Abstract:
The trending Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools continue to help in most areas of our lives. The church society has also adapted the ICT tools and software encompassing radio, television cellular phones, computer and network hardware in order to enhance its mission in reaching many souls. This research explores the impact of ICT use in communication growth in Mazowe central district main line churches. The main line churches namely Roman Catholic, The Salvation Army and ZAOGA have over the past years been implementing ICT communication to aid in worship, fellowship, pastoral care, evangelism and communications in the church. Most upcoming churches have also taken advantage of the communication platforms like WhatsApp, facebook, twitter that are ever expanding. The gospel is being ministered everyday at any hour across the globe; this has seen these churches growing at a greater rate than in the past when ICT was not in use in churches. The mainline churches which have the greatest coverage in terms of congregate in Mazowe central; does not use the ICT effectively in facilitating their communication, this thus therefore assert a case study to explore on the use of ICT on the growth of communication in this area. An investigation on the modes of communication used and church morals as an influence in the adoption of ICT on growth of communication is carried out. Qualitative data collection methods were used to gather primary data through interviews and questionnaires for analysis. A chi-squared test was carried out on this data to check on the relation between two variables from the respondents being given during the research. The test checked on Effective of mode of communication if it uses ICT, Quality of Messages Delivered and Impact of Church Morals on Adoption of ICT. The findings showed that Churches highly using ICT as a communication tool resulted in their communication being highly effective. A greater percentage of the respondents expressed that church morals affect the adoption of ICT. The research concludes with a provision of the strategies that can be implemented by churches as a way to increase growth in communication through ICT. |
