glass project.

It’s nothing less than a fully-functional smartphone built into glasses with head-up display on the lenses.

Will it fly? Will people really want it? Will users be forever falling down holes or bumping into lamp-posts or people? Surely it must never be used when driving a car?

It’s hard to see any of the evangelism/discipleship opportunities of a normal smartphone (eg. video-clip sharing) working with these glasses. But could it generate others?

Would you like to use a set of these? Add your comments.

The second largest nation in the world is a rich and wonderful mixture of contrasts. Skim through this very clear slide presentation to see just how far digital penetration is transforming Indian society (based on April 2011 stats).

Similar patterns of digital usage are at varying stages of maturity across the Majority World. These things being so, it is surely a priority of the highest order that agencies and national churches begin to understand and use these immense opportunities.

The range of options is wide – mobile phone sharing, video shorts, social networking, longer films. (See films for Asia produced by Create International.) I have long hoped for believers to build bridge strategy pages about Bollywood films.

Moses Abraham is active in mobile phone evangelism – for example sharing videos with a taxi driver.

Photo credit: Vasant Dave / sxc.hu

In 21st Century evangelism, there are four overarching principles that must inform what we do, worldwide:

1. Think digital
   The vast majority of people are wired – to the web or mobile phones. It is part of their lives. Any form of evangelism or discipleship which does not acknowledge, use or integrate digital into ministry is missing out.

2. Think social
   Digital culture is increasingly social, discussion and relationship based. (And post-Christian/postmodern.) Stop thinking ‘one-way proclamational preaching’ and start thinking ‘two-way dialogue’. And their preferred discussion topics are often their felt needs, popular culture or other interests.

3. Think mobile
   The mobile revolution means that people are connected 24/7, not just when they sit in front of a computer. For many in the Majority World, a mobile is the only electronic equipment they will own or aspire to. The mobile is unlocking opportunities for the good news that would have been impossible until recently.

4. Think storytelling
   The digital age is a storytelling age. Evangelism that does not ‘get’ story is not going to connect well in the 21st century, if ever it did.

   Visual Story Network’s 3-minute video highlights this:

You can download this video for seminars and meetings.

Storytelling is everything

Whatever we wish to communicate, we need story rather than abstract truths. Apologists such as Lee Stobel and Josh McDowell say they now need to embed the truths they communicate within story.

Secular documentary film-makers says the same:

A secular storyteller explains why storytelling is vital:

Jay O’Callahan: The Power of Storytelling from 99% on Vimeo.

Picture credit GregAtkinson.com

Agree? Disagree? Like to Comment? Whatever the downsides (and everything has downsides), mobiles remain an incredible evangelism opportunity, both in the West and the Majority World.

Why buy a smartphone? Which operating system to choose: Android or iPhone.

Check these recent posts on using phones in evangelism and discipleship.

Created by: OnlineMastersDegree.com

Another evangelism-related phone app has been released. This is a web app which you buy (for pennies – using Paypal ‘buy now’ button or bank card) and download from a website, rather from iTunes/Android Market. It operates in 40+ languages. If you have ever tried to figure out how to naturally start a spiritual conversation, or wondered how to engage your neighbors, friends, family and co-workers in practical, doable, and authentic ways that help them move towards the heart of Jesus, God’s GPS was designed for you. It is produced by Doug Pollock and team – Doug wrote God Space, which was a special book focus and free download for IE Day last year.

This app distills the experience that Doug shares in his books and seminars. Its purpose is to equip Christians to share faith appropriately and conversationally. It is not intended for non-yet-followers to download or look at (unlike the Talking About Jesus app). These principles apply both offline and online.

Get it here: GodsGPS.com

Check our other mobile phone resources.

These useful infographics reveal the context in which we minister online. Although these are based on US statistics, doubtless other western countries are broadly similar.

Credit: Nielsen.com. View full graphic with footnotes in PDF | other Neilsen reports.

Check our other recent posts on social networking and the enormous opportunities there are to share faith appropriately.

In this short slideshow, Alvaro González-Alorda suggests that college teaching methods must change, in our new digital communication culture. Does this also apply to the way the church teaches stuff – at local church or college level? Add your thoughts using the Comments link below.

There’s one message that we need to write on our hearts: THINK MOBILE. Whether you’re a web designer, church, social networker, bible or book publisher, or mission agency, mobiles are a vital key to evangelism and discipleship.

Chris White of ChrisWhiteMinistries.com explains the incredibly opportunities for mobile phones in Africa and Asia. National church leaders and members, mission agencies: this is happening now! It’s not the future. Even old cheap ‘feature phones’, in countries where smartphones are not yet common, can handle java-based Bible and other downloads: learn more. Check this story of an Indian evangelist sharing videos with a muslim taxi-driver. See also our other posts on mobiles.

Mobile apps

There’s huge potential for evangelistic phone apps. We recently featured the new Talking About Jesus app for iPhone, one of very few evangelistic apps.

Jan Korpegård of HJCB Sweden writes, “I have developed an Android app, which presents the Easter week bible texts in real time during the Easter week.” The app is just released on the Android Market (now renamed Google Play). You’ll need to use your phone’s Menu button to switch off the audible alerts of new texts being posted!

Web-based apps

In the headlong rush for mobile apps, you may encounter some described as web-based apps. These are not ‘native’ apps in the normal sense, obtained from iTunes or the Android app market, and which often function without a data connection.

Web-based apps however, run within a browser, and are essentially a mobile-friendly web-site, which usually needs a data connection to function. Antoine Wright, of Mobile Ministry Magazine, has written a detailed explanation of web-based apps, and how they differ from normal ‘native’ apps.

Antoine is available for consultancy on all aspects of mobile phone ministry.