The Web – a unique medium
The Internet has become a 21st century Roman road, marketplace, theater, backyard fence, and office drinks machine. Web evangelism gives believers opportunities to reach people with the Gospel right where they are, just as Jesus and Paul did.
The Web’s explosive growth has been remarkable. In ten short years, it has jumped from being a minority hobby for computer enthusiasts to a communication medium used by over 1000 million people worldwide. If your visit to this website lasts ten minutes, in that time interval 460 people will have used the Web for their very first time.
The world impact of the Internet and the digital revolution will be as far-reaching as the invention of the printing press.
To use the Web effectively, we must understand its nature as a medium. Each time a new means of communication is developed, people initially think of it in terms of a previous known medium. Thus, TV began as radio with pictures, but was soon viewed as a different medium in its own right, as people learned its potential.
Linear versus non-linear
Many mediums are linear – they communicate a message along a single line. Radio and TV are essentially linear (although these days, interactive TV can give the user some control). Fiction books, videos and tracts are also linear. However, a newspaper is non-linear – it contains multiple messages, not linked together sequentially. Users can move around as they choose.
The Web is also non-linear. A website is not (usually) a single page of text, but offers choice between a range of pages and maybe other interactive options too.
Pull versus push
Outreach literature is a ‘push’ medium. For instance, people offer tracts into others’ hands. Radio is largely a push medium – within a limited range of available stations, the user listens (or turns off).
The Internet however is a ‘pull’ medium. It draws people in – but only within the channels on which they wish to be drawn. It is therefore like a reference library rather than a literature distribution program. There is no automatic audience for a website.
Interactive and two-way
One of the greatest attractions of the Web is its interactivity. The user controls completely what webpages appears on his or her monitor. Each person will have a unique route of personal choice though any website, and across 4 billion webpages around the world.
The two-way nature of the web means that the user is no longer a passive recipient. When you listen to radio, the experience is one-way – unless you can phone in or write a letter. But the Web makes it easy for users to express opinions and interact with webmasters by email or instant messager, and discuss a site with other users by bulletin board, blog response form or chat room. At last, “my opinion counts”.
Just as a newspaper aims to build loyalty among its readers, a website can generate a sense of community – the feeling that users can identify with the site. Successful sites understand how to create this intangible mood.
Implications of the Web’s properties as a medium
It is a mistake to regard the evangelistic potential of the Web as merely ‘tracts on a screen’. Such a perception will greatly limit its potential for outreach. Instead, we must understand the Web’s nature as a medium and learn how to work with its inherent strengths. Only then can we begin to use the staggering opportunities it offers us.
Learning more
Newcomer to the Web
If you are a newcomer to using the Web, we recommend you check your bookstore or library for a book that will start you off on understanding websites, browsing and searching. There are also a few online guides, such as this Intro Guide.
If you are using computers or the Web to a considerable extent, consider learning to touch type. The time this takes will be repaid many times over.
The Web and the world
"An incredible new technology enables the transmission of text on a worldwide basis. It rapidly reduces production and distribution costs and for the first time allows large numbers of people to access text and pictures in their own homes."
You've guessed it. The invention of 'movable type' by Gutenberg - the printing press. It transformed education, learning, evangelism and communication. It laid the foundations for the Renaissance, the arts, sciences, and the world as we know it today. The digital revolution is bringing about a similar huge change in evangelism, Christian discipleship and community, in ways which are only just beginning.
"Using a computer for online religious activity... could become the dominant form of religion and religious experience in the next century."
Professor B Brasher, author: Give me that Online Religion (Jossey-Bass)
Although the Internet first grew in USA and northern Europe, it is now no longer a toy for the rich West. Users in China are expected to reach 100 million in 2004-5. Only one country in the world bans Internet usage – N. Korea.
- Figures for worldwide Internet usage by language
- Overall user figures
- Countries where Internet access is monitored
- People Groups – worldwide database
The Internet now provides us with a vital tool to reach into the hardest nations including those in the 10-40 Window. See the case-study on effective web outreach in Poland.
