The benefits and opportunities of New Media in Youth Evangelization: A Catholic Church perspective from Uganda

Bernard Rabwoni ORCID iD 

Issue: Vol. 12 No.3 2026 Issue Article 3 pp.107 – 128
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20261233 Published online 29th April 2026.
© 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Views: 88
59 Downloads

meta name="dc.identifier" content="10.38159/erats.20261233"/>

DOWNLOAD PDF

The purpose of this study is to examine the benefits and opportunities that new media offers to promote youth evangelization within the Catholic Church in Uganda. In an age of rapid digital transformation, understanding how social media, websites, and online streaming can enhance youth participation in faith-based activities is vital for the Church’s mission of evangelization. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, integrating an online survey of Catholic youth and church leaders with a review of relevant scholarly and ecclesial literature on digital evangelization and pastoral communication. The findings indicate that new media significantly enhance youth engagement by providing accessible, interactive, and creative avenues for spiritual formation and community building. It empowers young people to take leadership roles in evangelization, supports digital catechesis, strengthens peer-to-peer faith sharing, and facilitates pastoral care and advocacy. The discussions reveal that successful adoption of new media in evangelization depends on the Church’s openness to technology, digital literacy among youth ministers, and the production of culturally relevant and faith-centered content. The study recommends that the Catholic Church institutionalize digital evangelization strategies, train pastoral agents in media communication, and invest in sustainable digital infrastructure to reach more young people effectively. This research contributes to scholarship by expanding understanding of digital faith communication in an African context, providing empirical evidence on the transformative potential of new media in youth ministry, and enriching global discourse on the intersection between technology and evangelization.

Keywords: New Media, Youth Evangelization, Catholic Church, Digital Catechesis, Faith Communication, Uganda

Vatican II, Inter Mirifica, Decree on the Means of Social Communication (December 4, 1963).

———, Ad Gentes, Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church, (October 7, 1965).

———, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World

(December 12, 1965).

Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (December 8, 1975).

John Paul II,  Message for the 24th World Communications Day (January 24, 1990).

———, Message for the 36th World Communications Day (May 12, 2002).

———, Apostolic Letter The Rapid Development (January 24, 2005).

Benedict XVI, Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus (November 19, 2011).

———, Message on the 47th World Communications Day (May 12, 2013).

Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (November 24, 2013).

———, Message for the 53rd World Communications Day (January 24, 2019).

———, Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit (March 25, 2019).

———, Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti (October 3, 2020).

Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Pastoral Instruction Aetatis Novae on Social

Communications on the twentieth anniversary of Communio et progressio, 1992.

———, Ethics in Internet, 2002.

———, The Church and Internet, 2002.

———, Ethics in Communications, 2000.

Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Final Document of the Synod of

Bishops on Young People, Faith and Vocation Discernment, Vatican 2018.

Othe Publications

Anderson, Keith. The Digital Cathedral: Networked Ministry in a Wireless World. Church Publishing, Inc., 2015.

Badmos, Kunle.“Effect of Social Media on the Church.” In Paper Presented at the 2014 Annual Conference of Theological Friends and Fellows. Lagos : The Redeemed Christian Bible College, 2014.

Baker, Samuel. “Who’s Shaping Whom? Digital Disruption in the Spiritual Lives of Post-Familial Emerging Adults.” Journal of Youth and Theology 16, no. 2 (2017): 117–43.

Banet, Kevin. “ How to Attract and Nurture Top Vocation Candidates with Social Media,” 2013.

Barrineau, Bryan. “ Can Theology and Technology Co-Exist? .” Youth Pastor Theologian, n.d. https://www.youthpastortheologian.com/blog/can-theology-and technology-coexist.

Booker, Gideon. “ Youth Ministry in the Digital Age: Leveraging Social Media to Engage and Inspire,” 2023. https://ministryanswers.com/church-ministry/youth-ministry-in-the-digital-age-tips-for-leveraging-social-media-to-engage-and-inspire/.

Burge, Ryan P, and Miles D Williams. “Is Social Media a Digital Pulpit? How Evangelical Leaders Use Twitter to Encourage the Faithful and Publicize Their Work.” Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture 8, no. 3 (2019): 309–39.

Campbell, Heidi.  Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds. London: Routledge, 2013.

Campbell, Heidi A., and Ruth Tsuria.  Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in Digital Media. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2021.

Campbell, Heidi A. “Introduction: Studying Digital Ecclesiology: How Churches Are Being Informed by Digital Media and Cultures.” Ecclesial Practices 7, no. 1 (April 28, 2020): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1163/22144417-bja10001.

Caramazza, Giuseppe.  News Reporting and Broadcasting. Nairobi:  Don Bosco Printing Press, 2002.

Castells, Manuel. The Rise of the Network Society. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444319514.

Czerny, Michael. “Church’s Digital Mission May Become an Ecclesial Ministry.” Catholic World News , July 2, 2024. https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/series.cfm?view=341.

