Digital ecclesiology and Africa’s digital natives: prospects and challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised important issues for the church. Churches have grappled with ministering to their congregants in light of the changes in physical gatherings over the past two years. While the digital mode of ministry has strengthened the church’s missional outreach, churches have s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of the Free State
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Acta Theologica |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/6195 |
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| _version_ | 1823858961967742976 |
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| author | K.M. Ndereba |
| author_facet | K.M. Ndereba |
| author_sort | K.M. Ndereba |
| collection | DOAJ |
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The COVID-19 pandemic has raised important issues for the church. Churches have grappled with ministering to their congregants in light of the changes in physical gatherings over the past two years. While the digital mode of ministry has strengthened the church’s missional outreach, churches have struggled with two foundational questions: the nature and the mission of the church. This article engages the emerging research in digital ecclesiology from the lens of reformed ecclesiology –particularly using the ecclesiology of Berkhof and the Westminster Standards as interlocutors – and offers
prospects and challenges for the church’s ministry to digital natives in Africa. It argues that digital ecclesiology should not be perceived as a hindrance to the church or be blindly accepted. It should rather be critically engaged to delineate its prospects and challenges for the church’s ministry. More specifically, this article argues that the digital mode of ministry enriches the church’s missional calling as it reaches out to Africa’s digital natives; expands the understanding of church as organism and invisible, and creates specific challenges for the church’s ministry in terms of key concepts such as identity, authority, and community.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-136aa09518754445840af13c8249be9e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1015-8758 2309-9089 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | University of the Free State |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Theologica |
| spelling | doaj-art-136aa09518754445840af13c8249be9e2025-02-11T09:30:58ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892023-06-0143110.38140/at.v43i1.6195Digital ecclesiology and Africa’s digital natives: prospects and challengesK.M. Ndereba0St. Paul's University, Kenya The COVID-19 pandemic has raised important issues for the church. Churches have grappled with ministering to their congregants in light of the changes in physical gatherings over the past two years. While the digital mode of ministry has strengthened the church’s missional outreach, churches have struggled with two foundational questions: the nature and the mission of the church. This article engages the emerging research in digital ecclesiology from the lens of reformed ecclesiology –particularly using the ecclesiology of Berkhof and the Westminster Standards as interlocutors – and offers prospects and challenges for the church’s ministry to digital natives in Africa. It argues that digital ecclesiology should not be perceived as a hindrance to the church or be blindly accepted. It should rather be critically engaged to delineate its prospects and challenges for the church’s ministry. More specifically, this article argues that the digital mode of ministry enriches the church’s missional calling as it reaches out to Africa’s digital natives; expands the understanding of church as organism and invisible, and creates specific challenges for the church’s ministry in terms of key concepts such as identity, authority, and community. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/6195Church and mediaDigital ecclesiologyDigital nativesGen Z |
| spellingShingle | K.M. Ndereba Digital ecclesiology and Africa’s digital natives: prospects and challenges Acta Theologica Church and media Digital ecclesiology Digital natives Gen Z |
| title | Digital ecclesiology and Africa’s digital natives: prospects and challenges |
| title_full | Digital ecclesiology and Africa’s digital natives: prospects and challenges |
| title_fullStr | Digital ecclesiology and Africa’s digital natives: prospects and challenges |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital ecclesiology and Africa’s digital natives: prospects and challenges |
| title_short | Digital ecclesiology and Africa’s digital natives: prospects and challenges |
| title_sort | digital ecclesiology and africa s digital natives prospects and challenges |
| topic | Church and media Digital ecclesiology Digital natives Gen Z |
| url | https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/6195 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kmndereba digitalecclesiologyandafricasdigitalnativesprospectsandchallenges |