About

Introduction

Digital Eclesia began in 2020.  Yes! Of all the years to begin an agency, this is not the year I would have picked.  

But here we are.

Between CV19 and the 2020 protests / riots (depending on your viewpoint), we’ve never gone through a period like this. We are in unchartered waters.

A Wake Up Call

In the midsts of the unprecedented events of 2020, several seismic shifts have occurred which have enormous consequences for churches, Christian ministries and individual Christians.  

1. The World Got a Huge Tech Boost

For many households, businesses and churches worldwide, having to go “online” almost overnight provided a huge technical boost.  As a result, many households, churches and businesses now have:

  • Faster computers
  • Faster wifi
  • New cameras and microphones
  • Proficiency in Zoom and FB Live calls

The tech boost is unprecedented both for its reach and the speed at which it has occurred.

2. More People Are Now Open to Being Online / Working From Home

Many more people / businesses / churches became aware that working from home could be an affordable alternative to expensive buildings, commutes, lunches and the like.  

Thus, for the first time, I think we have reached a critical mass of people who are comfortable working from home and online.

3. Some christian churches / groups were caught flat-footed

Because the tech jump was so fast, many Christian entities (churches, non-profits, missionaries) were not prepared. They lacked the expertise or experience of being online and so these institutions struggled and continue to struggle to this day.  

This is especially the case in the majority world.  

4. There are now fewer jobs to come back to (after we’ve passed this crisis)

No one knows how long the CV19 crisis will last.

What is plainly obvious however is that there are less jobs available as entire industries have been decimated and many companies are now operating virtually for the foreseeable future.

The effect on the majority world work force has been devastating.

What Does This Mean?

The above factors, not only represent a great opportunity for the advancement of the gospel but also for shifting the dynamics of how people work and earn a living.

  • There is a now a much bigger audience who is not afraid of technology.
  • Many more people / churches / businesses now have a better technical infrastructure which allows them to more fully engage with technology.
  • The world is knocking at the door of those individuals / churches / ministries who can provide tech services at an affordable price.

To take advantage of these dynamics, churches must boost their tech skills and know how to exploit the use of technology to advance the gospel.

This is where Digital Eclesia shines.

What Do We Offer?

At Digital Eclesia, our aim is to serve the global church by helping to close the technical gap.

We do this in one of three ways:

  1. In-Depth Technical Guides – We break down one essential digital task that you can use to increase the impact of your ministries and the gospel.
  2. Stand-alone training courses – We take our in-depth technical guides and create a visual course for you to follow.
  3. One-on-one consulting – Use our pre-packaged technical kits to receive a technical upgrade in one area of your church or ministry.

What Makes Us Distinct

There are three factors which make us distinct:

#1 – We are educators, ministers, and missionaries who use technology to increase our ministry impact

First and foremost, we are practitioners of EVERYTHING we recommend.

Our CEO, Gustavo Karakey, is a professor and a missionary at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia in Medellín.  He has been actively serving since 2003, has lived in three separate Latin American countries and has taught students from Mexico, to Colombia and all the way to Argentina.

Gustavo has a passion for teaching and for being able to deliver high quality training / content via the power of technology.  To this end, Gustavo has created live and pre-recorded webinars, hosted Zoom and FB live trainings, created training courses, and written a successful blog.

In June 2020, he will begin providing training and content via an iPhone / Android app as part of his tech strategy.

#2 – We want to technically empower the Majority World Church

At digitaleclesia we only hire virtual assistants from the majority world.  We don’t do this simply to “keep our prices low” though that is a big plus.  We only hire from the majority world because these are the places that have suffered the most from the events of 2020.

It is the majority world churches and ministries which struggled by having to go virtual.  Their equipment, experience and skill set was lacking for this time period.

Thus, at digitaleclesia.com, we train majority world virtual assistants on a few key technical tasks which form part of the services we can offer the global church.

The global church gets a tech boost, and our brothers and sisters in the majority world receive a just wage for their labor.  At the same time, we are creating technical expertise in dozens perhaps even 100s of churches / institutions via our trained virtual assistants.

#3 – We want to duplicate the Digital Eclesia Model

We are currently running a pilot in one city (Medellín, Colombia) with a few pre-packaged technical kits.  Our goal is to increase the number of pre-packed technical kits that we can offer (and thus, increase the number of virtual assistants that we can train).

If our pilot program succeeds, we would like to duplicate the concept in different cities around the world so that local Christians can replicate our model in their local economies.  This would allow each satellite to provide more customized services to meet the demands of the local Christians, churches and Christian ministries.

Want to Join our Movement?

There are several ways to join the digitaleclesia movement.

#1 – Download our tech guides and use them in your church / ministry to increase the reach of the gospel via technology.

#2 – Join one of our virtual assistant training programs. This is an economic development opportunity for us to train your virtual assistants in a few basic technical tasks. Afterward, they can join a list of qualified Digital Eclesia VAs who are approved to provide consulting services.

#3 – Hire one of our amazing VAs. If you have a tech need (see our special tech kits), hire our qualified VAs (currently in Spanish and English). You’ll be providing a fair wage to your majority world brothers and sisters and helping to boost their tech skills (and that of their churches) worldwide.