Preach Magazine Issue 5 - Preaching to the unconverted | Page 28

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FEATURE

One of the things that social media allows
is ongoing relationships regardless of
geography: as part of their whole lives people
can naturally share aspects of their faith. A
friend noted that her child asked a friend to
come to church with her after playing several
X-Box games online, but that she didn’t play
games in order to offer that invite! As Rev
Robb Sutherland says, ‘when it is a case of
looking to create opportunities it is a wasted
effort as it negates relationship’, and he also
reminds us, ‘Make friends because you like
having friends. Live faithfully. Answer any
questions you may get asked with integrity.’
As Jay Blake contributed on Facebook –
Jesus was someone that people wanted to be
around – are we?

HOW TO REACH
THE UNREACHED
The digital has added some interesting new
layers to some historic forms of seeking to
reach the unreached. Speaker’s Corner has
existed in Hyde Park, London since 1872,
and was described by German Chancellor
Angela Merkel in 2014 as a cornerstone
of ‘free speech’. It does, however, tend to
attract those with more extreme views, and
campaigners note that changes to the space
have changed the atmosphere, with noise
from nearby events leeching into the area.10
With everyone with a mobile phone, it is
now possible for every speech and preach to
be recorded, and shared around the world.
What will tend to attract attention, and be
shared widely online will often focus upon
someone who appears ‘deluded’ and can
therefore be laughed at.11 More positive
messages that chime with wider culture,
such as calls for social justice and ecological
stewardship are far more likely to attract
positive attention and sharing.
If we’re talking X