I have been traveling to Africa for over 15 years and during that time I have seen many changes on the continent. Some of the changes have been for the better and unfortunately some have not.
One of the surprising changes that is evident everywhere in Africa is the prevalence of cell phones. Whether you are walking the streets in a large bustling city or winding down the paths leading to a quiet rural village you will see people talking and texting on their cell phones. One of the fastest growing economic sectors in Africa is telecommunications.
As mobile phone use expands the availability of Internet access is growing as well. Almost all of my African friends have free Gmail or YahooMail accounts and more and more are "friending" me on Facebook. Internet cafes are bustling with activity in most neighborhoods and in the past year Internet access is growing as more and more Africans have smart phones. Every African home has at least one radio and even in most rural village you can hear the chatter of the news from the battery powered radios in the huts. In addition, satellite television dishes are sprouting like flowers on hones in more and more African cities.
Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds everywhere in Africa and we are committed to find ways to leverage it for the Gospel. We are seeking to develop partnerships with ministries who are using the Internet and mobile phones to share the Gospel in creative and engaging ways. We are also looking at creative ways to use low power FM radio to both share the Gospel and to do discipleship and leadership development training in areas where roads are so bad that it is difficult for leaders to gather in one place for training.
As we move into the next decade our goal is to maximize technology and media for greater Kingdom impact. The opportunities to do that in Africa may be way more exciting than most of us could have ever imagined just a couple of years ago.
One of the surprising changes that is evident everywhere in Africa is the prevalence of cell phones. Whether you are walking the streets in a large bustling city or winding down the paths leading to a quiet rural village you will see people talking and texting on their cell phones. One of the fastest growing economic sectors in Africa is telecommunications.
As mobile phone use expands the availability of Internet access is growing as well. Almost all of my African friends have free Gmail or YahooMail accounts and more and more are "friending" me on Facebook. Internet cafes are bustling with activity in most neighborhoods and in the past year Internet access is growing as more and more Africans have smart phones. Every African home has at least one radio and even in most rural village you can hear the chatter of the news from the battery powered radios in the huts. In addition, satellite television dishes are sprouting like flowers on hones in more and more African cities.
Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds everywhere in Africa and we are committed to find ways to leverage it for the Gospel. We are seeking to develop partnerships with ministries who are using the Internet and mobile phones to share the Gospel in creative and engaging ways. We are also looking at creative ways to use low power FM radio to both share the Gospel and to do discipleship and leadership development training in areas where roads are so bad that it is difficult for leaders to gather in one place for training.
As we move into the next decade our goal is to maximize technology and media for greater Kingdom impact. The opportunities to do that in Africa may be way more exciting than most of us could have ever imagined just a couple of years ago.
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