“Be Spiritual and Employ Technology in your Ministry”: An Experience of Sermons Amid COVID-19 by Bishop Harrison Sakala of Tabernacle of David Assembly of God in Zambia

Nelly Mwale

doi:10.25159/2412-4265/12665

Authors

Nelly Mwale University of Zambia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4556-9239

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/12665

Keywords:

COVID-19, Sermons, Zambia, Pentecostalism, Media, Mediatisation

Abstract

Pentecostal preachers in Zambia, like Bishop Harrison Sakala of the Tabernacle of David Assembly of God, reoriented their sermons during online worship services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in its early stages. The article shows that the outbreak of COVID-19 reshaped the sermons and the role of the “men of God” therein. They blended their sermons with an emphasis on embracing science as opposed to being overly spiritual, adhering to prevention and control measures stipulated by the health authorities and the state, and instilling hope in the masses. The article concludes that the sermons not only pointed to the media as sites for communicating shifts within Pentecostal circles on tackling the pandemic but also signified the collaborative role played by Pentecostal preachers in mitigating the pandemic through the media.

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Author Biography

Nelly Mwale, University of Zambia

Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies

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