Indigitous Hong Kong is underway and 105 participants representing 25 organizations have begun connecting with each other, with projects, and with strategies for using digital tools and channels to help make disciples of Jesus Christ.
As we met together for the first time yesterday, Mark Reddy reminded us of the importance of design and story in his keynote talk on Influencing Culture in a Digital Age. Using examples from Scripture and film, he called us to recognize the passions God has given us to bring Him glory and reflect beauty.
Specifically, he pointed to the power and value of good design and affirmed the importance of Christians leading with excellence in this area, developing “elegant processes to create beautiful products.” This is especially important in an increasingly design-obsessed world where good design is essential to credibility and engagement. Often in evangelism we lead first with information or an agenda when in many ways design has the lead foot. When we neglect good design and telling a good story we are missing out on important elements of the global conversation.
As Mark spoke, I resonated with the idea that “design leads.” Frankly, when I visit a new website or a new app, I’m much less likely to stay and engage if it looks thrown together, is too cluttered, or is not laid out well.
As Christians, we each have a story to tell and have the opportunity to embrace our roles as artists in telling our stories in a compelling way.
Consider: As part of the Indigitous community, what makes using digital strategies to connect people to Jesus personal for you? What is the story that you have to tell? How can you reflect God’s beauty and glory in telling that story?
[Edit: The original post indicated participants were from 25 countries. They actually represented 25 organizations and about a dozen countries.]