Online Evangelism…Is It Possible?
Give me some meat for a section of my talk today at the NOC.
Simple definition…
evangelism |iˈvanjəˌlizəm|
noun
the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness.
• zealous advocacy of a cause.
2 questions for you…
Is it possible online?
Why or Why not?
Los
Yes, it IS possible. We see people begin relationships with Jesus every week who are being influenced by online ministries. They don’t come to church buildings because they are scared that they will not fit in or know what to do. They respond to online outreach because it meets them where THEY are, and they are already online.
So Amanda. Tewll me a little about the google ads yuou guys use.
yes. the same way it’s possible for someone to pick up the bible and learn of the gospel.
to answer the why not…only because it’s different. therefore people are scared.
if there is the slightest possibility to communicate the gospel, it should be done.
Online Evangelizing is definitely possible, and is just another way to communicate to people about God’s love. Any way that one is able to communicate with someone else and is able to talk about God, show God and answer questions is a positive resource to reach people. In person, on the phone, online… as long as it could potentially reach one person, isn’t it worth it?
If we believe Joseph Walther and his Social Information Processing (SIP) Theory the answer would be YES!.
Based solely on he linguistic content of computer-mediated communiction (CMC), parties who meet online can develop relationships just as close as those formed face-to-face—thogh it takes longer. Because online senders select, receivers magnify, channels promote, and feedback enhances favorable impressions, CMC may create hyperpersonal relatonships. (Socio-psychological tradition)
If we believe that relationship allows the opportunity to share our faith then SIP would be a fine way to do it.
Yes, yes, yes! Twitter can spread the Word, blogs wax philosophically daily, websites pull people together, and those who never felt welcomed can peek into a church community through media without having to jump in.
I lead a friend to Christ on Facebook just last week.
Absolutely, it is possible!!! Salvations can and do take place in Cyber World!!!
Perfect example: http://www.liveonline.healingplacechurch.org
The Holy Spirit dwells all around us, regardless of location!!! His commision is to reach ALL THE EARTH and then the end will come. The Internet reaches to the far corners of the world and back and everything in between!!!
Blessings to You!!
Hope this helps!!
Chris. Tell me the story…
my bad, omit the www from that link!!!
http://liveonline.healingplacechurch.org/
Evangelism online is very possible and is happning.
Here is what I site for my research….blogs.
The way most churches teach evangelism now a days is by living a life that calls attention to why you live the way you do. If you exude Jesus people will notice and want to know more.
This is now taking place on blogs. Blogs like yours, blogs like Pete Wilson, etc….I even look at my own blog as a place of evangelism. Boiled down, it comes back to being honest with our depravity, talking about that with others, and then pointing it back to radical grace.
Understanding your sin helps you understand God, Understanding your sin helps you see what Jesus did.
If this can be proclaimed throughout the web, that while we were still sinners Christ died for us then things will change and people who I would have never have gotten to talk to will hear the grace that has changed my life.
Los, you asked about google ad words. We use 3 different campaigns. One for “churchy” words like “worship online” and “live prayer”. One is specific to the topic, like this week is “Holy Spirit” etc. The other has things like, “Looking for naked ladies? Try Church Online!”
I know of one specific instance where someone accept Christ and asked for a follow-up “What’s Next” kit (including a Bible) who came from one of those “other” ads. He told us that he came looking for pictures of women and clicked “the wrong link”. He came to a live online experience, gave his life to Jesus and now Church Online is (in his words) “his church”.
Does “evangelism” have to culminate with the “evangelist” leading someone in a salvation prayer to be successful? If so, I would say that “online evangelism” is difficult to impossible.
BUT.
I don’t think that’s true. I think evangelism should encompass EVERYTHING we do – our lives should be SO Christ-consumed that our concern for OTHERS is obvious in our online encounters. In an online world, it’s very difficult to do that without being preachy, but we have to be willing to work at it.
I meet people on the web that I’ll never know in person. Obviously God has a reason for that, and, based on the Bible, it’s always safe to presume that I should be showing Christ to those folks in some way. A five step Romans Road? No way. But Christ lived through me? You bet.
“Christ LIVING through me” would have been a better sentence construction. Sorry.
I think it’s possible… to some degree. I’m all for ‘doing church online’ but there has to be that “meatspace” connection too. I think that some of these churches that have web campuses are trying to facilitate small groups outside of their walls. That’s a cool thing.
Simply evangelizing online can also be done by becoming a ‘Trust Agent’. There are some of us that are doing a group blogging project on Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s book here (http://blog.ourchurch.com/).
