Tech partnering can help the Church thrive
I
n our era of fractured trust and global disruptions, people are looking for hope and help. There’s an unusual openness for innovative partnerships, a chance for churches to work with businesses, nonprofits, schools and governments.
I see this kind of thinking in Age of Instability, a new report from Acadia Divinity College’s FuturingHub.ca. The report’s discussion of collaboration is inspiring.
Here’s how we and our small but perhaps mightier than we think local congregations can lean into this moment with imagination and faith. Practical steps like these can actually help a local church thrive.
Rethink your online presence as a public asset
Most churches think of their digital tools such as websites, social media and livestreams as internal communication tools. But what if we reframed them as public goods?
- Share local resources regularly on social media (mental health supports, food banks, newcomer services).
- Host digital prayer spaces for your city. Tag local schools, community organizations or government offices.
- Make your church website a landing page not just for sermons, but for neighbourhood support.
Partner with unlikely allies
Start small. Think local. Could you cocreate some kind of shared, meaningful digital campaign?
- With a community centre (like a cohosted online town hall or parenting webinar)?
- With a school (like a YouTube series for students on character and leadership)?
- With a local mental health clinic (like a joint post or shared message about a prayer meditation to help anxiety)?
It’s not about watering down beliefs. It’s about showing up together for the common good. These digital partnerships signal relevance and build credibility, especially with Gen Z who crave authenticity and justice.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Teach digital literacy as spiritual
We’re swimming in misinformation, disinformation and algorithmic confusion. Critical digital literacy is no longer optional when it’s now a form of pastoral care.
- Add a digital aspect to daily devotional reflections (What did you consume online today? How did it form you?).
- Offer workshops on discerning truth in the age of deepfakes and AI.
- Model healthy online engagement from the pulpit and in your church’s posts.
The report calls this algorithmic formation – a phrase I haven’t stopped thinking about. If your people are being spiritually shaped more by TikTok than by 1 and 2 Timothy, it’s time to talk about it.
Build local resilience
Canadian churches are already seeing how digital tools can foster community innovation.
- Food co-ops run from a church basement, tracked through a simple shared spreadsheet.
- Local charity groups using your Wi-Fi and Zoom account.
- Social workers using your livestream platform to broadcast parenting help in multiple languages.
Such tools are already in our hands. The question is whether we’ll open them wider.
Practise virtue in the digital Wild West
One of the report’s most convicting insights is the call to form Christian leaders with deep humility, wisdom, patience and courage. These are not just soft skills, they’re survival skills. In digital spaces what does this look like?
- Refusing to post inflammatory content just for clicks.
- Leading online discussions with empathy, not certainty.
- Listening before speaking, especially across political or theological divides.
Let your church’s digital presence be marked by gentleness, not just graphics.
Witness, not just survival
What’s clear in all this is the Church is not called to hunker down and wait for the storm to pass. We’re called to be agents of hope and transformation, even when the ground feels shaky. Especially when it does.
Instability is our new normal. But we follow a God who is unshaken. Let’s meet this moment not with fear, but with faith-filled innovation, hands on keyboards, hearts turned outward.
Joanna la Fleur is a podcaster, TV host and communications consultant in Toronto. Find more of these columns at FaithToday.ca/ThrivingInDigital. Camera-photo-by-Shutterstock.com