“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
A friend recently shared an experience from a Christian conference that has lingered with me. As the Word of God was being preached with clarity and conviction, the young lady seated beside him spent much of the time taking selfies, editing pictures, and curating images for social media. The preacher spoke. The Spirit moved. Yet her attention remained fixed on a screen.
That single scene captures, with unsettling accuracy, a growing tension in contemporary Christian gatherings: the struggle between physical presence and spiritual attentiveness. One may be seated in a holy atmosphere and yet remain inwardly absent.
It was this moment that stirred my memory and compelled a backward glance into my own formative years. The contrast between what I witnessed through that story and what I experienced as a teenager is not accidental; it is instructive. It provides a bridge between generations and exposes a silent shift in how we attend to God in sacred spaces.
This reflection is not offered in judgment, but as a mirror — one that invites sober reflection on how easily sacred moments can be diluted by distraction. The teachings we received and the prayers we prayed during those camps in the late 1990s played a significant role in shaping who I am today as a believer. Those moments were sacred, intense, and transformative.
When we juxtapose conferences of the past with those of today, it may be tempting to assume that the problem lies in declining quality or spiritual substance. However, such a conclusion would be inaccurate and unfair. This reflection is not rooted in romantic nostalgia, but in a sober analysis of attention, formation, and spiritual receptivity.
The reasons are not far-fetched. In our time, we did not have the constant presence of mobile phones, social media, and digital entertainment competing for our attention. It must be acknowledged that conferences today are, in many ways, richer in structure and scope. Furthermore, mobile phones and modern technologies themselves are undeniable blessings of our age. They enhance communication, expand access to knowledge, aid ministry, and have become powerful tools for evangelism, learning, and community building.
Contemporary Christian conferences benefit from improved theological training, informed speakers, interdisciplinary perspectives, and a more holistic vision of discipleship — one that integrates spirituality, leadership, vocation, relationships, and societal engagement. These advancements are commendable and necessary for our generation.
Scripture reminds us of the power of focus and attentiveness in spiritual encounters:
“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” — Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)
Concentration is crucial for receiving deeply from teaching and from moments of spiritual impartation. Because we sat in meetings without distractions — no television, no phones, no scrolling — we absorbed more. The Word took root. Prayers went deeper, and encounters were stronger.
The Bible consistently emphasizes the danger of divided attention:
“No one can serve two masters.” — Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
“Let us throw off everything that hinders… and run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” — Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
However, blessings become burdens when they are misused or left undisciplined. Anyone who sits in a spiritual environment without distractions is more likely to experience greater impact than someone whose attention is divided between the altar and a screen. No matter how anointed, informed, or holistic a conference may be, distractions can quietly undermine its formative intent. In such cases, the limitation is not in the message delivered, but in the posture of the hearer. Spiritual things require focus, and focus requires intentional withdrawal from competing voices.
This truth has been echoed by great Christian voices across generations. A.W. Tozer once wrote:
“God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity that we plan only the things that we can do by ourselves.”
Such people are often those who learn to be still, attentive, and fully surrendered in God’s presence.
It is therefore my counsel to every young person attending any conference or camp meeting today: make a deliberate, disciplined effort to exercise control over your phone. This is not an anti-technology argument, but a call to spiritual intentionality, the conscious ordering of one’s attention toward what truly matters in sacred moments.
The Apostle Paul captures this spirit of intentional devotion when he says:
“I discipline my body and bring it under strict control.” — 1 Corinthians 9:27 (ESV)
When this happens, a three- or four-day conference — such as the PENSA Ghana Conference can become a truly defining experience, functioning as a liminal space where ordinary routines are suspended and divine transformation is facilitated. Such gatherings have the potential to mark lives, redirect destinies, and ignite lasting spiritual fire.
John Wesley famously said:
“Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell.”
As we gather at the feet of God from January 1–4, 2026, for the PENSA Ghana Conference, my prayer is that we will see this not merely as another annual event, but as a moment of separation for transformation.
“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.” — 2 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV)
For this to happen, let us intentionally lay aside our phones, even if only partially. Beyond the moments of preaching and prayer, we must also be mindful of what we do with our phones in the spaces between sessions. The conversations we engage in, the content we consume, and the digital atmospheres we enter during breaks can either preserve and deepen the impact already received or gradually quench it.
Let us therefore be intentional not only during sessions, but also in the intervals guarding our hearts, reflecting on the Word, praying, and fellowshipping meaningfully so that the Spirit’s work is sustained rather than suppressed.
Jesus Himself modeled this withdrawal from noise for spiritual depth:
“Very early in the morning… Jesus went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.” — Mark 1:35 (NIV)
In doing so, we may yet rediscover the kind of impact that once defined us and allow it to define a new generation as well.
Daniel Osafo (Pastor)
PENSA Travelling Secretary (Kaneshie Sector)
