From Values to Virtues: Deepening the Christian Formation at the Heart of JOMO
photo by francescoridolfi.com from Rido (sourced from Canva Teams)
For over ten years, the JOMO movement has grown from a spark of an idea (The Joy of Missing Out, published in 2015) to a worldwide movement of schools. Through JOMO(campus), educators are equipped to educate students on the joys they can experience when they mindfully unplug from the digital platforms and content that undermine their values and goals.
As our team has been thinking about how JOMO continues to mature, we keep coming back to the question: what is the deeper theological framework underneath everything we teach?
We've often said that JOMO isn't ultimately about phones, screen time, or technology. It's about formation. It's about who we—the children we love and the adults who teach them—are becoming.
Scripture tells us that God's desire is not merely that we know more about Him, but that we are formed into the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:29). Paul describes this as "Christ being formed in you" (Galatians 4:19), and reminds us that, as we behold Christ, "we are being transformed into his image" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Christian education has always been about this beautiful work of discipleship: becoming people who increasingly reflect the character of Jesus.
Lately, I've been wondering if the historic Christian language of virtue gives us a richer way to describe that work of formation. By virtue, I simply mean the qualities of Christ-like character that are formed in us as we follow Jesus—wisdom, humility, hope, love, self-control, courage, and so on.
Throughout the history of the Church, Christians understood that discipleship wasn't only about believing the right things or avoiding the wrong things. It was about becoming the kind of people who genuinely love God and love their neighbours well. This understanding gives us a deeper theological foundation for our work around technology. Rather than asking only, "How should Christian students use technology?" we also ask, "Who are they becoming as they use it?"
A faithful digital life becomes less about managing devices and more about being formed into the likeness of Christ—growing in wisdom, self-control, courage, attentiveness, justice, hope, and love as we seek to follow Him in the digital age.
What Is a Virtue?
The word virtue isn't one we hear every day, but the idea is deeply Biblical. Virtues are the qualities of Christ-like character that, by God's grace and through faithful practice, are formed in us as we follow Jesus.
For centuries, Christians have recognized four foundational virtues - prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Rather than rules to follow, these virtues describe the kind of people God is forming us to become:
Prudence is learning to perceive rightly and make wise decisions with foresight, sound judgment, and discernment.
Justice is learning to love our neighbours well through generosity, respect, gratitude, responsibility, and fairness.
Fortitude is persevering with courage, patience, magnanimity ("greatness of heart"), and steadfast hope.
Temperance is learning self-control through humility, moderation, honesty, and ordered desires.
Together, these virtues help us grow into people who increasingly reflect the character of Christ and flourish as God intended.
From Values to Virtues
For many years, JOMO has described our work as helping students develop a values-based relationship with technology. That language has served us well. Drawing on research from the Harvard Digital Thriving Lab and the work of Dr. Susan David, we've encouraged students to understand what matters most and to align their digital choices with those values.
But as we've reflected more deeply on the theological foundation of JOMO, we've realized that Christian education calls us beyond values alone.
Values answer the question, "What matters to me?"
Virtues ask a deeper question: "Who is God forming me to become?"
Many things can be valued without necessarily leading us toward Christ. Christian virtues, however, are rooted in the character of Jesus Himself. They remind us that our ultimate goal isn't simply making better digital choices—it's becoming people who increasingly love as Christ loves, see as Christ sees, and live as Christ lived.
While the language of virtue may feel more familiar in some Christian traditions than others, the pursuit of Christ-like character is something the whole Church shares.
Living with Virtue in the Digital Age
This year, our theme at JOMO is Living with Virtue in the Digital Age.
Each month, together with our schools, we'll explore a different virtue or aspect of Christ-like character through the lens of everyday digital life. In September, we'll begin with love, considering how our schools can become places where students are known, valued, and invited to contribute. Throughout the year we'll also explore wisdom, courage, justice, temperance, gratitude, hope, attentiveness, and generosity, including what it means to become more generous with our attention.
Our hope is that these conversations won't simply help students use technology more wisely. We pray they will help all of us—students, educators, and families alike—be formed more fully into the likeness of Christ.
The digital world is shaping who students are becoming every day, faster than schools can respond on their own. JOMO(campus) equips Christian schools with a Christ-centred approach to digital formation helping schools build healthier relationships with technology.
Book a discovery call to learn how JOMO(campus) can help your school cultivate virtue in the digital age.
