Cyber missionaries must go beyond ‘posters and pulpits'
By Mark Saludes, LiCAS News
Speaking at the Dialogue with Collaborators organized by the Institute of Formation Fondacio Asia (IFFAsia) in Tagaytay City, Philippines, Pie Mabanta-Fenomeno stressed the need for a more interactive and meaningful approach to digital evangelization.
“Do not use social media as your poster or your pulpit or your classroom,” said Ms. Mabanta-Fenomeno, who is also the president of SIGNIS Philippines. “Social media is meant to be an exchange. It cannot be a one-way communication.”
Building Effective Digital Missionaries
Ms. Mabanta-Fenomeno stressed that effective digital missionaries should focus on content that is relatable, modern, community-driven, and authentic.
“What’s the secret formula in the successful social media accounts to build our community?” she asked. “Number one, relatability. Things that they talk about are relatable. Second, they use modern approaches… It uses the different forms of communication. It builds a community. And finally, authenticity.”
She pointed to digital evangelizers who have successfully built online faith communities by using multiple platforms and ensuring their messages are clear, concise, and engaging.
She noted that those who make an impact often use short visual storytelling, relatable struggles, and calls to action that resonate with their audience.
Cyber Missionaries: Advocates, Amplifiers, and Storytellers
Beyond content creation, Ms. Mabanta-Fenomeno emphasized that cyber missionaries should be advocates for social change and amplifiers of marginalized voices.
“You have to be advocates,” she said. “Do not just fight for yourself. Fight for those who cannot fight for them. Respond to the issues that affect the minority—climate change, corruption, even traffic affects them.”
She urged digital communicators to amplify others instead of seeking attention for themselves.
“If you want to go into social communication, you have to be ready to stand in the back and let them shine,” she said. “Because our role is just to give them the voice, and through you, it’s heard. Not you, it’s them.”
She also emphasized the power of storytelling in digital mission work, arguing that content must be “audience-centric, storified, and rooted in real-life experiences”.
“Do not preach,” she advised. “You make it relatable. You make it something that would matter.”
Navigating Digital Space Responsibly
Ms. Mabanta-Fenomeno warned against the risks of misinformation, cancel culture, and the unchecked use of artificial intelligence (AI), which she said could diminish critical thinking.
“If we start depending on artificial intelligence, our own intelligence might cease,” she said. “We are masters of this. We have to learn how to use it.”
She challenged digital missionaries to prioritize connection over mere information-sharing, noting that digital evangelization should be about meaning-making rather than simply transmitting messages.
“Communication is an exchange of meaning to reach understanding,” she explained. “Because otherwise, if you and me and [them] did not understand each other, then the process was a failure.”
Call to Authentic Evangelization
Ms. Mabanta-Fenomeno urged Catholic communicators to break out of their own echo chambers, challenge traditional approaches, and create content that resonates with today’s digital audience.
“More than that, do not just transfer the Church online,” she said. “Be something different. And start with real, ordinary stories that do extraordinary things.”
’s&Բ;Dialogue with Collaborators gathered 57 representatives from various Church institutions and civil society groups across 10 Asian countries in a dialogue aimed to strengthen the formation of young people in Asia.
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