This document discusses issues and opportunities for the Christian sector in a digital age. It argues that for many, the church is no longer a cultural norm and that digital spaces now act as the "front door" to churches. It explores how Christians can build a meaningful online presence through social networks and engaging with people at their level. The document advocates using technology to further Christian values and convictions, focusing online efforts on connection, compassion, and social justice rather than proclamation. Overall, it examines what it means to live out faith online and how digital spaces can enhance discipleship.

1. #Digidisciple: issues and
opportunities for the Christian
sector in a digital age
Dr Bex Lewis, Research Fellow in Social
Media and Online Learning, CODEC, St
John’s, Durham University
@drbexl

2. @drbexl

3. @drbexl

4. @drbexl

5. @drbexl

6. @drbexl

7. @drbexl

8. Christians and Churchgoing
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_290510.pdf@drbexl

9. The Church Front Door?
For many churchgoing is no longer
the ‘cultural norm’. People don’t
actively ignore the church: they
don’t even think about it. … With
literally billions in the digital spaces,
the online social spaces presented
by churches need to be appealing,
welcoming, and not look like they
are just an afterthought: they are
now effectively the ‘front door’ to
your church for digital users, and
you ignore those spaces at your
peril.
http://www.churchgrowthrd.org.uk/blog/churchgrowth/growing_churches_in_the_digital_age
Image Credit: freeimages.com@drbexl

10. Dr Sara Batts (2013)
http://phdinprogress.wordpress.com
@drbexl

11. The Growth of the Internet
http://oxis.oii.ox.ac.uk/sites/oxis.oii.ox.ac.uk/files/content/files/publications/OxIS_2013.pdf
@drbexl

12. "If you want to build a presence in the social media
platform, then you need to be present."
- @unmarketing
@drbexl

13. @drbexl

14. The digital environment is not a parallel or purely virtual
world, but is part of the daily experience of many people,
especially the young. Social networks are the result of
human interaction, but for their part they also reshape the
dynamics of communication, which builds relationships: a
considered understanding of this environment is
therefore a prerequisite for a significant presence
there.
Pope Benedict XVI (2013)
@drbexl

15. “Bringing the young in…?”
• “Jake told the executive that he
never goes directly to a brand like
this man’s newspaper or even to
blogs he likes. ... he reads a lot of
news – far more than I did at his
age. But he goes to that news only
via the links from Digg, friends’
blogs, and Twitter. He travels all
around the internet that is edited by
his peers because he trusts them
and knows they share his
interests. The web of trust is built
at eye-level, peer-to-peer.” (Jarvis,
p.86, my emphasis)
@drbexl

16. Church: Broadcast Model
Image Source: RGBStock@drbexl

17. Image Source: Stockfresh@drbexl

18. New Opportunities
Image Source: Stockfresh@drbexl

19. http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/08/22/car-salesmen-preachers-and-the-art-of-persuasion/
Darren Rowse, @Problogger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j-Iy8fP0Ek
I loved working up a sermon in the lead up to
giving it. Researching,looking at what others
had to say on the topic, piecing together
thoughts, looking for illustrations and
examples (tangents) and then practicing giving
it and making the last minute tweaks and
additions in the day before Sunday arrived.
@drbexl

20. #DIGIDisciple
those who seek to
live out their
Biblically-informed
Christian faith in the
digital space,
exploring both what it
means to be a
disciple in the digital
age, and also how
the digital age affects
or alters discipleship.
@drbexl

21. [If we are…] means by which God
communicates and reveals himself through his
spirit, then our blog posts, status updates, tweets,
artistic images, and online comments should be
products of a life transformed by Christ and
indwelled by his spirit. As restored image
bearers, our online presence and activity
should image the triune god.
Byers, A. Theomedia (2013, 196)
@drbexl

22. “Technology should not dictate our
values or our methods. Rather, we
must use technology out of our
convictions and values.”
Dyer (2011: 5)
@drbexl

23. We are not selling something to the world that will
make more people like us, believe in our story, join
our churches. We are trying to be something in
the world that invites connection and compassion,
encourages comfort and healing for those in need,
and challenges those in power to use that power in
the service of justice and love.
Elizabeth Drescher, Tweet if You Heart Jesus (2011,
127)
@drbexl

24. On the Emmaus road, Jesus was recognized in
the breaking of bread rather than in the exegesis
of scripture. That’s an intriguing lesson to learn
when so much of the web and so much of digital
communication is about proclamation rather than
reception.
Phillips et al, 2013: 10
@drbexl

25. https://audioboo.fm/boos/1577833-what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-
digital-disciple-with-changingworship
@drbexl

26. It’s something about the informality and distance;
the ability to pause and think, which can be
difficult in a conversation; and the way
discussions can pick up where they left off
several hours, days or weeks later.
Emma Major, BIGBible Post, 2012
@drbexl

27. Evangelism Online?
1)“Godslots”
2)“Being” online
3)Social Justice
See more via @vahva
@drbexl

28. Thank You! Questions?
@drbexl