So you want to be a student missionary, but fundraising didn’t go well.
So you want to be a long-term missionary, but your family doesn’t want you to leave the country.
So you’re tired of the fundraising letters from missionaries and missionary groups heading into a life you wish you were living.
You can do something about it.
Recent data puts smartphone use at 70% globally. That’s almost 6 billion people on the planet with smartphones in their pockets (what are we kidding… their hands) right now.
Many say that more people have access to the gospel than ever before in Earth’s existence, and I’ve realized something. While that’s true, we too often equate “the gospel” with some program, Bible verse, Bible study, Christian community, or campaign. Yes, more people have access to Christian programs than ever before, through smartphones. But what we don’t often recognize is that more people than ever before in Earth’s history have access to Christians more than ever before, more so even than Christian programs, content, and campaigns.
An estimated 2.5 billion smartphone users worldwide are Christians. That’s almost half of all smartphone users.
What if we used that to our advantage? What if we used smartphones not as a way to ask people for money for our mission trip, but to BE our mission trip?
At the Missouri Fall Camporee this weekend, I spoke briefly about our smartphones, recalling a TikTok I had seen where a teacher likened her school year to a 9-month mission trip, and it changed her outlook on her job entirely. I challenged the Pathfinders, asking, “What would it be like if you treated your school year as a 9-month mission trip? What if our staff and Pathfinders treated the Pathfinder year like that?”
It would be life-changing, no?
So, raising our phones in the air, we had a prayer for them. Pastor Jef, our conference youth director, prayed that our phones would be used for God’s glory, and many, though probably not all, raised their phones high into the air.
Did we feel anything right away? Probably not. Did God hear our prayer? Absolutely. Did He see the phones raised? No doubt. Will He use them? I believe He will and is.
It may seem insignificant, but these phones are the most important things in many of our lives (I cringe at using the word ‘our,’ but it’s true).
For young people, it connects them with everything and everyone that’s important to them. There is an app for every aspect of their social life, likely their job, and certainly their schooling.
Ask a young person if they have a spiritual app on their phone. If not, that speaks volumes because everything important to them lives on their phone. Start praying that they will see spiritual things on their phone that will make it important to them. Because it’s the world they live in!
So, parents, in the same way you may pray for your child’s future, their significant others, their friends, and teachers, pray for their phones. Pray God will use the phones for His glory. Pray they will see God reflected in Christians all over the app, and that Christians on the internet will start reflecting God’s love and using their platforms for His glory.
Here is a prayer to get started.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I know You are the King of all. You know what is happening in my heart and in the hearts of my children, and I pray that You will speak to them directly by all means. Use their smartphones, their apps, timelines, feeds, and DMs. Let them see Christian content and God’s love reflected there, so much so that growing closer to You feels like the natural next step. Then, God, let their phone use also be for Your glory, bringing others to Your feet as well. We thank You, Father, for technology, but ask that You guard our hearts and minds against overuse, apathy, and other dangers. Help us to always stay connected with Your Kingdom and with You, whether on our smartphones or in our churches and communities. We want to be near You, God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
