Digital Media and Youth Discipleship: Pitfalls and Promise (Studies in Missiology)

by Vo Huong Nam

Publisher:

Langham

, 2023

Overview

Today’s youth grow up immersed in digital technology. This presents a unique challenge to the church as it seeks to faithfully make disciples of the next generation. What does it look like–theologically and practically–to minister contextually to those whose lives are permeated by social media and digital culture?

In this in-depth study, Dr. Vo Huong Nam offers both social and theological insight into the task of discipling youth in the digital age. He examines the impact of digital media on both society and young people and offers an overview of Christian responses to the changing technological landscape. Engaging such authors as John Calvin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Henri Nouwen, he develops a constructive theology of spiritual formation relevant to the context of twenty-first century youth. He explores the implications of this theology on church practice, urging the church to take seriously its call to be all things for all people. Drawing specific examples from youth ministry in Vietnam, he addresses practical questions of application and contextualization and suggests that silence, solitude, and prayer are spiritual disciplines uniquely vital for the digital age. This book is an important resource for all those involved in discipling young people and longing to see today’s youth come to fullness of life in Christ.

Key Features

• Offers both social and theological insight into the task of discipling youth in the digital age
• Examines the impact of digital media on both society and young people and offers an overview of Christian responses to the changing technological landscape
• Develops a constructive theology of spiritual formation relevant to the context of twenty-first century youth

Contents

• Summary
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Time of Digital Media
• Chapter 2: The Impacts of Digital Media
• Chapter 3: Theology of Spiritual Formation
• Chapter 4: The Theologies Needed for Youth Discipleship Given by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Chapter 5: Youth Discipleship in the Digital Age
• Conclusion
• Appendix Definitions of Spiritual Formation
• Bibliography

Praise for Digital Media and Youth Discipleship

Nam Vo’s work is a valuable and unique contribution to the conversation that addresses the religious, spiritual, and moral development and well-being of the youth in the contemporary age–not in the least for the advancement of a theology of the youth in the author’s home country of Vietnam.

—Anthony Le Duc, PhD

Asian cultures have a reputation for embracing the internet with great enthusiasm. But what happens to people–to the church–when this momentous cultural change washes over a whole society? Vo’s careful engagement with these practical questions leads into a theologically rich response that offers a cutting-edge theological analysis of our social media culture and its effects. It should be mandatory reading for youth pastors in every nation in which having a smartphone is a rite of passage.

—Brian Brock, PhD

Many churches seem to be fighting a losing battle to retain their youth in the digital age. This book addresses the problem head-on and offers a concrete proposal on how to help young people be faithful disciples of Christ. But it is not merely a how-to book; its unique strength lies in the solidly theologicalperspectives on which the praxis of youth discipleship is based.

—Simon Chan, PhD

Product Details

• Title: Digital Media and Youth Discipleship: Pitfalls and Promise
• Author: Vo Huong Nam
• Series: Studies in Missiology
• Publisher: Langham
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Pages: 271
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 1906-1945; Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 1906-1945 Influence; Church work with youth; Church work with youth Vietnam; Digital media; Digital media Religious aspects Christianity; Digital media Vietnam; Discipling (Christianity); Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.); Technology Religious aspects Christianity; Technology and youth; Vietnam
• ISBNs: 9781839736636, 9781839738814, 9781839738821, 1839736631, 1839738812, 1839738820
• Resource ID: LLS:DGTLMDPTFLLPRMS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-09-30T17:23:40Z

About Vo Huong Nam

Vo Huong Nam has a PhD in Divinity from the University of Aberdeen, UK, and an extensive background in the IT industry. Dr. Vo has served in youth ministry with the Evangelical Church of Vietnam since 2008 and also served as a part-time pastor at Aberdeen Chinese Christian Church in Scotland during his doctoral studies. He enjoys teaching both adults and young people at all levels of education.