The world is fast moving towards a stage where all human activities are taking place on digital platforms.
Virtually all aspects of human activities have gained significant prominence through digitalization, with many brands breaking new barriers.
But that is not the case in a lot of African communities including those in Ghana.
It is even worse when it comes to religious groupings like Christian churches.
By tradition churches in Ghana are quite conservative in the way they practice the Christian religion.
Often issues relating to the internet and finding new ways of doing things in a digital form are less encouraged.
But that is changing thanks to a team of digital marketers that has been mobilizing for some time now to ensure that churches go digital.
Digital movement
These marketers hope by so doing churches will retain their members and attract more.
New apps to help churches better deal with their members and reach a wider audience have been developed.
One of such apps is “Asoriba” simply meaning Church member.
The app helps to address the issue of attendance in an era where gradually it is becoming challenging for people to attend church services physically.
Busy social life especially work is keeping many away from church activities.
Some Christians are not able to follow their favorite pastors and make financial contributions regularly and that is where the “Asoriba” technology comes in to provide a helping hand.
Saviour Dzake, a co-founder of the company told Africa Feeds in Ghana’s capital Accra that “Asoriba is not cutting out the church factor, we are rather encouraging people to go to church even more because we are building closer communities.
Even though may be in the comfort of your home, you can still follow your favorite preacher, you can still make your donations and all that”.
Training on digital skills
But that is not all, digital marketers want to also provide digital skills to help church leaders adapt to modern trends.
Another initiative is a digital training program called the “Digital Church”.
It is the largest annual event where Pastors, Church Workers and Christian Organizations are trained and equipped with digital marketing solutions.
It has been taking place for a couple of years now and the brain behind it is Maximus Ametorgoh.
Ametorgoh runs Popout, a professional team of experts and strategists working in the Advertising, Marketing and Technology industries over the years.
The Digital Church event exposes participants to online tools and technological innovations to enable them to promote their ministries, spread the gospel, manage their activities and reach out to their target audience.
Church leaders and those tasked with their digital activities also learn new skills in digital marketing, social media marketing, Mobile marketing and online payments among others.
For Ametorgoh ensuring that churches digitalize is key in not only moving their ministries forward but making the church attractive to new and younger generational Christians.
With more young people now hooked to the internet and consuming new forms of digital tools it is obvious churches in Africa will gain more through digitalization.
The challenge is how fast churches will adapt to the new trend and digitalize their activities.
Source: Africafeeds.com
