Foreword
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a pastor, I was challenged to find ways to stay close to the believers and give them spiritual and emotional warmth amid the social distancing that was required of us at the time. We started opening channels on digital platforms and streaming with no experience at all, but we had to do something. This was common for thousands of pastors and churches that had to step onto the complex and unfamiliar road of technology. Although I hold a professional degree in technology, this field has always been particular: it is not only about being able to handle the technology, but about having the capacity and skill to communicate through a medium, something that must also be done with great quality and professionalism. So we began, with little experience and without the best tools. We were a team of beginners who understood the need but had no time to train; we had to act with solutions. Along that journey, through the screens, I came across my brother Jesús Bolaño, an expert in communications, social media and broadcast technology. His résumé speaks for itself, and I could see his skill in the field, but what I noticed most was his genuine passion for serving God in that area, an area that until then had perhaps been unknown, ignored or undervalued by a great many ministries, yet had now become vitally important for everyone. Brother Jesús Bolaño brought a sea of ideas, strategies and tools that require investment, dedication and time, but that are without question the need not of the future, but of the present.
The Great Digital Commission is a necessary vision for ministry, one that should be studied in detail and analyzed. The great digital commission presented in this book is not about making videos, streaming a service or the simplicity of virtual meetings; that is not even 10% of what the great digital commission can be. As I read this book, I was flooded with ways to develop a strategy for planting this fundamental pillar in the church as we live it today, not only to reach digital territories, but because the new generations are being captured through them. This book moves us to rethink how we should reallocate the time and budget of our projects, because this digital commission may not need a sanctuary with chairs, rooms and musical instruments, but it does need modern temples built of studios, cameras and microphones, able to reach the chairs and living rooms in the homes of those whom God may touch.
This book carries a direct message: it pushes us to step out of the traditional and make the transition to what is truly needed today. We can keep knocking on doors and watching them close in our faces, or we can come in without knocking and speak to those who would never open the door of their home to us, letting God do His work, because the Word of God never returns void.
I am confident that, by the time you finish reading this book, you will be awakened in your ministry to develop a new evangelistic strategy, effective for today's society.
Blessings upon blessings!
Pastor Eduardo Brando
Ministerio Unidos Mejor Int.