The Challenges of the Digital World in Christian Ministry in Indonesia

Christian ministry in Indonesia is assigned the task of sharing of the Gospel, taking the message of Christ to the world, making disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:19-20). Especially the meaning of making disciples of all nations should be applied through real good works. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus states His goal of ministry  is to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. If we analyse these passages, we can perceive that they are related  to the Book of Acts. If the Gospel of Luke shows how Jesus fulfilled the mission mandate of Jesus as recorded in Luke 4:18-19, then the Book of Acts shows how the church, guided and empowered by the same Spirit, worked to carry on the ministry of Jesus.

Indonesia is a developing country that consists of many islands. According to data from the Department of the Interior in 2002, the total of all islands in Indonesia is 18.306 (http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daftar_pulau_di_Indonesia). MarkPlus Insight survey stated that users of the internet in Indonesia in the last year 2012 reached 61.08 million. Therefore we can carry the message and values of the Gospel effectively to many people in Indonesia through the digital media. Unfortunately the community is still dominated by the largest Internet users among the middle class and age range 15-35 years. The challenges of the digital world for those in Christian ministry in Indonesia are that many inhabitants are still living in absolute poverty. There are high levels of infant malnutrition and illiteracy. Therefore in these conditions the church in their ministry especially in using of digital media faces (Use Present simple for a general statement) many difficulties. These challenges could be resolved if the programs of churches enabled everyone to have a higher standard of education, supplied nutrition for reducing infant malnutrition, improved their quality of work, and enabled them to manage their  finances with the simplicity of spirituality.

Yohanes Bambang Mulyono