WHY WEB EVANGELISM?

 

 THE GREAT COMMISSION

 

“Therefore go and make disciples of ALL NATIONS…” [Matthew 28:19]

 

“Go into ALL THE WORLD and preach the good news to ALL CREATION…” [Mark 16:15]

 

“…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ENDS OF THE EARTH” [Acts 1:8].

 

Two thousand years ago, these instructions would have looked like a tall order. But God definitely had plans for the fulfilment.  Once every few hundred years, the Lord gives His followers a unique opportunity to take giant leap ahead in the fulfilment of the commission. These have often come in the discovery/invention of better and faster ways of communication. These include: the development of rail roads, the printing press, the telegraph, airplane, telephones, videotapes CDs, DVDs and now the INTERNET. God has allowed the development of these marvellous technologies to assist the believers in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is time for believers to take a greater advantage of the potential of the Internet for global evangelization.

 

FACTS TO KNOW

 

v     More than 1.08billion in over 140 countries form the World Wide Internet population with a projection of about 1.8billion in year 2010. [Source: Computer Industry Almanac]

 

v     Day and Night there are thousands of people in Chat rooms that you could talk to about Jesus. [www.theinternetmission.com]

 

v     Web traffic is doubling every 100 days. [www.theinternetmission.com]

 

v     About 20million people go online to seek spiritual assistance. [http://iec.gospelcom.net]

 

UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE INTERNET AS AN EVANGELISM TOOL

      REACH: The Internet gives believers opportunities to reach people with the gospel right where they are – gated communities, exclusive apartments, offices, public libraries etc. in almost every country around the world. Geographical distance makes very little difference.

 

     INTERACTIVE:  One of the greatest attractions of the Web is its interactivity. The user controls completely what web pages appears on his/her monitor. The Web user is not a passive recipient. The web makes it easy for users to express opinions and interact with webmasters by e-mail or instant messenger etc.

 

      ANONYMITY:  Often people find the anonymity that the Internet provides makes it easy for them to discuss spiritual matters more freely online than face to face.

 

      NONE THREATENING:  The Internet provides a non-threatening way to enter into peoples’ homes and share Christ with them.

 

      EQUALIZED STATUS:  In most cases, everyone on the internet has an equal opportunity to express him/herself regardless of status, wealth, religion, race, gender etc. It is a level playing field. Some call it “netocracy” or “net democracy”.

 

     RECORDABILITY : Most online activities, including e-mail correspondence, message boards, and chat sessions can be recorded and saved to a computer file. Unlike real world interactions, the user in cyberspace can keep a permanent record of what was said, to whom and when.

 

      MULTITASKING:  This enables you to keep many relationships or discussions going with different people from different parts of the world at the same time.

 

 The Internet is a rapidly growing global reality bringing with it many unique opportunities to tell people about Jesus. We must not shy away from using this media to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Internet is not going away, it is still expanding. There is so much evil abounding on it, but sadly the possibilities of using it for greater good are often not realized. We have the responsibility to share the gospel with people. The Internet can give you the unique advantage of bringing you in touch with people from many nations.