One of the values of Indigitous is community.
We believe that we can accomplish more together than any of us can alone. We also believe when we are engaged with a community, we are following God’s design.
“It is not good for the man to be alone,” God said after creating Adam (Genesis 2:18). God created us to do life together, as families, church bodies, and communities. These relational connections are part of God’s design.
God designed us for community
Before He even created humankind to live in relationship with Him and each other, God lived in community as the three parts of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While some cultures are naturally communal and others are naturally more individualistic, whatever your culture and whatever part of the world you’re in, there are ways for you to engage in an Indigitous community in a way that inspires and encourages each other, produces missional fruit, and helps you grow in your relationship with God.
Jhonathan, one of the leaders of an Indigitous community in Manila, helped launch a new community in a different part of the Philippines. It was important to him to bring a community to Iligan City, because he saw the impact it had on people’s lives.
“Some were looking to see what the event was about, some wanted to know more about how can they use their talents for God, and some were seeking a purpose for what they do and why are they were put into that field of expertise,” Jhonathan says. “It was not an accident that God brought each of them to the same place at the same time. We were able to hear their hearts cry, see their passion, and witness talents you wouldn’t expect to exist far beyond the mountains in the cities of south.”
In an Indigitous community, people can connect with others who have a passion for bringing the gospel to new people, places, and spaces. They can inspire each other, collaborate to solve missional problems, and encourage each other. As the author of the Book of Hebrews says, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
A community of gamers
But not all Indigitous communities are based on geographic location. Some affinity groups meet around common interests. Endz is a gamer and Twitch streamer who leads a community of other gamers. Endz prays with the other gamers, encourages them to use their own gaming as a way to have faith conversations, and leads them on “raids” of other streamers to share the gospel or prayer requests. “One thing about streamers is that they’re looking for a conversation with someone,” Endz says. That makes Twitch streams a great place for members of his community to share their faith.
Endz also led a community through Soul Link, an online youth organization connecting students with Jesus. “The gist of Soul Link is we gamify discipleship,” Endz says. Through that online community, Endz has discipled other gamers and helped them learn to make an impact for God while doing what they love. “My goal is to share what I’m doing with more people and hopefully inspire someone to replicate it. At the end of the day, what I’m doing isn’t limited to gaming or Twitch; it can also be done in real life. Just replace the gaming with what you are comfortable doing and hold a conversation around that.”
Finding community at #HACK
Sometimes communities gather for an event, such as Indigitous #HACK, the largest global mobilization for missions in a digital age. People from around the world gather to hack out solutions to ministry problems, using their talents and passions to make an impact for Jesus. People at #HACK events have done exciting missional work like creating products to help report online exploitation, identifying and helping vulnerable people groups, spreading messages of hope with digital marketing campaigns, and sharing the gospel online with their connections as part of a Global Outreach.
Jenny was a professional marketer when she joined an Indigitous #HACK event in Manila. She came away from the event inspired by the vision and encouraged by the new community. “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,” Jenny says. “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.”
The global Indigitous network is expressed through communities related to locations, interests, and events. In those various communities, God can use you to empower others, learn from others, grow your skillset, and grow in your faith.
“As we take the gospel to new people, new places, and new spaces, it’s important we remember we’re not doing it alone, but we go in faith that God has also raised up others doing it with us,” says Jonah Jala, Indigitous Global Engagements Lead.
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More reading
- https://indigitous.org/article/gods-work-through-a-global-community-of-christians/
- https://indigitous.org/article/coffee-meetup-leads-to-digital-missionary-community/
- https://indigitous.org/article/iligan-city-community-gathers-to-use-tech-for-jesus/
- https://indigitous.org/article/gamer-uses-twitch-streams-to-share-the-gospel-online/