Bridging the digital divide: ABHMS delivers tech solutions to Native American churches

VALLEY FORGE, PA (02/21/2025)—Like many smaller, rural churches, Native American churches often face financial difficulties. This is compounded by the economic challenges within Native communities, where poverty rates are higher than the national average due to a plethora of reasons: historical displacement and land loss, harsh colonization and assimilation policies, limited access to education and employment, economic marginalization, health disparities, systemic discrimination, and intergenerational poverty.

Limited resources can impact outreach programs, maintenance of church buildings, and connectivity, making it harder to serve members’ spiritual and community needs. The COVID-19 pandemic brought into particularly sharp relief how smaller, rural churches struggled to serve their members during the lockdowns because they did not have the necessary hardware, software, and skills to connect with congregations virtually.

Photo courtesy of  Christin Hume on Unsplash

Many Native American churches fall into that category. When Dr. Jeffrey Haggray, ABHMS’ executive director, visited Native American ABC churches in Oklahoma in 2022, his team assessed the need for improving their technology and internet access.

With funding from Native American Ministries (part of ABHMS’ Intercultural Ministries unit), they received equipment in February 2024 and were visited in September by the Rev. Ben Sullivan, national coordinator for Native American Ministries, the Rev. Saeed Richardson, ABHMS’ chief technology and information security officer, and Mary-Anne Walker, ABHMS’ IT support assistant.

“We basically spent about four and a half days driving to different churches, talking to the pastors, talking to the staff there, figuring out what their needs were,” said Richardson. “And there were somewhat different needs for each of the churches, but they all centered around gaining access to the internet, if they didn’t have that, and getting them appropriate equipment for people to use that access in a meaningful way.”

The modern technology that was supplied included monitors, laptops, PA systems, Zoom accounts, and cameras. In 2025 and beyond, the project’s goal is to enhance community access to technology and resources, bridging the gap between urban and rural communities and improving Native American participation in church activities and online events.

The initiative also includes ongoing training and support, with quarterly check-ins to ensure the technology is effectively utilized, becoming a significant step in closing this digital gap. “This equipment will help churches conduct meetings, provide community access to the internet, and host training sessions,” said Sullivan. “The goal is to eventually support all 24 churches in the region.” Churches will also be able to virtually participate in Space for Grace conferences hosted by ABHMS and the Biennial Mission Summits of American Baptist Churches USA. “One of the big hopes and outcomes is showing our communities what is possible,” concluded Sullivan.

Projects like equipping Native American churches with modern technology are made possible by the generous support of readers like you. You can support our programs through our website: abhms.org.

By Rev. Dr. Anna Piela, ABHMS senior staff writer and associate editor of The Christian Citizen