The CoP’s Involvement on Social Media
The leadership of The Church of Pentecost, recognising the relevance of technology in the contemporary generation, has taken laudable steps to explore how Social Media can complement its divine mandate.
Currently, The Church of Pentecost is actively present on the following Social Media platforms:
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Podcast. However, Facebook is the Church’s most active Social Media platform with a following of about 429,615 people and counting.
Why Social Media Evangelism
‘Beloved, if the times that Jesus and His disciples were physically present here on earth were described as the last days, then friends, we are not in the last days, we are probably in the last minutes of the last days.’ – Apostle Dr Amos Jimmy Markin, Evangelism Director of the CoP
In the above quote, Apostle Markin is not only sounding the alarm bells about the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also telling believers that the time for accomplishing the Great Commission is running out. What this means is that we ought to intensify our efforts towards ensuring the propagation of the Gospel message. This is where Social Media comes in.
Since time immemorial, various forms of technology have been employed by early believers in disseminating the Gospel message of Christ. Even in the days of Paul the Apostle, his use of the ink and the scroll was seen as high-end technology at the time. This proves that technology has always been with us, and it has helped with the dissemination of the Gospel. In this dispensation, Social Media is the technology which the Lord has provided for Christians to aid our evangelistic efforts.
With the above in mind, here are other contemporary challenges facing the Church that would underpin the urgent need for Social Media to be considered as an alternative tool that the Church could adopt to fulfil its divine mandate in this dispensation:
Resentment
A challenge faced during evangelisation is that of resentment. In the present day, there are unhidden resentments against the Church in numerous countries of the world due to radicalism
or fundamentalism41. A classic example is the Boko Haram rebellions in the upper part of Nigeria. Furthermore, in some parts of the world, viciousness of several degrees is executed under the guise of religion and regularly against Christianity. Religious viciousness is not new in
the world, but the aspect introduced into it is disconcerting.
Time
In today’s fast-paced world, not many people have the luxury of time to sit and listen to the Good News. Many potential converts are unable to meet evangelism teams because they do not have the time to sit around and do so; they are often on the move or getting rest after being on the move for very long and thus, are unwilling to depart from their schedule to listen to the Gospel. On the other hand, church members themselves who are expected to go on evangelism outreaches also find themselves not having enough time because of the same afore-mentioned reasons the potential converts suffer from.
Defending the Faith
Throughout history, people of all generations have gathered in town squares — public spaces where the local community gathers for social and commercial purposes. In the olden days, it used to be a literal ‘own square’, and it still is in some places.
In the past, Apostle Paul preached in open squares where the people gathered. In Acts 13, it was to the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia. In Acts 17, it was to the literal town square of conversation—Mars Hill. Until Social Media came around, town squares were shopping
malls and other social areas.
Today, people are not sitting around in debate clubs. They are not going to the town squares in the middle of cities. Instead, they are having discussions on Social Media. Social Media is where people are gathering, debating, discussing ideas and connecting with
others. Among these people are anti-Christians and unbelievers, some of whom speak falsely against the Christian faith. As apologists of the Christian faith, we ought to be there to set the records straight.
