Hey.
Can we be honest for a sec? Seriously. How effective is “digital evangelism” really?
I’ve had a few conversations recently that has brought it back into the forefront of my thoughts and I’ve re-engineering my take and perspective on it. I think that it’s somewhat related to my feelings of being taken aback when I hear, dogmatically, that digital evangelism is the new hot device for conversion and when people over-sell their personal experiences and say things like “It works!!!”
I just don’t think it’s that simple or easy.
I asked myself how many conversion experiences that I’ve been a part of where Twitter was the primary source. Yeah, a big fat zero. Maybe I’m ill-equipped. Maybe I’m not “doing” Twitter right. Maybe I don’t have the “gift,” etc (heavy sarcrasm here…).
Or maybe I have a much larger perspective. I have had a few one-off conversations via Twitter where someone asked me about my faith, but these didn’t lead to “that” conversation and followup, although attempted, bore no obvious fruit that I’m aware of (and, of course, perhaps I planted the seed, but who knows).
I think social media, blogs, and twitter are vehicles for communicating the message but I’m not sure it’s going to rapidly become the source of salvation for our generation and beyond.
Gabe Taviano says
Props for the post, John! Those sort of questions are the ones I have about the online church. Would be great to hear your take on it after launching NP Online. Probably a good topic to pass by someone whose entire ministry / site is online evangelism – Paul over at http://www.reachingtheonlinegeneration.com. Thanks!
adam mclane says
I don't think you're alone in this. I've been involved in online ministry either officially or unofficially for a very long time. (1994ish) I've seen tons and tons of great ministry things done. But internet-as-evangelism tool, not so much. My opinion is that evangelism should always be personal.
Now, I've started relationships online that turn to sharing faith in real life… tons and tons of times. But I've never seen, "@mclanea How do I receive Christ?" on Twitter!
The flip side is… by demonstrating skills in online marketing, social media, SEO, web development I've earned the ability to be in the right places and get into great conversations with people who asking, "so what company do you work for? why?" That's lead to some great open doors and follow-up discussions.
Charlie Jones says
IMHO, there is no such thing as Digital Evangelism. In much the same way there is no TeleEvangelism. If there is, then it is only a shadow of true Evangelism. I have always been amazed at the "success" of 700 Club, Jim Baker etc. Because they "promote" the most PERSONAL faith in the Universe through the most IMPERSONAL medium yet invented. There is a very good reason Jesus came before electronic media. He wanted to show us what true love, true relationship, true community and true Social Networking looked like. And damn it… it just takes a lot of time, a lot patience, a lot of inconvenient listening and a lot of "being there" as opposed to pretending to "be there." Social Networking is great for getting to know others outside our immediate sphere but we should never fool ourselves into thinking it has anything to do with love, relationship or Evangelism.
Herb Halstead says
Our relationships are the vehicle for evangelism. I've had digital relationships that were fairly personal, but it was always through more direct contact , like email or chat (not twitter). I would not preclude the possibility of any medium being able to foster real relationships, but I am not sure we are there yet with most digital mediums. I sincerely believe that the days of mass evangelism via s gifted speaker or thought-provoking movie are over. I am not sure they ever were that effective for truly personal relationships with Jesus anyway. But I've discovered that today, real discussions, where real questions can be asked and answered are going to take place between people who trust one another – whatever the medium.
klreed189 says
This reminds me of revivals. I remember when Billy Graham came to St. Louis, I was like 14 and wanted to get in on the action. I went through all the training to be a "counselor" My main role was to counsel people my age when they accepted Billy's call of Christ. I was completely confused by this. Basically I was suppose to stand there, when the people were invited forward I was to follow that person down to the stage and then tap them on the shoulder and tell them about Christ love and then go back to my seat. Where was the follow up? The Personal side of the conversation? Needless to say I didn't do it.
Even at a young age I knew that a personal relationship or friendship with the person was key. Fast forward to today and I still hold those same sentiments. I do feel a little uneasy about digital media and social networking being the new evangelism tool. It just seems completely impersonal to me. It feels like the idea of dunking them in the water and then letting them go.
