[i] Di, Gang. "Ministry." Tian Zhu Jiao Ying Han Xiu Zhen Ci Dian = Catholic English-Chinese Dictionary. Taipei Xian Xinzhuang Shi: Tian Zhu Jiao Heng Yi Yüe Kan She, 2001. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.

 

               

What is eMinistry?

According to the Catholic Dictionary[1], the denotation of “Ministry” is the “service of God, who is glorified by the loving service given to others; based on the teaching of Christ, who showed by word and example how to minister to people’s spiritual and temporal needs”.   With the letter “e” in front of the word “Ministry”, it gives off a slightly different connotation.  What makes “eMinistry” significant?

As we grow more dependent on technology and internet in our everyday life, our method of information gathering also changed drastically over the past two decades.  When we need to find or learn new information, we have the tendency to go directly to our smartphone or Google search for the answer.  It has never been this convenient to enrich our religious knowledge and strengthen our faith, and online resources has given us this opportunity.

The internet has also bridged the distances between human beings, bringing people who share the same faith together through social networking sites or online communities. 

Social networks are social structures made of nodes (generally individuals) that are linked together with others, forming a complex web of relations.  What is so exciting about this kind of network mapping is that as we visually demonstrate our self-identity, we recognize that we cannot understand ourselves without the larger web of others who give language, story, and shape to our existence. Within a map of a social network, I see that I exist and am in community with God and others.[2]

It is this “web of relations” that the church needs to capitalize on as it shifts toward people development.[3]  That is also the reason why the Oakland St. Leo Chinese Community initiates eMinistry to meet the goal of building the “web of relations”.  eMinistry, electronic ministry or sometimes called web ministry, utilizes the advantages of technology and internet for ministry formation.  As a result, we are dedicated to refresh our community website to better serve our members of old and new.  Through the functions of the website, we aim to develop a community of Christian practice, which according to Wenger (n.d.) is “membership [that] indicates a commitment to the shared domain; a community of members engage[s] in joint activities and discussions, help[s] each other, and share [s] information; build relationships that enable them to learn from each other"[4].  This is the mission and vision of our eMinistry.  This is where we can pass our belief on without borders.