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A "NORTHERN
LIGHTS" MAGAZINE ARTICLE
(from Issue #507)
NEW TECH REACHING
FIRST NATIONS
Electronic
communication cold & impersonal? Think again.
It was report time for the
short-term missionary who'd just returned from overseas. "So, how
technologically advanced are the people?" someone asked.
"Well," he replied, "the first day I saw a fellow
driving an ox cart ... talking on his cell phone!"
Here in Canada, at least
in northern areas, First Peoples may live a slower paced lifestyle.
But when it comes to using new communication technology, the North is
certainly not behind, probably ahead. Jonathan Yeo, one of our
missionaries, tells us that every NWT community -- no matter its size --
gained highspeed Internet access over two years ago, as did Yukon.
Nunavut completed its high-speed system the year before. He guesses
that over half the homes in his community use the Internet, and the rest
probably use it at work. He's heard that cell phone services will soon
be provided for every NWT village, as well.
So, which "new"
technologies, and what does this have to do with missions? We're
mainly referring here to Internet-based communication, and we're using
it to reach First Nations for Christ.
THE
"NET"
"I am definitely
super thankful for the Internet," says missionary Lori Bennett,
who serves in Nova Scotia. "It really does play a huge part in my
ministry ... it gives me opportunities to talk one-on-one with the
kids I work with, and their older sisters or brothers."
Most of Lori's
face-to-face ministry is in groups, and it's hard to get together with
the kids who have questions and want to talk, she explains. So she
uses MSN and Facebook -- MSN for "talking" with individuals,
and Facebook for group communication. "God has given me so many
opportunities to share the Gospel and encourage and counsel people
through MSN," she says. "Sometimes I feel like I really have
to prepare myself to sign in, cause it's definitely ministry. Lots of
times I find myself sitting here at my computer praying, 'Jesus,
help me know what to say.' "
"Facebook I love
too," says Lori, "because it's helped me become more of an 'open book' to people on the Reserve. There's lots of people who I
haven't yet met, or been able to get to know really well. By checking
me out on Facebook they can find out who I am, what I believe, why I
work with the kids, and what we do. I made a video just of me
explaining the Gospel. A bunch of people from the Reserve told me they'd
watched it on Facebook, and that opened up the door to talk about
Jesus more."
Other NCEMers tell how
they use the Internet in ministry: Jim Davis posts Pine Ridge Bible
Camp videos on YouTube, youth retreat photos on Facebook, and has
regular conversations with teen campers via e-mail and Facebook.
Campers "tag" their friends on his photos, so he knows they
see them. "It's been good to keep in touch with campers through
the year ... and through the years," says Jim, who serves
at Headquarters and involved with the Camp.
Dallas & Deena Roberts
and their daughters also assist at Pine Ridge. This past winter, even
though Lisa has been studying in Israel, she's still very involved in
campers' lives through the Internet. She even had a girl threatening
suicide online, and phoned a northern pastor to go and help. Lisa used
the Net to encourage teens to attend our Mission's winter youth
retreats.
Mark Dana (Quebec) uses
the Internet to stay in contact with men he's met from isolated
northern communities. Anita Boucher (northwestern Sask.) uses Facebook
to stay in contact with local girls. "You know when they are in
trouble, and can pray more specifically," she says, "and it
helps me know when they need an in-person visit."
Carl Sonnichsen just
joined Facebook. "With certain people, communication lines have
really opened up," he says, "and our communication can go
way beyond what we would normally talk about face-to-face." Phil
Peters is another missionary using Facebook. Along with phone calls,
he's using it particularly to encourage a young Native ministry
leader.
ONLINE
SUPPORT
For several years most of
our missionaries have used e-mail to connect with prayer supporters.
The benefits are obvious -- urgent prayer requests can be sent
instantly to many homes. Regular prayer letters are also increasingly
sent by e-mail. It saves on postage costs, and it's become easier to
include color photos, even videos.
Our missionaries have
found the Internet very useful in other ways. It puts resources at our
fingertips, such as illustrations for Bible messages, and lesson
material for children. For our missionaries' spiritual benefit, there
are devotionals to read or listen to. And, just for living, our
workers use the Internet for banking, shopping, and getting news from
home.
In our Mission's
day-to-day work the Internet enables the sending of text and photos
for publications and projects, including Bible translation. Our Tribal
Trails TV department sends audio and video files for program
preparation. In radio outreach, Carl Sonnichsen "uploads"
audio files to a Labrador radio station.
NCEM's
THREE SITES
As a Mission we launched
our NCEM web sites -- www.ncem.ca / www.tribaltrails.org &
www.keywaytinbibleinstitute.org -- in 1999. We wondered how useful
they would prove. The next summer one of our HQ staff, while helping
at Bible camp, had several summer workers tell him that they'd found
out about the need for camp staff on NCEM's site.
Our Tribal Trails site has
viewers reading testimonies, and watching our half-hour evangelistic
programs. With highspeed connection, viewers don't need to find a TV
broadcast station and wait to tune in at the right time. They can
watch at their convenience. Increasing numbers are responding by
e-mail for prayer and spiritual help.
On our Key-Way-Tin Bible
Institute web site, First Nations teens get details about our
NorthQuest youth retreats, and can apply online. KBI's courses are
listed, along with campus life photos, and information for prospective
students.
HINDRANCE
or HELP?
Are these new ways of
communicating really necessary in our ministry? Are there drawbacks?
If we've thought of
electronic communication as cold and impersonal, Lori Bennett's report
(and the others') should make us think again. MSN and Facebook are not
face-to-face, but they are facilitating one-on-one sharing on a
personal and spiritual level.
E-mail certainly helps us
connect with our supporters. One of our workers points out, however,
that while e-mailing prayer letters may save on postage, a printed
prayer letter may more likely be read by all household members, and
kept as a prayer reminder.
Cell phones help
missionaries stay in touch, but they can interrupt ministry, too. And
they can make it hard for the worker to get a needed break.
Missionaries increasingly see young people, especially, distracted in
meetings with cell phone texting, and other electronic devices.
The Internet hasn't been
embraced by everyone in our Mission. One of our missionaries says he
only knows of one person in their fellowship group who uses e-mail.
Some missionaries remain very busy relating to people without these
new technologies, and simply don't have time to connect with people
online.
But our Mission sees a
large and growing young generation of First Nations needing to be
reached for Christ. In the NWT, Jonathan Yeo observes NWT children
learning to use the Internet in kindergarten and soon fluently
communicating on the Net with family and friends. He points out that
many Native communities have little Christian witness -- he sees the
Internet as a necessary tool to spread the Gospel.
Tom Cnossen knows
older missionaries may stay away from this kind of communication
because of the learning involved. "But," he says, "I
believe that kind of thinking can keep us away from great
opportunities."
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