Marty Lange, of SIL International, explains right at the start of his presentation why using smartphones in your ministry is so strategic. Even if you are working in an area without cellular service or internet, a smartphone is a media player. Twenty-six percent of the world’s population is under 14 years old and they will all have a smartphone. Marty goes on to cite some findings from his recent survey of 21,000 rural youth in Peru, Mexico, and Guatemala to show the interest in the Gospel as presented through media on their phones.
After explaining the “why” of using smartphones, Marty goes into the “how” of using smartphones by showing:
- Why a particular Facebook feature makes it popular in Muslim areas.
- How to use and develop apps to tell Bible stories.
- WhatsApp uses for sharing texts, audio, videos, and for free international phone calls.
The final few minutes give advice for using your smartphone in your ministry and a recommendation to watch for the increasing use of virtual and augmented reality apps.
Watch Marty’s 43-minute Vimeo of his presentation at COMIBAM 2017 in Colombia in August.
After watching this, you may be interested in the recording of a webinar on VR and AR from Visual Story Network.
Marty Lange works with SIL as their Mobile Technology Coordinator for Scripture Engagement – Americas Area.