Social Media Spiritual Roadmap: Reinforcing the Place of the Church on the Social Media in Africa

By JOHNSON Sesan Michael (www.smbafrica.org , +234 08099312551, 08149382121)
August 07, 2015
The Social media is a phenomenon that has transformed the interaction and communication of individuals throughout the world. Social Media has become ubiquitous and important for social networking and content sharing, particularly in the spiritual milieu. Because of its ease of use, speed and reach, social media is fast changing the public discourse in society and setting trends and agendas in topics that range from salvation, healing, deliverance, communion, etc.
Faith communities are being reshaped by the diversity of new media trends and innovativeness characterizing the ever emerging Social Media. It is evident that the Social Media is an emerging media with continuously eruption of new applications, architectures and trends. Real communications, interactions, and connectedness are occurring in lived spaces on the Social Media such as the Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.
An effective evangelization process requires that the Church recognizes and names those realities it must embrace and confront and consider & reconsider to see how the New Media will be appropriately used to serve the Gospel and make Christians to be heard, experienced and embraced. Evangelisation requires that Christians and the Church have personally felt the current ICT developments, global culture evolving on the Social Media, the basic questions and the aspirations, awareness, desires and interests of the time amidst the cacophony and avalanche of complexities and realities pervading the Social Media. Hence, understanding the ongoing Social Media realities and true gospel of Jesus Christ should go hand in hand. If the Church must influence the world, then, it must be in the zone of influence – it must exist as a zone of significance offering an imagination of faith life it claims the world should emulate.
First of all, the Church must be ‘in’. It is important for the Church to put on the Internet not only its doctrine, but above all – through sound, image, graphics and interaction – the life-giving presence and power of Jesus Christ. For the Church not to be on the Internet would mean cutting itself off from the sense of history. By excluding itself from the Internet, the Church would show that, contrary to Christ, it refuses to give the world its body. The Church must see to the use of the Internet and the Social Media for research, its intercommunion, its teaching and its internal administration.
Recently, the Internet Advertising Bureau UK conducted a study showing that 80% of present day consumers are inclined to buy a product in the future due to its presence on the Social Media. Territories in Africa captured by the Internet and the Social Media are increasing at an alarming rate. This is also being amplified by quantum use of mobile phones to access the Social Media and the Internet in Africa. Recent study also shows that Africa is currently the second largest mobile phone market after Asia, with more than 700 million connections. This number is projected to rise to almost 1 billion mobile connections by 2016 at a compounded annual growth of more than 30%. In the same vein, 80% of Internet use in Nigeria is via mobile phones and 48 millions of Nigerians are on the Social Media. Thus, it is pertinent for African Churches, ministries and Christians to re-strategize and reinforce the gospel on the Social Media by appropriate understanding of the apps on the net, follow up new developments and trends in order to harvest the hundreds of souls available on the Social Media.