On Sunday 1st May, a brand new mobile phone Christian ministry has been launched in the UK by the United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) - a leading Christian radio in the UK and Europe. It has inspired many Christians to bring the Gospel closer to their daily lives. By matching to the contemporary culture, the ministry is expected to reach out to a wide range of people, especially the younger generation.
UCB’s Communications Director, Brian Bennett explained, "The modern society in which we live is a non stop, fast paced environment where people have little chance to pause for reflection. Now we have an opportunity, through the medium of modern technology, to touch the lives of these people."
The mobile phone ministry, called "UCB Mobile", is basically a text messaging service designed to guide people in their everyday journey with God. There are four main services, including Prayer Request, Bible Helps, Verse a Day and Bible in a Year.
The "Prayer Request" service will allow users to make a prayer request to UCB’s Prayerline team through text messages. The UCB’s Prayerline team will then pray for their needs.
For the people who cannot find an answer for the challenges in their lives, the "Bible Help" service provides some bible messages in response to particularly big issues in people's daily lives. Users can choose from a list of topics to receive help on, such as Alcoholism, Depression, Failure, God’s Will, Loneliness, Temptation and so on. In three days, the users will receive text messages containing scriptures related to the topic they chose.
"Verse a Day" and "Bible in a Year" services aim at encouraging people to read the Word of God. The "Verse a Day" service will send a daily uplifting and thought provoking verse to the users while the "Bible in a Year" service will help people to read the whole bible in a year by offering a group of Bible references to the users everyday.
"It’s now very rare to meet someone who doesn’t have a mobile phone, in fact many people have several with them all the time. What better way then, to spread God’s word and offer encouragement to people, as well as offer the opportunity to request prayer," said UCB’s Communications Director, Brian Bennett.
"The technology we are using also offers huge potential for the future, such as ring tones, games, logos and screensavers. The service being launched is very comprehensive, but it really is just the start."
Each text messages received by the user will cost 25p. UCB Mobile is now looking to advance much more by introducing new services. On 1st June, users will be able to participate in voting and competitions from UCB Radio via their mobile phones.
UCB Mobile will be formally launched at the massive annual Christian concert - Ultimate Event - at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England on 14th May.
