Utilizing social media in evangelization, Indonesian church holds digital training for youth

The Denpasar Diocese Youth Commission hosted a training for Catholic youth on using social media for evangelization, on November 5–6 in Mataram, Indonesia.

The head of the Youth Commission for the Diocese of Denpasar, Father Rony Alfridus, said that this academic activity is one of the flagship programs that will help Catholic youth rethink how they use digital resources.

"The digital training is meant to wake up Catholic youth, who as baptized people are called to be part of the Church that continues to spread the gospel to the world, to become Christ's witnesses through digital means, like their social media," said Father Alfridus.

He also encouraged them to spread positive information always.

“This digital training is for young people to think critically and tell the difference between reality (truth) and things still going around as hoaxes,” said Alfridus.

"Through these activities, Catholic youth are taught to reflect and turn their thoughts into good content," the priest said.

He added, "With this digital training, they will be able to use social media to do digital (social) marketing."

With the theme "Evangelization Through Social Media," the church is trying to help young people do their best as members of the digital generation, the priest said.

Attending the event, which took place at the Maria Immaculata Parish Hall in Mataram, were 34 young Catholics from all regions of West Nusa Tenggara.

One of the workshop's speakers, Father Kristi Adi Prasetya, told the young people, "You are not regular adolescents; you are Catholic youngsters. As baptized young Catholics, you must declare God's love."

He also advised young Catholics not to be easily duped by false news. 

"Some ways to stay away from hoaxes are to be skeptical or not to believe it right away, to be careful with your opinions, and to Google for the original source of the news," he concluded. 

The city of Mataram, which is part of the West Nusa Tenggara Diocese of Denpasar, is 137.9 kilometres from Denpasar. 

In the Diocese of Denpasar, which includes the Maria Immaculata parish in Mataram, 49 priests serve 35,000 Catholics who live in 22 parishes. - Kasmir Nema.