A Roman Road system for our generation
There is an interesting parallel between the Web and the Roman Road system. This vast network was built for primarily military and trading reasons, yet was a key element in the rapid spread of the Gospel throughout the known world.
As the Internet is increasingly used by people in the non-Western world, (and also in sections of the community in the West) who are in an oral communication culture, we must investigate methods of communication which work best for them.
Trends
There are Christian 'future-watchers' who can help us to see the trends in society, culture, and the Internet revolution:
- Global Change – mega-site with views on the world situation from Christian future-watcher Dr Patrick Dixon
- Research links – detailed analyses of the effect of the Internet on the church and evangelism, plus Web Evangelism conference reports
- Future Church – Tom Hohstadt's occasional newsletter on the way the church is changing
- Christian Futures Network
Teaching IT and Web skills is becoming an effective way of sharing the Gospel.
The needs
The needs of the world [view from space | more] remain as great as ever. The Internet is a powerful and God-given medium to help us fulfil the Great Commission. Even its name reflects the nature of the fishing net which Jesus spoke of in Matthew 13:47 and elsewhere.
Understanding the medium
The Web is a competely different medium to print or broadcasting. It is important to understand its nature, if we are to use it in evangelism.
Unfortunately, it also has a dark side – be aware of how to protect yourself and your family from these aspects. As a medium, the Internet is neutral, but in a fallen world it is inevitably subverted, just as are print, TV, video, and film often are. It is a God-given tool that we can use.
It works!
The effectiveness of the Web for outreach may not often be highlighted in the wider Christian media. But be assured, God is "adding daily to their number those who were being saved" directly or indirectly, though the Internet.
For instance, TruthMedia (CCC Canada) evangelistic websites receive 0.75 million visitors each month! They write, "TruthMedia is a ministry that's dedicated to help people come to know God in a personal way through the medium of the Internet and then helping them grow in their faith through discipleship sites. Our goal is to impact people around the world by using the medium and tools of the Internet. In an average month we'll have about 750-thousand people who visit our sites, of those approximately 1,400 people will indicate that they received Christ or have made some kind of significant spiritual decision like rededicating their lives to Christ." Truth Media has 450 volunteers who are doing the writing, evangelism and discipleship outreach.
Does digital evangelism work?
There is no magic bullet in evangelism, discipleship, or anything else. Over the years, new mediums and methods have been each championed as holding the key to evangelism and church growth. Yet the church continues to decline numerically in some countries of the West.
At most times and places, people only move upwards in their spiritual journeys if they have relationships with Christians and see the life of Jesus modeled in others. You may have read the book The Gospel Blimp [widely available new and secondhand] which develops this principle within a fictional story. The Gray Matrix [www.web-evangelism.com/gray-matrix.php] is a useful tool to help us understand spiritual journeys.
We do not wish to overstate the potential of the Internet. It is, in any case, only a channel, and not the Message itself. Nevertheless, the Internet is unique in its ability to reach people. It is a ‘pull medium’: just like a reference library, it draws people in, but only on the basis of their interests. Rarely do people accidentally find pages they are not looking for. If you have zero interest in, say, hockey, when did you last accidentally find yourself on a webpage about hockey? Probably never! A website does not have an automatic audience. It is also unlike radio or literature, which can be defined as ‘push mediums’.
The Web is the only medium which can target any affinity group of
people, on the basis of ethnicity, geographic location, culture, hobby,
felt need or interest, anywhere in the world. It can reach out to people
such as ‘Jay’ – an imaginary but
God can use the Web alone to bring someone to Him. More often, it will be just one element in a chain, as this story [htechnology.ccci.org/stories/athiestgirl.html] of an atheist girl demonstrates. However, the testimonies below show how effective the Web can be. You will note that in each case, a key element in each person’s spiritual journey was email relationships. The web-pages themselves were only a starting point. (See our discussion questions.) Effective web ministries often need email mentors.
Kristi’s Story
Kristi was in high school when she visited a friend at James Madison
University and saw
EveryStudent advertised. She visited the site and was challenged.
