A 2019 study revealed that Thailand had 92 million mobile phone subscriptions – in a nation of only 70 million people*. Fifty years ago – near the time of Haggai International’s founding – the water buffalo was the Thai farmer’s most important possession; now, it is a smart phone. We are living in the midst of what scholars are now calling the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), a technological transformation centered in the digital integration of all spheres of life. The 4IR is marked by things like Artificial Intelligence, digital and social media, and the increasing automatization of labor. COVID-19 accelerated the change. Like all technological shifts across human history – settled agriculture, the development of written language, industrialization – the digital revolution in which we are living is transforming human culture and relationships. The 4IR is also transforming how we engage in Gospel witness, providing both challenges and opportunities to our Kingdom work. We have much to learn and understand about the technological shifts happening in our world, and they are happening at such a fast rate that it can be hard to keep up. But we must engage, because “Christ’s love compels us…” (2 Corinthians 5:14)
Technology as Tool
New technologies are surely potential tools for equipping missional leaders, communicating the Gospel, and promoting holistic transformation in our communities as we bear witness to the good news of God’s Kingdom. Ministries like Indigitous promote digital tools that can be used to share the Gospel. Virtual platforms provide access into contexts where sharing the Gospel publicly can have negative political and social consequences. Christian movements – like in Afghanistan – can be sustained virtually even as government restrictions change. Studies of online evangelism show that people are more “experimental” with their online selves and more willing to engage with new ideas than in in-person relationships. Online faith commitments are, then, perhaps less certain than they appear, but digital media can create openings for the Gospel that are less likely in in-person relationships. It is also important to remember that social media, as opposed to mass media (newspaper, magazines, TV), is interactive, allowing users of social media to engage with and even shape content and conversation. Mass media is a one-way street of communication. Social media, rather, can more closely mirror in-person relationships, allowing for the type of engagement and dialogue that is often necessary for impactful Gospel witness. Beyond tools explicitly dedicated to evangelism, more and more people live their lives and form their identity in multiple online spaces. These are spaces where Christians can accompany others and share faith with them.
Technology as Culture
Digital technologies are tools, but we must also remember that as we use them, we are shaping people’s (and our own) culture. The age we live in – again, as all technological shifts do – is transforming human communities and cultures. What is “indigenous” is being redefined. Recent research, for example, shows that young African Christians are increasingly engaging their faith formation in online, linguistic specific, pan-African networks. These networks, while not completely replacing local church belonging, diminish the importance of the local congregation and the influence of local clergy and local Christian leaders. Digital media changes people’s relationships to their local communities. Many people’s social worlds are now hybrid, mixing local and virtual communities. And while digital technologies connect people, they also divide people by reinforcing more narrow views of the world. “Filter bubbles” developed by technology companies intentionally drive internet users to content that affirms their perspectives and tastes. Digital technologies tend to further divide people along lines of age, culture, class, politics, and religion. Resurgent religious nationalism in places like Russia, India, and the US is fueled by modern technology. All these changes raise the question: what does it mean to bear witness to the Gospel – God’s reign, God’s Kingdom – not simply through what we communicate but also how we communicate?
Technological Inequalities
The nature of our technological revolution is experienced unequally. Research demonstrates that global technological disparities will likely grow in the future rather than decline. Investment and resources will, as always, flow to the already “rich.” 5G network adoption around the world (which will facilitate greater utilization of data to speed economic development) varies widely. Wealthy regions (East Asia, North America, and Europe) will see 5G adoption rates between 35-50% in 2025, whereas in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, 5G adoption will range between 3-7%. Data collection – which drives and directs technological innovation – is centered in a few big tech companies, most based in the U.S.. Data collection is also centered in a few dominant languages, with English at the forefront. The ability to freely access the internet will also increasingly change by region. As the world “de-globalizes,” we are now past the era of the open “World Wide Web.” In many parts of the world, governance over the internet will be more and more multipolar, less determined by Western businesses and more governed by a handful of powerful nations. People’s differing relationship to technology throughout the world – and across age groups – must shape how we integrate such technologies into our Kingdom work. Furthermore, the increasing rate of technological change in all contexts requires a constant posture of flexibility. Our flexibility, however, must be both entrepreneurial and discerning. Leading Christian thinkers call for “critical engagement” with modern technology, rejecting both a simple pragmatic employment of the new tools as well as outright rejection and resistance of technological developments.
Conclusion
The Body of Christ is called to be where people are. Gospel transformation begins with presence. Some are called to engage the deepest recesses of online social networks, bringing life in Christ to people in their place of greatest need. Others are called to create innovative technological tools to reach those with no access to the Gospel. Others are called to create digital tools that promote holistic Gospel transformation in their communities. Others are called to shape government and industry policies and systems to help future and current technologies promote greater human health and flourishing, creating a world where technology serves humanity, rather than the other way around. Whatever we are called to, the Gospel drives us to “critical engagement” with our changing world and the billions in need of God’s transforming love.
*Cited in Jonas Kurlberg, “Introduction,” Missio Dei in a Digital Age, 2020. References: 1. Jeff Dejardin, Signals: The 27 Trends Defining the Future of the Global Economy. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2022. 2. Jonas Kurlberg and Peter M. Phillips, eds. Missio Dei in a Digital Age. London, UK: SCM Press, 2020