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Digital Marketer Learns to Use Tech Skills for Missions

What is this thing called Indigitous?

I came across Indigitous in a time when I was thinking of quitting the media ministry at a local church where I used to attend. I found myself unfulfilled and lost on how to “be part” of the technical support team. During that time I also had just surrendered to God’s desire for me to be a missionary but with the idea that to be one I have to also give up my digital marketing career to pursue missions in rural and remote areas…. But God is truly wise to get me back on the track….

The Birth of a Vision

I am a computer engineering graduate and am presently working as a content marketer. During my early years as a Christian, the person who introduced me to Christ (a former co-teacher and fellow computer engineer) mentored me through Facebook. We used messenger for our discipleship because of our distance. He also instructed me to create devotionals, which he’d check first before publishing on a blog he created. This served as a way for him to help me understand God’s Word more.

My online activities with him made me see how the concepts we practiced in digital marketing – from SEO to copywriting to social media marketing – can be used to empower ministries. This led me to join the media ministry of my local church, hoping to gain more of an idea of how to use of blogs and social media pages to evangelize and disciple.

At some point in my journey, I was able to practice it, but it wasn’t to the extent I wanted. I practiced it on my blog, my own social media account, and with my former co-teacher. We continued the blog he did for me and we even made a Facebook page for it, where we can evangelize. He even made a group page for prayer warriors. However, it didn’t last long. I was left to handle it on my own as he pursued theological studies and prepared for missions.

I also wasn’t able to do what I wanted with the media ministry. Honestly, I felt our Facebook page was just a diary of events and nothing more. I wanted to organize training for the young members of the ministry – I even trained two of them – but to my dismay, the vision didn’t push through with them.

Redirection

During 2015, I finally accepted that God wanted me to be a missionary. This led me to join the children’s ministry as an outreach teacher to prepare myself. I have always seen myself teaching kids in rural areas and writing about it. My exposure to outreaches, and the fact God seems to continually give me writing jobs, had given me this desire to even one day document every mission I go to but through writing. (I even prayed for Him to bless me with a husband with the same heart but someone who can take pictures and do graphics). The man I used to consider seemed like a perfect partner, especially with his desire to plant churches in rural and remote places. That thought made me want to quit the media ministry more and pursue the children’s ministry outreach projects. Little did I know that during that year, God would lead me to the mission He wanted me to pursue.

On the same year, I was invited to attend the Global Digital Engagement Project and Indigitous Philippines’ first hackathon, Indigitous #HACK. That one-week stay in Manila with the Digital Strategy teams from different Asian countries and an opportunity to cover the first Christian hackathon in the Philippines changed how I see both my work and the media ministry. It renewed my passion and even strengthened the desire to see my vision through – for churches to use digital marketing concepts to strengthen their ministries’ potential in reaching out and making disciples.

Indigitous #HACK Manila

I became more grateful for how God directed me to the job I was in, how I was discipled online, and how He exposed me to the digital field through my job.

Eventually, my week in Manila led me to become a missionary– but unlike what I once thought I’d be. God removed me from the commitments I had made with my previous church, including the media ministry. He even stopped me from considering someone after showing me that we don’t have the same vision and mission. Instead of what I thought I’d pursue as a missionary, God led me to a bigger media field where I am able to practice my skills and talents how He intends it, and even work with other digital strategists in creating projects that would help win, build, and send more people for Christ. He even gave me a chance to document a mission with a team just last February.

I am Indigitious

So what is Indigitous?

I see Indigitous as more than a movement of technologists who innovate to help empower missions in the digital field. I see it as the people – the men and women who see possibilities, led and moved by God, to start missions in the digital field. We go where people are. We connect and make disciples for Christ regardless of distance. We continue to communicate Christ in a language which most youths understand – technology.

I am Indigitous! And I will continue to be despite how my ideas and beliefs seemed weird even for other Christians. We will continue to innovate, strategize, and empower missions. We will continue to pursue our own digital missions, too. We will continue to educate. Best of all, we will continue to make disciples and train them to train others.

Be Part of Hack!

This October 20 to 22, 2017 will be the second global hackathon. If you are like me, with the knack for tech, has a heart for missions, and would like to use your talents, skills, and ideas to empower missions – and even create a digital movement – then join us!