•
Video story |
Read it
Patricia’s Story
“Is there a God?” Patricia typed into her computer. Ask Jeeves,
the Internet search engine, boasts the ability to find the answer to any
question. This was just one of many search engines Patricia frequently
used to find all kinds of information, from news to music. But could it
really tell her about God?
•
Read her story
Christina’s Story
Her life was in a total mess when she went to see Mel Gibson’s film
The Passion of the Christ. This challenged here, and she went online
to look for answers, and found CCCI’s evangelistic site
The Life based on the film.
•
Video story |
Read it
Kasia’s Story
“I accidentally started chatting with somebody on the Internet.” Polish
student Kasia was looking for meaning in life when she contacted a web
evangelist based in US. He suggested she visit Polish websites including
VitaNovis.
• Read her story
Facts and figures
If outreach websites use wise communication strategies, clear design and usability, and readable enticing jargon-free pages, they receive many visitors. EveryStudent.com has 160,000 visitors each month, with about 1 percent indicating some level of personal response to God. Women Today Magazine is receiving 105,000 unique visitors a month. The entire portfolio of sites from the TruthMedia team draw in an incredible 250,000 visitors each month: latest detailed stats. [www.truthmedia.com/aboutus/monthstat.html] God is touching thousands of people each day through sites such as these.
Meet the evangelists
But don’t feel that only large ministries with mega-sites can do web evangelism. There are many spare-time webmasters with small but effective sites.
“It brings me to tears to think that what God gives me the privilege of doing for Him reaches more people in one day than some of the greatest preachers of 100 years ago could reach in their whole life. No wonder God made the Internet!” – Dean Craig, webmaster
Dangers on the Internet
The Web, as a medium, is neutral. Like other communication methods (TV, video, radio, books and magazines, telephone or the postal service), it has no intrinsic moral attributes. The Internet can be used for bad or good. In a fallen world, where easy money can be made by exploiting people, we must expect that the Web will often be used for evil purposes.
It is certainly unfortunate that governments have not taken sufficient action to counter wrong uses of the Web. And because the Internet is a sort of worldwide library – that gives access to anyone, anything, anywhere, in seconds – the dangers and temptations are real.
Protecting yourself and your family
1. Email
The email ‘spam’ (unrequested junk mail) situation has gone beyond crazy. Spam emails often offer pornography. There are many solutions to minimize this problem. Your Internet provider probably offers a filtering solution. You can also set up the email program within your computer to filter directly to trash any email containing defined words or phrases. There are also add-on email services available (such as SpamArrest), which only allow through to you emails from people whom you have approved as recipients. Similar systems specifically for parents to use with their children are also available. These ‘approval gateways’ virtually guarantee you will receive no spam at all.
However if you need to offer your email address widely to people, hoping that they will write to you for help or ministry, email ‘approval systems’ may confuse them and a certain percentage may never submit themselves to be approved.
If you have a website, never display any email addresses within the site as ‘mailto’ links. These can easily be ‘harvested’ by automated software, and sold to spammers. Instead, offer site visitors a ‘contact form’ to fill in online. Properly set up, these completely hide your email address and keep it safe from ‘harvesters’: see our code [guide.gospelcom.net/resources/makingforms.php] to make a contact form.
2. Websites
It is frighteningly easy to find pornography online, and a Christianity Today study found that 40% of ministers admitted to such access. Pornography is compellingly addictive, and it is a thousand times harder to escape from, than never to start. Be aware that the times of greatest temptation may be when you are tired, lonely, or away from home.
There are two ways of safeguarding yourself and your family:
Filtering
Some Internet companies offer filtered Internet access which blocks access to the overwhelming majority of porn sites. Alternatively you can buy an add-on filtering and continue to use your existing internet provider. Inevitably, these systems cannot completely block everything, and in the process may also block legitimate sites too. If you have young children who use the Web on their own, these are vital.
