"These digital tools were not gadgets or novelties. They were bridges. They helped people meet Jesus in ways that honoured their identity."

Over the past year, Missions Interlink NZ has been on a bold and prayerful journey to discern how digital technology can enhance mission awareness, mission promotion, and mission engagement. 

The Lausanne Digital Discovery Centre sparked curiosity- which has now grown into a collaborative exploration involving mission agencies, theologians, digital strategists, and practitioners.

Our conversations made one thing unmistakably clear: digital spaces are now mission fields. There are “digital nations” where people gather, learn, shape identity, and form community. As Karl Udy reminded us, technology is never neutral; it flows from our God-given creativity, grounded in the Imago Dei. Used redemptively, technology can become a profound tool for connection, formation, and witness. Used carelessly, it risks becoming dehumanising or idolatrous. Our task, therefore, is to shape tools that reflect God’s relational, ethical, and missional heart.

This conviction has guided MI’s strategic direction.

Through multiple Zoom consultations, the vision for a Mission Pathways Platform and the potential development of a Digital Discovery Centre has taken shape. These tools aim to help people move from inspiration to action, offering guided journeys, issue-based exploration, short-form video stories, training pathways, and connections to mission agencies .

We have consistently emphasised: start small, listen first, build relationally, and keep people, not technology, at the centre. Digital experiences must never become digital “trade fairs.” They must be authentic, contextual, and rooted in real discipleship communities.

At the same time, we recognise the extraordinary potential already visible in platforms such as VR experiences, global media libraries, AI-guided discovery, and immersive storytelling. These are not gimmicks. They are doorways to encounter, and hear God speak "in their heart language".

Peter Higham shared at the recent AGM his experience:

“I’ll never forget that afternoon. Fourteen years ago, I was sitting in the red dust with the Aboriginal community we were serving. The sun was low, the air still, and beside me sat an older woman, headphones pressed gently against her ears.

We had been working for months to get portions of the gospel recorded in her heart language. This was the first time she’d ever heard Scripture spoken in the voice and rhythm of her own people.

As the words flowed, she suddenly stopped. Her shoulders trembled. Tears slipped down her cheeks and onto the dust. Then, in broken English, she whispered, “I can hear God… speaking to me… in my heart language.”

I sat there stunned. Not because the technology was impressive, it wasn’t, but because in that moment I realised something profound: these digital tools were not gadgets or novelties. They were bridges. They helped people meet Jesus in ways that honoured their identity. They helped organisations connect with those who might serve alongside them. And they helped all of us, individuals, agencies, communities, use what God has placed in our hands for His mission.

That moment in the dust has stayed with me ever since. It continues to remind me why digital mission matters. Not because of the technology itself, but because of the God who speaks through it.”

This journey is only beginning. If you, or your organisation, sense a stirring to explore digital mission collaboration, innovation, or content creation with us, we invite you to contact either Peter Higham (peter.higham@eastwest.ac.nz)or Chris Ponniah (chris@missions.org.nz)