Catechesis in the Digital Age: The ACNA Catechism App
In 2020, after a decade of planning and testing, the ACNA produced To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism, a companion to the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, which was published the year before. To be a Christian was itself an extraordinary achievement: a comprehensive introduction to what it means to think, to pray, and to live as an Anglican Christian.
The catechism is now available as an affordable and beautifully designed mobile Catechism App. The plan was always to have a mobile app accompanying the catechism. Now, as Archbishop Steve Wood said in the ACNA’s provincial announcement of the app, “that dream is a reality.”
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The app is not only easy to use but also significantly expands our ability to learn and teach the faith. We now have greater access to the Scriptures that shape and deepen the catechism, more capacity to expand the library of catechetical resources, and—what is perhaps even more extraordinary—an unprecedented means of encouraging unity across the global Anglican church.
To Be a Christian: An Extraordinary Resource
The publication of the catechism in 2020 was extraordinary for several reasons. Some people think Anglicanism doesn’t have any shared commitments to belief or doctrine—just a prayer book (maybe) and bishops (again, also a maybe). But that’s not true, and the foundation of the ACNA is itself a testament to our common commitments to belief, church structure, and worship. In Anglicanism, there’s no separation of theology, liturgy, and life.
To Be a Christian was also extraordinary in terms of its aims: it’s meant for mission as well as faith formation. It’s meant for newcomers to the faith in a secular age and for those trying to raise their kids to love the Lord—for the skeptical San Francisco stockbroker as well as the homeschooling Montana mom.
The late Tim Keller often noted that the great Reformation-era catechisms, like the Lutheran or Heidelberg Catechisms, as important as they are, were products of their time: they were meant to address issues that rocked the church then, like justification by faith or the sacraments. But they presumed a Christian culture, where certain views about God, the world, and morality were taken for granted.
Not so anymore. We now need catechesis for a post-Christian secular age—what Keller, following J.I. Packer, called “counter-catechesis.” We need a catechesis that hits at our culture’s core narratives: “You have to be true to yourself.” “Don’t sacrifice your freedom for anyone.” “Everyone has the right to choose what’s right or wrong.”
Catechesis for a secular age communicates the “faith once handed down” (Jude 1:3) in a way that addresses these gut-level issues—and that’s what To Be a Christian does. This catechism is a unique resource that every Anglican Christian today needs to grow in the faith.
A Broader Audience
The new catechism app doesn’t replace the hardcopy version of the catechism. It extends it and expands it.
It extends the catechism by making it available to more people, in more places, right now. It’s affordable and easily accessible. At the time we’re writing this, the hardback version retails for about $29 USD at Crossway and about $20 on Amazon. The app is available for around $5.
The app also extends access to the catechism to a broader audience. Today, more people in most age groups are using apps as well as print resources. The catechism app meets people on platforms they’re already using.
More importantly, the new app expands catechetical resources to the non-Western world, in places where print resources are more difficult to get or where print resources can even pose a security risk. As Jenny Noyes, Executive Director of New Wineskins Missionary Network, said:
The new catechism app is an essential resource for global missions. Not only do global Christians need access to good digital discipleship tools for their own spiritual growth, but cross-cultural workers can use this app to answer questions that unbelievers are asking. They can pull up the app and begin a conversation with someone right then and there!
The catechism app was designed with this missional context in mind, and the ACNA’s Catechesis Task Force is already hard at work to make translations available in the app. Complete versions of the catechism are available in Chinese, Indonesian, and German. Spanish, Arabic, and Urdu are close behind. These and more will soon be available in the app.
Expanding Resources
The app also expands upon the hardback version of the catechism. First, you’ll notice the eloquent design and imagery of the app. A lot of thought went into making an app that not only conveyed the content of the catechism but did so in a compelling and contemplative way. Everything from the overall design to the flow of text to the fonts and images is intended to help users receive the teaching of the faith in a format that is suited to the beauty of the truths of the Gospel.
The app also has the capacity to add other digital features. Currently, efforts are underway for a commentary on the catechism, which can be incorporated into the app. We can also include a wider range of supplemental texts or links to the 2019 Book of Common Prayer. We can also add other kinds of media, such as video or music, to help users engage with the catechism.