Accountability software
You can install this on your computer. It sends an email report of all the websites accessed by that computer each week to an ‘accountability partner’ – someone you trust. Knowing that this is happening is a powerful disincentive to viewing inappropriate material. Some Christian organizations require all their members use this software. Covenant Eyes [www.covenanteyes.com] is highly recommended. Also available is the free X3Watch. [www.x3watch.com]
Key verse Job 31:1: “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.” We are in a spiritual battle. Remember the parallel with terrorist attacks: “A terrorist group only needs to ’get lucky’ once to succeed, whereas counter-terrorism forces must ‘get lucky’ 100 per cent of the time.”
Young people
Young people using the Web in any context, including chat room evangelism, should be trained never to tell people their home addresses and phone numbers, and never to meet face-to-face and alone with anyone they have contacted online.
Of course, it may be appropriate for young people to meet chat room evangelism contacts if they live locally; but this is best done with two people going together to meet the contact in a public place (e.g. a cafe), preferably first consulting with an older church leader about the meeting.
More resources
Do not underestimate the temptations you may face, or that the wider
church must address:
•
Cybersex Temptation [www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2000/003/12.28.html]
– written several years ago, it is increasingly valid.
•
How Many Porn Addicts Are There In Your Church?
[www.crosswalk.com/faith/pastors/1336107.html]
– article from Crosswalk.com.
•
X3Church [www.xxxchurch.com] – X3
Church offers advice and help for Christians and non-Christians, in a
lively upfront manner. They are also encouraging churches worldwide to
hold a focus day to highlight the problem.
•
Christianity Today article [www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/008/29.71.html]
– tells the story of the two pastors behind the X3 Church site.
Are things true?
A different issue for Christians and the Internet is the passing on of information which may not be true. We tend to believe something if it is passed on from a known Christian source. Yet, of course, they picked up it from somewhere else! There are many inspirational stories being presented as true, in sermons, devotionals, etc. To pick two at random: that a young Alexander Fleming was rescued by Winston Churchill when he was young; or the illustration of a bridge operator who had to drop the river bridge because the train was coming, even though his young son was trapped in the gears. Both are totally untrue. Sure, the bridge story might be used as a parable, but not as a true story.
Then there are imaginary petitions, health warnings, lost children, virus alerts. Never pass on anything unless there is a reputable website giving latest dated verifiable news on the situation referred to.
Be aware also of spam ‘phishing’ emails, which ask you to ‘verify’ or update your online banking, eBay or PayPal identities/passwords. Never, ever, do this.
Sources to check on any story or email:
•
Truth Miners [www.truthminers.com/truth]
– a Christian resource
•
Truth or Fiction [www.truthorfiction.com/]
•
Urban Legends [urbanlegends.about.com/library/blxatoz2.htm]
•
Snopes.com [www.snopes.com]
•
Phishing danger [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing]
Church websites that reach non-Christians
Help for church webmasters
Church websites are an essential part of local churches’ public profiles to their communities. Indeed, in some parts of the world, church websites draw more people into face-to-face church activities than any other method. Church sites outnumber all other types of Christian sites by a ratio of 5 to 1. Church sites could therefore be powerful outreach tools. However, research reveals a discouraging picture:
- most church sites are written purely for their members, using ‘religious insider’ content style and religious language.
- many do not create a sense of welcome to outsiders or include any material that they would perceive as relevant to them.
- either they do not provide any hint about the life-changing Gospel; or else they present it in heavy-handed terms which may be ‘too much, too soon’, a counter-productive ‘Bible-bashing’.
Yet there are many ways you can create church sites that are truly welcoming to non-Christians. Ideally you would want to include these strategies when you plan your site. But you can also apply them to an existing church site and transform it into one that reaches out into the community.
Strategies for effective church sites include:
- a natural informal sense of welcome, even humor, throughout the site.
- lack of insider ‘churchy’ language and jargon.
- photos showing not only the church building exterior, but also interior shots including people; these will help prospective visitors feel the church is familiar even before they first visit the physical building.
- church members photos and profiles, some prominently displayed on the home-page. These may not be full testimonies in the normal sense. Instead, they may be introductions to some real church members with background to their lives: hobbies, jobs, pets and other personal details.
