The Rev. Shadreck Kwagwanji convened a workshop to train church leaders to livestream and/or post recorded worhip services, to distribute educational materials and to convene small groups. The training was successful and the participants were enthusiastic; however, many clergy in his Diocese cannot afford smartphones. Some were able to borrow phones to implement what they learned in the training, and Kwagwanji is seeking sources for secondhand phones.
He has come to believe that digital media is an essential channel for evangelism. He notes that people who might not accept an invitation to attend a worship service might watch what a friend shared on Twitter. A person who wouldn’t turn to the church for help in personal crisis might discover a grief support group through a friend’s social media. Old friends who have fallen out of regular contact may connect through social media around a spiritual question or prayer request. He wants to see churches in Mozambique advocate for the use of social media, especially in reaching a younger, more tech-savvy audience.
Kwagwanji writes: “The Church exists for nothing else but to draw people to Christ and to make us like Christ and what Christ stands for. Let us go out with creativity, boldness, and these amazing new tools in our hands to share the good news in a world with more people than ever before. As Jesus did, let us become incarnational and enter into the lives of people wherever they are. By so doing, the WORD becomes Digital and makes its dwelling amongst us in a modern age.”
