CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN PUBLIC EVANGELISM DURING COVID-19: THE CASE OF THE VIRTUAL PUBLIC EVANGELISM CONDUCTED BY THE UEAB FIELD SCHOOL OF EVANGELISM

Abstract

Social life largely manifests itself in the religious practices of individuals within it. The COVID-19 pandemic due to its restrictions especially on social distance and quarantine upended the traditional expression of social life. This also affected religious practices like public evangelism. Some churches and religious institutions chose to engage in virtual public evangelism which was largely alien to a group of people who hitherto depended on and gained a sense of identity from conventional physical attendance to evangelism. This of course was wrought with certain challenges and opportunities. The current study thus examined these challenges and opportunities in public evangelism during Covid-19 using the virtual public evangelism conducted by the UEAB Field School of Evangelism in 2020 as a case. The study’s thesis is: while public evangelism during a pandemic requires virtual methods which may run contrary to the benefits attached to the traditional evangelism, such a virtual based public evangelism can still achieve the same overarching goal of reaching the unreachable.

The study was underpinned by the constructivist deep mediatization theory. From the interview analysis done on 10 appropriate respondents coupled with a triangulating observation analysis, the challenges, opportunities and lessons learnt were varied and notable. Nonetheless, what became increasingly clear was that challenges should not prevent churches and its institutions from engaging in evangelism. Further, opportunities should be explored beyond the covid-19 era particularly virtual opportunities.