- Bible explanations for pre-Christians.
- Online leading to face-to-face support for recovery from life problems (divorce, alcohol/substance abuse, bereavement etc.)
- Age-specific content (children, teens, seniors)
- clear directions with online map to find the church, where to park, public transportation links.
- a sense of identification with the local community, in terms of secular news, photos, links; this can also draw in website visitors.
A summary of these strategies – and indeed a purpose statement for a church site: ‘to entice the lost’. See our 70+ Tips explaining this approach in more detail.
You don’t have to be technical!
Maybe you think that your church has no members with the time or technical webmaster gifts to create a website. Happily, there is an easy alternative. A number of groups offer ready-made church sites using a template design – i.e. a preformed standard ‘shell’. You simply add your own text to the site by typing or pasting text into easy-to-use ‘text boxes’ on a special editing web-page. Here’s an example of a church site built with one of these systems: Bethlehem Lutheran. [www.followthestar.com/]
Many of these template systems can create very attractive and flexible church sites. Take time to research the different systems available [www.web-evangelism.com/church-template.php] before choosing.
Essential reading
- [InternetEvangelismDay.com/tips]70+ essential tips – how to make or transform a church site to reach the community. You can insert this page into your own site by copy/pasting some easy code onto your page.
- Church sites [www.web-evangelism.com/church] – more about strategy for church sites, with examples of the very best available.
- Seeker Sensitive Church Websites [www.christianhosting.com/SeekerSensitiveChurchWebSites.pdf] – essential and insightful article on the best church site strategy.
- Great Church Websites [www.greatchurchwebsites.org] – a comprehensive resource for all church webmasters: with a free discussion forum, tips, and (for a small once-only payment, or free to forum users) a gallery of 500 well-designed church sites, drawn from 10,000+ that writer David Gillaspay has reviewed. You can learn from what others are doing – both things to profit from, and to avoid.
- ECLA Tips – Evangelical Lutheran tips for church websites. [www.elca.org/webministry/]
- 10 Easy Ways – to Keep Me from Visiting Your Church Because I Visited Your Website. Tips from Grainger church leader. [http://tonymorgan.typepad.com/tony_morgan_one_of_the_si/2005/05/10_easy_ways_to.html]
- How to Build a Good Church Website [www.hosea.org.uk] – advice from Church123, a church site provider in UK.
- Heal Your Church Site [www.healyourchurchwebsite.com] – errors to avoid, examples to follow; you can subscribe to updates on this blog site by RSS, or view it on our blog page.
- Webinar – 3 short audio presentations (from a church site provider) explaining the importance of a church site, and the potential and nature of the Web. Good to use as a presentation for a church leadership team wondering whether to start a church site. The first two presentations are a valuable general overview, the last focuses on their own resources too. (This Flash presentation will take a short time to become visible on a dialup connection.)
- Internet Evangelism Kit [www.namb.net/evangelismkit/default.asp] – ready-made outreach section to add to a church site.
- Strategy for the Church on the Net [www.parishes.net/webministry/anders_ontheweb.pdf] – thoughts on the potential of church sites; and Netville church site [www.parishes.net/webministry/anders_churchwebsite.pdf] – ‘before and after’ tutorial based on the imaginary Netville site.
- Church Insight [www.churchinsight.com – valuable free ‘Best Practice’ articles from this resource ministry and church site provider. Their monthly email newsletter, and RSS Best Practice feed, are worth subscribing.
- Also, for general help/encouragement to pastors, we recommend the weekly email Ministry Toolbox. [www.pastors.com/rwmt]
- Off-topic alert – how to ensure electric safety [http://ied.gospelcom.net/electric-safetey.php] in baptism pools.
•
Posters and other ideas
More resources
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Best evangelism books (inc. 5 free book downloads)
•
Free music
•
Free training videos
•
Free outreach screensaver
•
Free church tips content
•
Linked 2005-6 events
•
How to start a blog
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“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito”
– Bette Reeves
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