In early 2024, Jesse Ciccotti, a long-time ChinaSource contributor, responded to the autumn 2023 issue of ChinaSource Quarterly. His detailed response turned into a three-part series. Each post examines different aspects of digital engagement, looking more deeply through a relational lens. Readers of the series and the CSQ issue that sparked the series will come away with much to mull over as we wrestle with the best way to use digital technology for the glory of God and to spread the gospel.
Can some information regarding Jesus, the gospel, and life-with-God be communicated through digital means? Yes, absolutely. But discipleship is the transformation of a person into Christ’s likeness, and the normal, everyday means of that happening is people in vital, real (as opposed to virtual), personal relationships with one another.
A hard question worth asking is, what does effectiveness in evangelism and discipleship really look like, and in what ways do digital techniques support these best discipleship practices?
Lest readers…brand me as a Luddite, I do believe there are good uses to newly developed digital technology, and some of the best uses are for information transfer, some forms of education…and establishing relationships in new geographical contexts where they might otherwise be difficult to find.