Shane Claiborne talks about the days of being a teenager and going to a big christian festival and being called to lay down your life for Jesus but never getting anything to pick up and carry. I feel like this is very true inside of digital evangelism. Follow this person on twitter, and read the daily inspiration and you will be good.
Just doesn't seem to make sense
Kevin Cooper says
I don’t think this point is exclusive to online. Many times we think that to convert someone to Jesus means that we have to take complete ownership of their conversion. Meaning we have to plant the seed, water the seed and watch it bloom. But truth is we might only be a small part of that process. I think digital missions is a part of that seed planting stage. I would never expect the digital space to own the whole process–much like one person can’t.
Danny Wahlquist says
Absolutely right, John! What we do means more than what we say, so digital media is handicapped. There are many opportunities through social media to reconnect with people, though, and turn their thoughts toward God.
stephenbateman says
Right now, you're absolutely right, online evangelism sucks. But online relationships don't…The only problem is, effective evangelism happens face to face.
However, I think the next move of the web will be creating relationships that can transition seamlessly off the internet, connect people online and off. Suddenly the web becomes an unbelievably useful tool, and we have the opportunity to lay groundwork for that.
Sandy says
Do you think the term "digital evangelism" means with complete strangers? i.e. I personally think of of "digital evangelism" more in terms of a means to continue to build relationships (from face-to-face real life encounters) in a realm that sometimes brings out more vulnerability/responsiveness/honesty and creates more of a bond in-between actual face-face encounters.
I.e. Invite friends/neighbors/family/others we know to connect with us on facebook, twitter, etc. Then, as we share our life and what is meaningful to us — in that way, digital options (can) become an effective supplement and bridge to encourage inquisitiveness to the gospel.
I would like to hear, though, John, whether the people participating in northpointonline are all already believers (from NP or other churched people around the country/world), or if you find that it does indeed reach the community somehow?
jojoagot says
some people might come to know Jesus through "digital evangelism" but that person would still need personal discipleship for growth. this is the difficult part. mentoring and real life change are "offline" stuff, something that we can never do in cyberspace. internet is just a tool.
lewies says
Man, i truly believe that whatever happens online, ontwitter, onfacebook, via snail mail, cards etc. should be the overflow of what happens IN PERSON with people you got to share with face to face. Going digital is not bad at all. Part of evangelism is getting the Message out there, and trusting the Holy Spirit to do the work, but that MUST be followed up through discipleship. So, if you evangelised someone, and you know for a fact that you cannot disciple him, are you at least challenging him to find a community of believers that can see each other, touch each other, hear each other, love each other in real terms in reality, not virtual reality?
joannamuses says
I'm sure God could use the internet as one of the ways he brings people to him. I'm just not sure it should be our major strategy.
I think one of the big problems with digital evangalism is attention span. For someone who is not yet really interested i doubt they'll be willing to stay long enough to hear much especially given they could have watched several viral videos in the time it takes them to read our stuff. That's if they even stumble on our stuff in the first place. Of course attention span is not a uniquely internet only problem, but i do think the web amplifies the problem many times over.
The internet is overrun with people trying to sell stuff (often questionable stuff too). There is quite a risk that we would come across as just another group trying to peddle a product that may not be what we claim. As online interaction can seem less personal than in person interaction, this seems to be more of a risk online.
Faye says
I agree, John. I think the thing that social media WILL do for us though is show the authenticity of our lives. After all, Twitter is just another window into our lives, often showing the good, bad and ugly. When we can be seen as real people dealing with real problems like "they" are, we gain respectability ground. THEN we can make a connection and start the conversation offline.
Just my .02.
mike mikovich says
I think Online Ministry is a great tool. There may be times when I need to hear a message, I can just go online or talk to people online and it helps. It does not replace a home based church or fellowship but think about this, this is a great way for people to eventually meet up somewhere. So in a way we are building fellowships on here, that is a beautiful thing.
Another thing if the devil uses the internet to spew their evils like porn, hate sites and other stuff on here, then why can't we use it to glorify Jesus
Take care and love you all. May God bring blessings you deserve
Mike Shreveport,la