Africa’s digital revolution has been unfolding since the late 1990s, and its impact has been profound. Increased digital literacy, the mobilisation of organisations and social movements, the global visibility of African culture, and the rise of tech hubs and innovation all testify to the scale of this transformation.
One of the clearest expressions of digital Africa is M-Pesa, among the most transformative mobile money platforms in the world. The “M” stands for mobile, and pesa is the Swahili word for money. Through M-Pesa, millions of previously unbanked individuals can now transfer money, pay merchants, access loans, and begin saving—reshaping everyday economic life across the continent. I can send money across apps from my phone in the UK to an M-Pesa account in Africa.
This digital transformation has also had a significant theological impact. During the 1970s and 1980s, Pentecostal and Charismatic movements streamed their prosperity gospel into Africa, where it spread with remarkable speed and influence. Since the early 2000s, however, the rise of Reformed websites, online libraries, and digital media platforms has given a new generation of African Christians access to the theology of historic Christianity—often for the first time.
Recognising the opportunities presented by the digital world, many ministries have embraced these platforms. Ligonier Ministries, for example, has recently launched a Swahili-language website, while Christian booksellers in Nairobi, with whom I work, are increasingly using social media to sell theological resources more effectively than the physical bookshop.
In this same spirit, we launched a resource website last year at krapfproject.org. While our print magazine, The Pastor’s Study, continues to circulate across Kenya and into eastern Uganda, its digital reach now extends much further. Through WhatsApp, the magazine and related resources are reaching a growing network of pastors across thirteen African countries.
WhatsApp has proven to be an exceptionally effective platform for rural Africa. Most pastors now own smartphones, and for many—especially those who will never attend Bible college—it is their only consistent source of theological training, encouragement, and pastoral support.
Currently, we are connected daily with nearly 1,200 pastors across Africa, distributing Bible commentary, devotional material, and sermon resources. These materials not only nourish the personal spiritual lives of pastors but are also regularly used in weekly preaching and small-group ministry.
The growth of these WhatsApp groups has been entirely organic. In August 2021, I began the first group in Kenya. What has been most surprising is the degree of digital interconnectedness across national borders, as word spreads rapidly from pastor to pastor. In August 2022, groups were established in Uganda and Tanzania; in September 2022, in Mozambique, Zambia, and Rwanda. Further groups followed in Sierra Leone (July 2023), South Sudan (October 2023), and Malawi (January 2024).
In October 2024, a pastor from India contacted me, leading to the formation of a group there. Following a visit to Nigeria, a group was launched in Nigeria in November 2025. Most recently, in January 2026, through a contact in Uganda, we began a group in Ethiopia.
Just this week, on January 22–23, we received requests from two Francophone countries—the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi—further evidence of how digital media continues to open doors for gospel ministry across borders and languages.
Driven by the needs expressed by pastors themselves and by their responses across the continent, WhatsApp has become a central component of the Krapf Project. The platform enables not only the distribution of resources but also ongoing interaction, encouragement, and mentoring. Through WhatsApp, we have formed meaningful ministry connections, gathered feedback through polling, and better understood where pastors are in their reading and theological development. A dedicated “Reading Room” group also allows pastors to engage with texts together, discuss ideas, and grow in understanding as a community.
In the providence of God, Africa’s digital revolution has become a means for gospel ministry—extending theological training beyond denominations and the walls of institutions, strengthening isolated pastors, and fostering a growing network of pastors equipped for effective ministry.
For more information about the ministry of the Krapf Project, visit our ministry website www.krapfproject.com and our resource website www.krapfproject.org