Virtual Pastoral Care for Missionaries of Union of Indonesian Baptist Churches in The Digital Era

Abstract

Union of Indonesian Baptist Churches (UIBC) has missionaries who serve in the mission fields in Indonesia and abroad. UIBC cooperates with Indonesian Baptist churches to support the missionaries in finance, supervising, and mentoring. However, specific situations, like the COVID-19 pandemic, cause pastoral care services are not optimal. The purpose of this study is to provide an alternative proposal on virtual pastoral care for the missionaries of the UIBC. This study used the descriptive qualitative method and was based on library research. The conclusion drawn from this study is that UIBC and the sending churches should optimize the utilization of technology to provide virtual pastoral care to their missionaries, which is programmed periodically and intensively. Besides, the strategy to reach the no- internet areas can be realized through partnerships with local churches in the areas closest to the mission fields as extensions to provide the missionaries support and care effectively. Research Contribution: This research contributes to knowledge in pastoral ministry and missiology, in particular, to provide insight into alternative ways for churches and pastors to do pastoral care by utilizing the sophistication of technology in the digital era to missionaries they send to the mission field, which transcends geographic and cultural boundaries. Keywords—virtual;