The digital age has significantly disrupted traditional church service models, presenting unique challenges in reaching Generation Z, a cohort of digital natives with a high prevalence of mental health issues. This study aims to analyze the contextual and theoretical effectiveness, ethical challenges, and theological implications of using WhatsApp as a pastoral counseling medium. Employing a qualitative method grounded in a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach, this research synthesizes data from scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings published between 2021 and 2025. The analysis identifies three key thematic areas. First, regarding opportunities, WhatsApp offers increased accessibility, platform familiarity, and reduced psychological barriers for Gen Z seeking help. Second, regarding challenges, the study highlights data confidentiality risks, ambiguous professional boundaries, and limitations in building deep therapeutic alliances due to the loss of non-verbal cues. Third, the findings emphasize the urgent need for counselors to develop new competencies, specifically 'digital empathy' and cyber-ethical literacy. It is concluded that while WhatsApp cannot replace clinical intervention, it holds significant potential as an innovative support tool within a hybrid pastoral ministry model. However, its success relies heavily on the implementation of strict ethical guidelines and comprehensive counselor training.
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Tobing et al. (2026) studied this question.
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