At the end of the day we’re called to be the instruments that God uses to change lives.
At times it’s personally been a challenge to completely reconcile my unique gifts with how it could directly be applied in the transformative process of salvation.
But thank God for the internet where I’ve really found my niche and where I’ve been able to maximize my time, attention, and resources! Our God is truly an amazing God who can use 1’s and 0’s to impact His Kingdom.
Not convinced? Here are 10 ways, as counted by John Edmiston, that the internet is changing evangelism and missions…
Evangelism, Missions, and the Internet
- Information – The Internet is bringing an enormous amount of timely strategic information into the hands of even the smallest church or mission agency.
- Ratiocination – People “think aloud” in cyberspace. The theology and practice (including ecclesiology and missiology) of most Christians is now primarily formed as a peer-to-peer online process with occasional expert input.
- Exploration – People do their private, personal, and controversial thinking online. If a person wants to find out about a suspected medical matter or investigate a forbidden political opinion, they first check it out online.
- Collaboration – The Internet is facilitating collaboration across denominational boundaries and across national borders. Experts are now able to link up with other experts in fields such as church planting and theological education.
- Validation – People use the Internet to check things out. This applies to everything from a “too-good-to-be-true” investment scam to the local church they plan to attend when they move to a new city.
- Allocation of Resources – The Internet is allowing donors, foundations, and churches to efficiently assess projects and receive applications for funding across national boundaries.
- Proclamation – The gospel is being proclaimed on websites, in chat rooms, on YouTube, on cell phones, and on numerous Internet-connected devices. Evangelistic crusades are using the Internet both as a decision mechanism and as a follow-up mechanism.
- Education – Online education has been a huge success and has revitalized Theological Education by Extension (TEE) and distance education..
- Mobilization – The Internet facilitates making connections and imparting information and motivation necessary for effective mobilization of pastors, evangelists, and missionaries into the global harvest.
- Multiplication -The Internet brings leverage to networks and enables contacts to be made for the multiplication of house and cell churches, church-planting movements, and small TEE-based Bible colleges resourced via an Internet-based curriculum.
A great and comprehensive list! Read some more of John’s unabridged thoughts here.
Brian Barela says
as someone who has sought to reach college students directly for the last five years i can say that what i’m most excited about related to the internet and evangelism is being able to match intent with opportunity.
often times when doing outreaches on campus our intent to share the Gospel rarely matches those that need to hear’s opportunity–the would prefer to explore the Gospel and it’s implications on their own time, preferably in front of a computer. it can also make those physical outreaches much more effective if a strategic online campaign has been run to provide context to the event—so often campus newspapers write up outreaches as insensitive and unwanted events.
great list btw!
Church Furniture says
Great article. The internet is definitely changing communication and it’s a different world for those growing up in it. Good idea to adapt to reach a younger generation.
Adam Lehman says
One of the downsides to the ease and breadth of technology is how we can FEEL like we’re doing ministry without any change actually taking place.
Just as a business can utilize twitter, facebook, google ads & a sleek webpage without converting that time investment into profit, a ministry can utilize all those things without converting time investment into ministry. That is why the main question must not be to simply get on board with every technology, but to understand new technologies, dream how they might be leveraged for ministry, & then develop a comprehensive strategy for why & how you use each technology.
When the earthquakes struck haiti, my heart wanted to help & my twenty-something brain thought that twitter & facebook would be the way to work. I started an initiative called 614forHaiti (614 is the area code of Columbus, OH). I built up a facebook page, website & twitter account. I even had some pretty engaged followers, but was unable to turn that online investment time into actual “help” for haiti.
A failure that was definitely a learning lesson for me.