The changing landscape of the priesthood of believers through the evolution of virtual pastoral care models
Sr No:
Page No:
1-6
Language:
English
Authors:
Dr. Vusimuzi Goodman Nkuna*
Received:
2026-05-12
Accepted:
2026-06-21
Published Date:
2026-07-06
Abstract:
Virtual pastoral care is a contemporary pastoral presence that is offered remotely through electronic devices and digital platforms. With the proliferation of cell phones and their capability to host digital platforms that are used in day-to-day human communication, the community of believers have adopted them to render virtual pastoral care. Thus, digital technologies is an integral part of the sustenance of the priesthood of believers. Based on this propensity, findings from a study conducted among neo-Pentecostals in Bushbuckridge culminated in the identification of six virtual pastoral care models that emerged from the use of digital technologies in virtual pastoral care. As these models use existing concepts from information and communication technology, the author argues that these models are not greenfield per se. However, they contribute to existing scholarship, and these emerging models are Hybrid Holistic Care, Blended Virtual Care, Digital Self-Care, Virtual Multimedia-aided Fellowship, Online Collaboration Referral, and Remote One-on-one Dialogical Care. Developed from the perspective of the convergence of theories in virtual reality and communal pastoral care, the author advances that these models may also benefit professions such as social work and nursing, among others.
Keywords:
virtual pastoral care, wholeness of life, autoethnography, self-care.