We used to have to wait months to hear back from the board,” one former Reformed Presbyterian missionary shared with me as she reflected on what was sometimes a frustrating relationship between the missionary team and the RP Global Missions (RPGM) board, called the Foreign Missions Board at that time. Back in those days, mail was carried on ships, so you had to wait for your proposal to be carried across the ocean. Then you had to wait for the board to meet and make a decision on your proposal. Finally, you waited again for that answer to be carried back across the ocean. And, if the answer was no after such a long wait, the disappointment and discouragement could be very great and leave the missionaries with very little ability to effectively appeal the decision.

Now that we have so many means to communicate quickly across the miles, there is never any disappointment or discouragement. Okay, that’s not true. But what is true is we have quicker means to alleviate frustrations and correct misunderstandings that come from written forms of communication. Digital and virtual technologies have expanded the way we send, support, and care for our field workers. It has increased our opportunities for sharing about what the Lord is doing abroad. It helps us feel closer to brothers and sisters in other lands who we have never met. And it helps us to be more efficient, thus enabling us to expand our operations.

Risk vs. Reward

There are still some challenges and potential risks. In some ways, the risks have been increased because of this digital age. Web-based information is very insecure in most cases and is ultimately permanent. In addition, it is typically considered wise to operate on the assumption that if it is online, then anyone can access it—even if it is encrypted and/or password protected. Those living and working in places with greater security concerns must be vigilant, and we must be as well.

We must be vigilant to prevent putting them or those they are ministering to at risk by posting or saying things we shouldn’t in contexts that are being posted online, livestreamed, or recorded. This includes social media posts, online articles and blogs, announcements about missionary presentations, worship services, prayer times, conference workshops and plenary sessions, webinars, and Zoom presentations. (There are similar cautions that apply to printed materials being displayed or made available in public settings, but this article is going to stick to the digital world.)

Similar to the Roman Roads that were rife with evil pursuits and dangers, the opportunities found within digital and virtual spaces often outnumber the difficulties. Here’s a list of some, but not all, of the ways that RP Global Missions has found to use these tools for the sake of spreading Christ’s fame among the nations:

• Sending out weekly prayer emails with timely information from our fields
• Communicating via encrypted and blockchain-based apps both abroad and domestically
• Gathering together on Zoom for meetings, video calls, prayer times, and presentations
• Providing training for short-term participants, long-term candidates, and pre-field missionaries, and global church leaders using online and blockchain-based e-learning platforms
• Collaborating with other like-minded, denominational missions organizations
• Connecting Congregational Missions Advocates from different congregations with each other and RPGM staff
• Integrating our website, email list service, CRM, and online-giving platforms
• Getting administrative work—like banking, accounting, bookkeeping, and HR—done from denominational offices in other states
• Administering formal and informal counseling and shepherding for our field workers from many miles away
• Convening commission meetings that have members living in different countries

I’ll stop there. But there are a great many other things that could be listed.

Transformation in Global Missions

This virtual Roman Road of ours has significantly transformed the way missions is done. It doesn’t mean everything that can be done should be done. Discretion and careful biblical and strategic consideration must be exercised. But the options and opportunities available are profound and have helped to improve and grow relationships across the miles; increased the ability and means that those back at home have to encourage and support missionaries and field workers; and even made it possible for entirely different types of field strategies to exist.

To give you a glimpse at what this looks like, today alone I have answered questions from missionaries on WhatsApp and Signal in a matter of minutes; communicated with staff members and updated files on Diode.io; sent emails to board members about field-related issues that need to be attended to; checked on our fund development status on Kindful, our CRM; worked on an online campaign on our fundraising platform, Classy; had a meeting with a couple in Cyprus, another meeting with a staff member in another state, a prayer meeting with people from all over the country, and a monthly call with our NeXt Steps participants over Zoom; updated our website (though I know virtually no code); communicated with Congregational Missions Advocates via Slack; ordered a book from my laptop computer; and answered a phone call from my work number that went straight to my smartphone. All this says very little of the ways our missionaries, field workers, board members, and other staff members have used technology today to advance the cause of Christ.

Beyond the direct work of RP Global Missions, parachurch organizations that perform specialized activities to empower and equip church-planting missionaries also use technological advances to cut time and expenses in ways that previously would not have been possible. For example, AimAir and MAF, our missionary air service partners in South Sudan, use technology to lighten the load of their airplanes and make them safer to fly. Another example would be Bible translation organizations like SIM, Wycliffe, and The Seed Company using artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up translation efforts by producing first draft translations in almost no time that are typically better than a first-language translator can do in a much longer period of time.

New Things for God’s Kingdom

We can sometimes be scared of new things because of the risks they carry. Careful and wise evaluation needs to take place. But in our missions work, we would be foolish, for example, to continue taking boats across the ocean when airplanes can get us there so much quicker and cheaper. And, while it is true that meeting together in person cannot be replaced by Zoom, it is certainly better to use such means when in-person gatherings aren’t possible, as is often the case.

One thing I like to ask instead is, How will advancements in technology be used by RP Global Missions to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations in the next few years? Could AI, despite all of its pitfalls, have more uses for the kingdom beyond Bible translation? Probably. As cryptocurrencies continue to grow and become more stable, could they solve some of our current challenges with money flow from country to country? It seems promising. Could there be even more secure ways to have video calls with colleagues in insecure countries? We are already working on this with one of our partners. Who knows how technological advances in transportation will aid our efforts! And what if virtual reality was able to help board members more fully understand an urgent field situation without needing to travel there? Only God knows what the future holds, but embracing the possibilities could help us do more for and in the name of Jesus, and that is an exciting thought.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the dessert…to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they may declare my praise” (Isa. 43:19–22).

Meet the Blakstons

Join RPGM in welcoming Jonathan, Louise, and Jonah Blakston to our RP Global Missions family. They are members of Frankston RPC in Melbourne, Australia. We were very happy to hear that they enjoyed their time serving alongside the Cush4Christ team last year, so we issued a call inviting them to join the team on a long-term basis. We were thrilled when they said yes.

They plan to make the big move to South Sudan in July. Here are some things they would love for you to be praying for as they prepare to go:

Pray that God would prepare things for them to be doing in South Sudan, to be useful in serving Him. And pray for Jonah in particular to settle well into his new home.

Pray for the four older children they will be leaving behind, for God to provide for their needs and be near to them.

Pray that they would be able to finish preparing their home in Australia in time.

Pray for one of their daughters who has ongoing health issues.