This paper examines how pastors engaged an online presence to preach the Word of God and address the needs of their congregations, during the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa. This is set against the Biblical instruction of Jesus Christ to Peter, to “feed my sheep” in John 21: 17, as it is the very same instruction that holds for pastors in churches today. However, the normal operations of the ministry have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Christian church, a close-knit group of believers to whom social and physical distancing are foreign concepts, has had to adapt. Worship sites have been abandoned, and the absence of worshipers has become the norm. Pastoral ministries have been disrupted and call for pastors to embrace new technology to ensure that they have a digital presence with their congregation through social media. This paper argues that these circumstances give the church of God a unique opportunity to rethink how to continue ministry without physical contact. It adopted a mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach, using an online questionnaire and telephonic surveys to engage pastors. The paper utilises the Two-way Communication Model (TCM) and the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT). It concluded that pastoral care and spiritual counselling are essential in crises, that pastors have embraced social media in their mission, and that there is support for digital technology. The article recommendations that there should be a balanced communication strategy for Pastor’s ministries, and that government partners with faith-based organisations in different ways in a joint effort to combat the virus, while encouraging and supporting congregants.

The South African basic education sector has been looking at adopting technology as part of their digital pedagogy; however, progress was slow since this was an overly ambitious transformation. Schools in rural communities lack infrastructure and basic needs like electricity, piped water, and ablutions. The COVID-19 phenomenon brought about the locking down, and physical distancing has further ensured that normal operations had to cease. The educational sector had to also cease physical engagement and turn to online teaching. A qualitative research method was used for this research. This chapter focuses on how teaching practices have been adapted to digital pedagogy and barriers play in successful teaching on digital platforms. The constructivism, two-way communication model, and scaffolding to provide conceptualised this research. Therefore, as part of a future study, it would be interesting to see how basic education maintains a digital teaching presence post-COVID-19 lockdown.

Parental participation, when conducted appropriately, can support the development of communication skills in autistic children within various learning environments. Paquette and Ryan (2001) state that the microsystem of a child can play a major role in impacting the development of the child as family, community and school structures directly expose the child to learning situations. The aim of this research is to understand the nature, extent and impact of the parents’ demographics on parental participation in supporting the development of communication skills in autistic children. Three special-needs schools within the King Cetshwayo District, KwaZulu-Natal, participated in this research. This research used a mix of qualitive and quantitative approaches and a phenomenological design when dealing with the social, emotional and educational implications of autistic children for the role and level of participation parents have in their children’s development of communication skills at school and home. It was noted that educators favoured sensory-enhancing activities, sign language (which is taught to all learners), and picture-exchange methods to develop communication skills in learners. These techniques require practice and consistent use in different contexts. Parents experienced difficulties scheduling sufficient time due to work situations. Bissoli (2014) found that children’s communication skills are influenced by the people around them. The need for more parental engagement in Autism Spectrum Disorder education and training will aid in enhancing the development of skills in children.