Send this page to a colleagueAn Open Letter from Internet Evangelism Day about Web Ministry Training
To Bible College and Seminary Principals, Deans of Study, Training Administrators, Evangelism Tutors
“Training students in online evangelism is strategic and crucial for this new digital century.”A new baby
In 1996, a birth took place which has already dramatically affected many of that year’s other 80 million babies. For it was then that the Internet emerged as a mainstream communication medium after its gestation period as a minority hobby. By the end of the century, it was becoming clear that the Web would be as significant as Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press – which transformed society, communication, the church and the way the Gospel was proclaimed. M Rex Miller, in his book The Millennium Matrix, proposes that we now live in a ‘digital communication culture’, and that this is rapidly superseding the previous ‘broadcast communication culture’ (the radio and TV era from about 1950 onwards), which itself had to a considerable extent replaced the ‘print communication culture’ that started with Gutenberg’s invention.
Those who grew up with computers as children can be truly said to have been born in this new ‘digital country’. Those of us who were adults before the computer revolution are at best ‘immigrants’, and perhaps still only occasional tourists in this strange new land.
The wrong mold
Christians have often struggled to understand or accept new communication mediums. And when we have used them, we
have tended to force them into the mold of a more familiar older medium. As an example, for many years much Christian
radio was little more than church services: hymn/prayer/sermon sandwiches, though this is not the way that radio works best.
With well over 1 billion current users, and ‘the second billion’ expected to come online in the next few years (who will be almost entirely in the non-western world), the Web has enormous potential for cutting-edge evangelism (not least in the difficult 10/40 Window countries), as well as in nurturing believers. Unlike previous communication systems, it is not primarily a one-way linear medium (‘print on a screen’), but a powerful two-way relationship builder that can target any affinity group.
Unfortunately, although there are vast numbers of Christian websites and blogs, the overwhelming majority are only for Christians. The situation is even worse in non-English languages. With the exception of groups such as CCCI and YWAM, plus some radio ministries and Middle East agencies, cross-cultural mission agencies have often been slow to use the Web for evangelism. The opportunities to use this God-given tool are immense, but not being grasped.
Online resource
Internet Evangelism Day is an initiative of the Internet Evangelism Coalition (a grouping of
major ministries with a vision for online outreach). Its purpose is to encourage the worldwide church to
understand and use this powerful new tool. We do this with an annual focus day on the last Sunday of April,
and through a year-round resource website:
InternetEvangelismDay.com
This site explains the nature of the Web as a medium, and explores principles and strategies to reach non-seekers, in both the West and the non-western world:
- church websites that reach outsiders in their community
- social networking
- video clips
- mobile phone outreach
- chat rooms
- outreach websites
- blogging
- gaming and the Second Life virtual world
InternetEvangelismDay.com/planning
Many of our other resource pages will readily provide a basis for additional seminars and lectures, and are frequently used for this purpose. We offer them to you free of charge – we have no other agenda than equipping Christians and catalyzing new web evangelism initiatives. Unlike mediums such as video production, most web ministry requires little technical knowledge, and training courses do not need technical expertise or expensive equipment.
Possible course spec, hands-on experience and research
If you are interested in creating a more extensive course, it might look something like this:
InternetEvangelismDay.com/proposal.rtf
The Web also offers students the opportunity to participate in direct web evangelism ministry as part of
their course, either through the creation of evangelistic materials, or by volunteering to do email mentoring
with an existing web outreach ministry:
InternetEvangelismDay.com/vacancies
There are also many opportunities and needs for research-based dissertations in the area of web evangelism.
One academic has also proposed a way that bible colleges could
themselves use their academic knowledge in evangelism (and there are other direct opportunities for colleges too):
InternetEvangelismDay.com/college-outreach
Can we help you?
Your feedback on this issue will be gratefully received. Are there other materials that we could provide
for you? Would you like to network with others on these questions? Do you know of colleges already doing this? Would
you like to invite an outside lecturer in this area? Please write to:
InternetEvangelismDay.com/feedback
This letter can be freely reprinted, republished or otherwise copied. Please
blog
about it, pass it to others in the academic Christian community,
(you can download it in PDF),
or ask them to read it online:
InternetEvangelismDay.com/bible-college
Blessings to you
Tony Whittaker
Internet Evangelism Day Coordinator
