In Depth:  Tristram Ridley-Jones

loving your digital neighbour

Tristram Ridley-Jones

In our previous article, Cybersecurity: Loving your (digital) neighbour, we established that protecting the personal data of our congregation is a modern act of stewardship, integrity, and pastoral care. Just as Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, we are called to post a guard at our digital gates.

However, a wall is only as strong as the watchman who stands upon it. The greatest risk to a church's security is often not a sophisticated external hacker, but a simple human error - a click on a malicious link. This is not a judgment on a lack of faith, but a call to practical wisdom and equipping our ministry teams with a "sound mind" (2 Timothy 1v7) to spot digital deception.

loving your digital neighbour

Tristram Ridley-Jones

It is a Tuesday morning in the church office. The administrator sits down, coffee in hand, to process the weekly DBS checks for the new Sunday School volunteers. It is a mundane, administrative task, a "Martha" moment in a world that often prizes "Mary" spirituality. But in today's day and age, this simple act of administration has become a frontline of spiritual stewardship.

Last year, the data breach involving the Access Personal Checking Services (APCS) (a third-party supplier used by many dioceses and Christian organisations) served as a stark wake-up call. It reminded us that the church is not invisible to the digital threats that prowl the modern world. For many church leaders, terms like "phishing," "ransomware," and "two-factor authentication" feel like a distraction from the Great Commission. They would rather talk about grace than firewalls.