The Catechism and Scripture
The most important feature of the app may be its access to Scripture. The use of Scripture in the catechism is highly significant. Those references you see in parentheses after each question-and-answer aren’t just “prooftexts”—a way of saying, “See, I got this from the Bible!” Instead, the Scripture passages are meant to help teachers and learners go deeper into the Word. They’re arranged in a lectionary-style format that helps focus the reader’s attention on Christ as the heart of Scripture.
The hardback version doesn’t exactly make this easy. You need the catechism in one hand and a Bible or online tool in the other, constantly flipping back and forth. For someone new to the faith, this makes accessing Scripture harder. The app version, on the other hand, allows you to access all of the Scripture passages for each question. There’s even a way for the app to read the questions aloud, which is especially valuable for those learning English as a second language.
For someone teaching the catechism, this Scripture feature is one of the most helpful resources for preparing to teach. It allows you to study the passages in more detail and to draw upon them when teaching or discussing the catechism.
For someone studying the catechism for personal use, having access to Scripture can significantly expand their ability to understand the catechism. The questions and answers aren’t the final answers—the end of the conversation. They’re meant to be a pathway into deeper learning, study, and contemplation. The catechism app can help you “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” Scripture in a way that imprints the words of Scripture on your memory.
The Medium and the Message
Now, you might be thinking: Isn’t turning the catechism into an app capitulating to modern culture’s obsession with technology and devices? Don’t we want to help people get off their phones and into conversations?
In short: yes. The people who weighed in on the development and planning of this app were united in the conviction that the Christian faith—and Anglicanism in particular—is an embodied faith. We care about worship, relationships, and spiritual practices that align with core Christian beliefs in the goodness of creation, the Incarnation of the Word, and the resurrection of the body. Anglicans are sacramental Christians who believe that God makes himself known in material realities of water, wine, and bread.
That’s one of the main reasons that Anglicans distinguish between catechism—a teaching tool, whether print or digital—and catechesis, an embodied and relational practice of grounding believers in the Gospel of Christ within the sacramental life of the church.
From the beginning, catechesis was not primarily about what was written on the page but what was written down in the heart. Early Christian catechesis emphasized memorization of the core tenets of the faith within a worshipping, praying, and learning community. It taught virtue formation through following the examples of Christ and the saints. It was an embodied and communal form of instruction and initiation.
So, whether we’re talking about a print or digital catechism, the principle is the same: the catechism is a tool, while catechesis is a craft for helping Christians build deep foundations of the faith and grow into mature Christian disciples.
How to Use the App
The catechism app can be used in lots of different ways.
For personal use, we can use the app to study the content of the catechism and the Scriptures for ourselves. There is a bookmark feature, which keeps your place as you read, or a “Question of the Day” feature. The Table of Contents makes it easy to move around to different sections or questions. There’s a search bar so you can look up keywords or Scriptures. Finally, there’s a note-taking feature, so that you can take notes about what you’re learning.
The app is especially useful for those who teach catechesis. Elizabeth Conkle, Director of the Anglican Catechist Training School, said that the new app has become “an invaluable tool for the students in our catechist training school.”
We ask students to read Scripture passages and questions each week from TBAC that pertain to the topic being studied, e.g., the sacraments. Now, our students have both the Scriptures and the catechism at their fingertips and can write notes in the app. The app is enabling our students to more easily complete this assignment, and as a result, their learning is going deeper.
Finally, for clergy and bishops, the new App is an exceptional tool for preparing candidates for baptism and confirmation. Bishop Eric Menees, Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of San Juaquin, says that the new app is a “wonderful tool in my discipleship/catechetical toolbox.” When he meets with candidates before Confirmation, he spends several hours discussing their lives, ministries, and discipleship: “What a blessing it is for me to share with them the app and demonstrate how it can be a blessing for them in their growth as Christians and a blessing for their families.”
Conclusion
The new App is not just a neat new digital gadget in the Anglican world. It’s a significant marker for mission, discipleship, and even global church unity. Within the context of a worshipping and catechizing community—the church—the Catechism App can be a powerful tool in the hands of skilled catechetical craftsmen to build robust foundations in the faith.
Let’s get building.
The Catechism App can be downloaded on Apple or Google devices at www.TheCatechismApp.com today. Download it now and start growing in your faith.
Meanwhile, the potential here for global Anglicanism is exceptional. And if you want to learn more, the Catechesis Task Force is preparing a special pre-workshop event at the New Wineskins Conference this September: check it out!
Image elements courtesy of The Catechism App. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.
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