The leadership of the Association of Northern Ghana Regular Baptist Churches (ANGRBC) has urged Christian youth to embrace technological innovation while strictly guarding against digital addiction and moral decay.

The call was made during the four-day ANGRBC Youth Conference held at Times Baptist Junior High School under the theme, “Embracing Innovation While Upholding Biblical Values.”

Addressing participants, Chairman of ANGRBC, Rev. Dr. Timothy Seidu, dismissed notions that modern technological advancements and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are in competition with the church or the pulpit.

He described technology as a divine resource meant to supplement the work of God, while cautioning against its potential dangers.

“Digital technology is not competing; digital technology in itself has not come to offset the pulpit. It is another resource, including AI, that God has given the church to do great things. But we don’t replace coming to church by looking at your phone,” Rev. Dr. Seidu noted.

Rev. Dr. Seidu warned that excessive attachment to smartphones risks eroding critical thinking, discipline and personal human connections, particularly when young people fall prey to online vices such as pornography.

“Today's youth who are addicted are more like trailers; they are not engines, they are not thinking, because people are thinking for them. They become consumers, but they do not become contributors,” he stated.

He added that technology must never replace worship or dependence on God.

Echoing these sentiments, ANGRBC Youth President, Nicodemus Sorikuong, explained that the conference was designed to train young believers to become digital evangelists capable of using technology responsibly.

“We understand that our youth are brilliant, creative, and innovative, but we can also see the addiction they have to their phones and how some abuse AI and IT tools. We want to train online missionaries—people that will know how to use AI tools to propagate the gospel and teach the Bible,” Sorikuong said.

He urged young people to remain rooted in scripture and remember their ultimate accountability to God, referencing Romans 12:2 to emphasise transformation rather than conformity to worldly values.

Participants at the conference also shared perspectives on how the sessions reshaped their relationship with technology.

Youth member Yelabaahee Esther said the engagement helped overcome her long-held fear that using digital technology could conflict with spiritual devotion.

“My biggest takeaway was clarity on my doubts. There was always a fear in me that using IT tools, especially concerning God, was sinful. This conference taught me how ICT can be used purposefully to glorify God and help others discover who He is, rather than just using phones for self-pleasing entertainment,” Esther said.

For his part, another youth member, Joseph Sebina, emphasised practical discipline and academic productivity, noting that the value of technology depends on how it is used.

“Social media and AI are not inherently bad; it is our usage that determines their value. As a student, I have learned to discipline myself to use tools like ChatGPT for academic research and idea generation, while leveraging platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram to broadcast sermons and salvation messages to society,” Sebina explained.

The conference featured practical demonstrations, multimedia projections and live streaming to model positive technological adoption for participants.