Dankasa, Jacob. New Media as Tools for Evangelization: Towards Developing Effective Communication Strategy in the Catholic Church. Saint Cloud State University, 2010.

Detweiler, Craig. “IGods: How Technology Shapes Our Spiritual and Social Lives.” Choice Reviews Online 51, no. 08 (April 1, 2014): 51. https://doi.org/10.5860/CHOICE.51-4381.

Dyikuk, Justine John. “Christianity and the Digital Age: Sustaining the Online Church.” International Journal of Journalism and Mass Communication 3, no. 1 (2017): 43–49.

Dyrness, William A. Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue. Baker Academic, 2001.

Ellis, Katie, and Mike Kent. Disability and New Media. Routledge, 2011.

Evangelidis, Vasilis. “Agoras and Fora: Developments in the Central Public Space of the Cities of Greece during the Roman Period.” Annual of the British School at Athens 109 (2014): 335–56.

Halton, Clay. “Understanding the Diffusion of Innovations Theory with Examples.” Investopedia , January 23, 2023. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/diffusion-of-innovations-theory.asp.

Hjavard, Stig. “The Mediatization of Religion: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change.” Northern Lights: Film & Media Studies Yearbook 6, no. 1 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1386/nl.6.1.9/1.

Hogue, David. “Pastoral and Spiritual Care in a Digital Age: The Future Is Now.” Journal of Pastoral Theology 30, no. 2 (May 3, 2020): 150–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/10649867.2020.1712870.

Hoover, Stewart M. Religion in the Media Age. Routledge, 2006. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203503201.

Hu, Jane C. “ Social Networks Make the World’s Largest Nations Seem Small.” Quartz, September 12, 2018.

Hutchings, Tim. Creating Church Online. Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203111093.

Ilo, Jude. “How Young People Can Use the Digital Space to Become Digital Influencers and Missionaries.”  Proceedings of the African Palaver Series on the Future of the Church in Africa (Synod on Synodality).  PACTPAN, 2024.

International Forum of Visual Practitioners. “Why Our Brain Loves Pictures,” 2023.

Lonergan, Bernard J.F. Method in Theology . New York: Herder and Herder, 1972.

Lytle, Julie Anne. Faith Formation 4.0: Introducing an Ecology of Faith in a Digital Age. Church Publishing, Inc., 2013.

McLuhan, Marshall. The Global Village: Transformations in World Life and Media in the 21st Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Ministry Answers. “Youth Ministry in the Digital Age: Tips for Leveraging Social Media to Engage and Inspire.” Ministry Answers, May 4, 2023.

Musa, Gerard.  Proceedings of the African Palaver Series on the Future of the Church in Africa (Synod on Synodality). , Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN), 2024.

Nnaemeka Ali, O.M.I. “ Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network: Believing That a Better Church and Society Is Possible in Africa,” n.d. https://pactpan.org/press-releases/pan-african-catholic-theology-and-pastoral network-believing-that-a-better-church-and-society-is-possible-in-africa/.

O’Kane, Lydia. “Pope Highlights Pros and Cons of Internet and Social Media Use.” Vatican News, January 6, 2019. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-.

Pauline Media Studies. “Media Mindfulness for a Digital Culture: A Media Literacy Course,” 2025. https://media.pauline.org/Resources/Blog/ArticleID/553.

Schneider, Matthew P. “ Applying Six Offline Models to Online Evangelization,” 2017. https://www.hprweb.com/2017/06/applying-six-offline-models-to-online evangelization/.

Shell, Caroline F. “ Ministry in the Digital Age: The Use of the New Media to Promote Fruitful Youth Ministry in the 21st Century.” Walsh University, 2019.

Social Communication Departments AMECEA and IMBISA. Basic Human Communication. Vol. 1.  Nairobi:  Pauline Publications Africa, 1999.

Spadaro, Antonio. Web 2.0 Relationships in the Internet Age. Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 2014.

Statista. “Global Social Networks Ranked by Number of Users,” 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by number-of-users/.

Stevenson, Scott C. 76 Ways to Increase Special Event Attendance. Edited by Scott C. Stevenson. Wiley, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118703892.

The Conversation. “How Social Media Is Changing the Church.” https://theconversation.com/africa, May 5, 2016.

Westen, Miriam. “Social Media in the New Evangelization.” Conference paper, Barry’s Bay, Ontario, Canada, November 2013.

Youthscape Research. “Influencers: Peer to Peer Evangelism Amongst Young People in the UK,” 2022. https://www.youthscape.co.uk/research/published research/influencers.

Zukowski, A. “Communicating Faith in a Digital Culture.” Momentum 43, no. 3 (2012).

Bernard Rabwoni is a Catholic Priest of the Diocese of Fort Portal in Uganda. He holds a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Vienna in Austria. He is working as a Fidei Donum Priest or Missionary in Switzerland.

Rabwoni, Bernard. “The benefits and opportunities of New Media in Youth Evangelization: A Catholic Church perspective from Uganda.” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies 12, no.3 (2026): 107 – 128. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20261233

© 2026 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Articles in this Issue

About Journal