For years our world has screamed forward at break-neck pace to a digital future-state that is exhilarating, unsettling, empowering, deeply concerning and simply unpredictable. All too often resulting in deep spiritual, organizational and operational challenges for Kingdom-minded people, organizations, and communities of faith. Yet our digital world offers us new Kingdom-Building opportunities, and World Impact fully enters that world this month.
The currency of digital access has arguably surpassed even monetary currency in its importance, impact, and its ability to exclude so many in the most inaccessible places and difficult communities in our country and world. This lack of digital access to effective affordable ministry resources is arguably the single biggest barrier to Kingdom-building. Without it the under-served and under-resourced will remain ignored, eclipsed, and passed over in building healthy churches.
Throughout fifty years working and living alongside church workers in communities of poverty, the digital divide between resourced and under-resourced communities and churches has grown alarmingly – until the past five years. Since 2016 global digital access gaps have begun to shrink, consider:
- Internet access in the under-developed world continues to increase faster globally than domestically.
- Globally, smart mobile device usage is growing at highly accelerated rates, with the under-developed world leading the charge in new user growth.
- As of 2018, only four sub-regions in the world were under 47% in internet users as a percentage of overall population (Middle-Africa at 12%, East-Africa at 27%, Southern Asia at 36% and West Africa at 39%). Fifteen other sub-regions of the world were at or above 48%. This may seem like mixed news but consider what this means for the Kingdom: in nearly every other region of the world more than 5 in 10 believers and future-believers now have online access!
And now these church workers, evangelists, pastors, and church planters finally have access to biblically based tools enabling them to be more fruitful. The expansive training we have developed in Church Based-Seminary, Church Planting, Trauma Healing, Prison Ministry and Christian Retreats Programming for communities of poverty over 25 years is now accessible with a click at World Impact U, World Impact’s comprehensive online learning portal.
With World Impact U, under-resourced churches anywhere can develop leaders, teachers, preachers and volunteers equipped with biblically-faithful resources and training developed specifically for them – affordably scaled to their needs, wherever they call home.
Looking ahead to the uncertainties and challenges this world faces, we trust in how God uses all things for good, and how the Holy Spirit is alive, present, and innovating to bring His message to the world. We are grateful to play our part in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
