For Evangelism, The Future is Now

April 21, 2020 | Miami, Florida, United States | By: Abel Márquez, Inter-American Division

From the beach you could make out just a simple light ascending to a cloudy sky, just to disappear a few seconds later. The launch of the Dragon Space capsule last January was test number 700, the last one that the company Space X made the capsule go through. In the near future, the company is seeking to offer business trips between continents in just 30 minutes.

As I was watching the launch with my wife and others, and listened to the supersonic sound, I imagined how thrilling it would be to travel propelled by a space rocket traveling at 18,000 miles per hour either on business or leisure trips. I was also thinking how interesting it is that this same project is seeking to take the first human beings to Mars as soon as 2024—in just four year’s time!

As it has done with so many initiatives in different fields, the current COVID-19 pandemic-driven crisis is likely to delay the plans of that and other companies, halting years of research and millions of US dollars already invested. At the same time, as we see what is happening around us, we could certainly say that the future we were anticipating a few months ago has already reached us.

A few hours ago, I “traveled” to Caracas, Venezuela, to take part in a youth event with more than 1,500 participants. As I finished sharing my greetings during the closing ceremony, I turned off the small desk light by my computer, closed the video conference application, and continued writing these lines from the comfort of my own home, about 2,000 kilometers from the place where the event took place. Of course, I didn’t fly in a rocket, and did not even travel physically. I call it a trip, however, because I was able to take part in an event, share some words, and also listen to the moving words of organizers after reaching the end of the first online Pathfinders camporee, just as if we were talking face to face. A few weeks ago, they were planning to hold the event in a campsite near the city of Teques with about 500 campers. Due to the pandemic, however, they decided to change the delivery modality, the reason the camporee was held online.

It would have been completely understandable and justifiable to call off the original plans, but local leaders thought that even though they were not able to bring together so many people due to social distancing restrictions, they could in fact, fulfill the goal of the activity, if they adapted to the circumstances and change the delivery modality to an online event.

It was a decision that bore good fruit, because Pathfinders and Master Guides camped at their homes, took part in every online session and ultimately, several of them made a decision to give their lives to Jesus. Even as the Nora campsite facilities in Teques stayed empty throughout the week, the event broadcast via Facebook tripled the number of young people who registered to attend the onsite event.

Imagine how many churches are empty these weeks, how many schools and business offices look as if abandoned. Think also about the thousands of buildings around the world, shopping centers, massive skyscrapers, stadiums, arenas and theaters, that during this quarantine are not fulfilling the role for which they were built. They have become irrelevant—are totally useless!

What is a greater cause of concern is the thin line on which all of us depend nowadays for communicating. What would happen in this world if Internet and phone lines fail right now? How would we get the news and learn about government decisions? How could we ever work remotely? And even worse, how could we share God’s love with others outside our homes?

The disruption caused by coronavirus has forced many churches to include new technologies in worship, setting up the live stream of their worship services and digital communication links between church members and their pastors, among other new developments. Thus, it is essential to be aware that this is a unique opportunity which forces us to be more audacious in our creative and innovative efforts so that the Gospel message may reach more people. To that end, we share here some basic tips:

• Define your target audience. Any digital communication effort must answer questions about why you are doing what you are doing, and for whom you are doing it. Setting up a live stream of your worship services, however, is a necessity to keep nurturing your church spiritually. Even though visitors are more than welcome, you should remember that the main focus of these services is your own church members. On the other hand, you can offer programs or social networks profiles that specifically target external audiences, but do not try for a one-size-fits-all service for every one.
• Be relevant. Maybe you have been using social networks for years to find old friends, chat with relatives, and keep memories. That’s not something bad, but since we are living in a time of golden opportunity, why don’t we make the most of it to share messages of hope? To do that, you should conceptually define your project, its style, and a proper visual identity which does not emulate what other have already done. Above all, you should include topics that may be of real interest to the target audience you have already defined.
  
• Explore new tools. If you have already produced some short videos, why not move a step forward and produce documentaries? Or if you like to write, maybe it’s the time to create and post a blog, or to produce a series of podcasts. If you have a Facebook account and have never used Twitter or Instagram, you could give it a try, but always with the intention of feeding your initiative with a good content.
• Produce quality. One current advantage we have is that most of our smart phones can record with HD or even 4K quality. This means that a lot can be accomplished with almost any smart phone and a few additional gadgets. There are popular movies and music clips that have been recorded in their entirety using smart phones. Be careful about the image, audio, lighting, and digital compositing quality.
• Recognize creative disciples. If in your local church you know there is a young man or lady who has an evangelistic project through digital platforms, please support, motivate, pray and also promote his or her channel. Help them to grow so they can increase their number of followers, and also ask church members to follow those channels and share them with others. The more people get involved in preaching through these new outlets, the more opportunities people will have to get to know Jesus.

The future of technology is already here, not only so we can reflect whether we are ready or not, but also so we can determine how to understand those new technologies and media outlets. The current quarantine due to the pandemic will certainly mark a before and after of the methods we are using for mission. Stop doing business as usual. From now on, try doing much more. “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare” Isaiah 42:9.

Abel Márquez is communication director of the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.

Translated by Marcos Paseggi