Reimagining Digital Discipleship in Africa: The 4-E Model of Engage, Educate, Empower, and Evangelise

Abstract

This study develops the 4-E Model of Digital Discipleship Engage, Educate, Empower, Evangelise as a contextual framework for integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) into youth ministry. Grounded in practical theology, transformative learning, and media-ecology theory, it explores how digital tools such as social media, livestreaming, and mobile applications can nurture participatory leadership and mission innovation among digital-native youths in Nigeria. Using a qualitative descriptive method based on field interviews and congregational analysis, the paper argues that each phase of the model aligns theology with pedagogy: engagement builds relational empathy and inclusion; education cultivates critical and theological literacy; empowerment equips youths for co-creation and leadership; and evangelism expresses faith through ethical storytelling and social responsibility. The model functions as a cyclical praxis that redefines discipleship from passive consumption to collaborative participation, situating digital competence as a theological vocation. Findings indicate that when ICT is used within an ethical and spiritually grounded framework, it revitalises youth ministry, strengthens communal identity, and extends the Church’s mission beyond physical boundaries. The article concludes that digital discipleship, properly guided by the 4-E Model, represents an incarnational renewal of ministry in the twenty-first-century Church.