ICT AND THE
CHURCH
INTRODUCTION:
As at 1910 there are about 600M Christians in world with presence in over 120
countries this makes it easy to manage the church from the pulpits, bulletins,
Notice boards and via mouth to mouth, but with the population of about 2.5
billion it has become imperative for us to study and properly harness ICT to
reach the huge turnout of Christians and the world at large obeying the
master’s instruction in Mark 16:15. May God help us as we study this.
DEFINITION
OF TERMS:
ICT is an acronym
I =
Information
C=Communication
T= Technology
Information=
processed data.
Communication=exchange/sharing
of information.
Technology=
this is the development and application of devises and apparatus for predetermined
productive purposes.
(ICT
is therefore the usage of devices and gadgets and advancements to share
information among other uses)
THE CHURCH=
This is the gathering of the called out ones, the bride of Christ, the
gathering of those saved by the precious blood of Jesus, the group of people
who believe in the manger born, earthly ministry, death on the cross, the
resurrection and the ultimate second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.
BASIC ICT TOOLS AVAILABLE FOR
CHURCH USE:
1.
Face book 8.
Whats-app
2.
Twitter
9. Websites
3.
Google plus.
10. BBM
4.
Skype 11.
Streaming
5.
E-mail
12.Customised Bulk SMS (CBC)
6.
Blog
13.Radio and Televisio
7.
Phone number, laptops, Ipad and phone numbers 14. Dailies, Tracts other print
medias
15.
Amplifier, Mixers, Equalisers, Speaker etc
ROLES OF ICT AS IT RELATES TO THE
CHURCH
1. It
gives the church a twenty-first century status.
2. It
attracts the youth
3. If adequately harnessed, gives up to date
information on church activities and serves as a medium for feed-back and one
on one ministration.
4. It
is an evangelistic tool: It is used by some ministries in propagating the
message of the cross because of the quantum of users that it attracts.
5. It
serves as a security and service enhancing tools: the usage of LCD’s, projects,
CCTV’S, Metal detectors, Electronic pulpits and fencing in this era of
insecurity are value addition to the church.
6. It
provides the fastest means of disseminating information to a huge recipient.
7. It
builds bond and togetherness in the church: churches with large followership
may find it difficult to have personal interactions with members within the few
hours of worship, ICT and social media provides this ample medium.
PITFALLS OF ICT
1. Ignorance
and conservatism.
2. It
can become idols
3. It
is expensive (installing, service & maintenance)
4. Uncensored
content(especially for immature Christians)
5. It
could be a time waster.
6. It
births unemployment.
CONCLUSION
Technology rules the
world but the Holy Spirit rules every true church, Moreover to fulfill purpose
in this century all churches need to employ all ICT she can afford to reach out
to the world. SHALOM.
Kindly furnish us with comments/corrections/invitations
via:
Facebook:
Freshlogosexperience
Whats app: +234 806
1174 980
Phone: +234 806 1174 980
BBM: D8C75B47
No comments:
Post a Comment