Basically a ‘Trust Agent’ is somebody who has an online presence that many people respect. They’ve spent some time building up their reputation online. They hang out at the same blogs and discuss topics with their twitter followers, much like you’re doing Los. You are a ‘Trust Agent’. You are evangelizing in the online space. Maybe it’s not for a particular church all the time but I’m sure you’re having an impact on some unchurched and/or dechurched peeps out there.
That answer was a little all over the place but I think you’re pickin’ up what I’m layin’ down.
From Donny Pauling, former pornographer:
“My story would not be complete without mentioning XXXChurch.com. … When I was still producing porn I gave them hatred for 4 years… and in return received love.”
He used to give them hell on their blog, forums, email, etc. I think it is fair to say that they evangelized to him both online and off. Now he is in seminary.
http://bit.ly/1QbSR6
peace | dewde
Yeah Graham – ultimately there has to be real life community… otherwise;
I think it is possible because just as you build trust and influence online (yes I am reading Trust Agents as well) people listen to what you say and respect what you do; online. Call it online/digital Salt and Light. And by your fruits(how you conduct yourself and how you influence) people will know that you are Christ’s disciples. By that I believe you, as individuals, evangelize.
Yes, evangelism is taking place online all the time and millions of people are finding faith in Christ as result. We’ve all heard people say, “Two things I don’t talk about are religion and politics.” Because there has been somewhat of a taboo on talking about spiritual issues publicly in America lots of people are looking online for answer to their spiritual questions.
A great site with resources and more information about lots of different ways to help people find faith in Christ online is:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/index.php
Depends on what you mean by “evangelism.” If by evangelizing you mean that initial introduction to the good news, then I think evangelizing online is far EASIER than any other method. With that said, it could be far more difficult to disciple those who follow strictly through online communication. Salvation comes through repentance and change which all depends greatly on the person faced with those decisions and open communication with the one teaching them. For us as Christians, managing and raising lives is as difficult as parenthood regardless of the tools we have to fascillitate our communication with them. But the more open channels of communication the better ^^
I’d say it is possible but it’s much harder to be intentional about it online (I mean the kind of intentionality that we’re called to, not the kind that motivates people to stand on the street with a bullhorn).
The Internet is an environment of overwhelming amounts of content and constant distractions. Additionally, people seek what they believe is valuable to them and have learned how to block out unwanted messages and noise. The sound-bite culture of the web is shrinking attention spans. People form an instantaneous opinion about you and your message within seconds of seeing it (How many of you scan your Twitter feed instead of reading every single tweet?). All of these things conspire against sharing the Gospel through both word and deed online.
Graham makes an excellent point, we have to “earn” people’s attention through consistency and authenticity of our web presence. I would add that for the sake of evangelism, being a Trust Agent among fellow Christians helps but the readers of Christian blogs and visitors to church websites are not (typically) the ones who haven’t heard the Gospel. We need to be investing time in other forums (or have really compelling SEO/SEM – like Amanda… btw, awesome!)
Drew Goodmanson and I are doing a lot of research into these topics (particularly with respect to church websites). A lot of the findings are available at http://churchwebsiteguide.com. I know Drew’s at NOC and I imagine he’ll be at your breakout.
I’d say that it’s possible, but not ideal. It’s one more step removed from sharing the Gospel one-on-one, face-to-face. But Paul didn’t shy away from communicating this way. He sent letters (I bet he would have had a Twitter account if he were alive today:))…many of them, but often said that he longed to be with them in person. Talking with someone in person allows you to personalize the message.
I love what John Piper has to say about the use of Twitter. Instead of shying away from social media, we should use it to spread the Gospel: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2009/3951_Why_and_How_I_Am_Tweeting/
I love this question!
Yes!
Evangelism online just has to be real…genuine…and most importantly honest. I do not know you or your family…but your lives shined the glorious light of Christ through my computer screen a year now. If evangelism keeps looking like this we might have a square chance of endlessly reaching the lost. How amazing would that be!
Just keep evangelism real. It is honest day to day life that people connect the most with.
How do you get on peoples computer screens should be the next question.
http://godrev.jesus.net/joy-in-heaven/ has seen over 1,000,000 make decisions to follow Christ.
At church online, like Amanda has mentioned above, we’ve been blessed to see over 5,000 people respond to the call of Christ on their lives this year.
Of course it’s possible!! Evangelism is a conversation, taking place within a relationship, that intentionally and specifically explains the need for salvation and the means to attain it. Whether it happens online or at Starbucks it’s entirely the same – conversation, relationship, truth, action.
I think where we get into trouble is when people expect the technology to somehow do the work of evangelism for them. There is no testimony-bot, at least not one that works. Technology does not evangelize on autopilot. What technology does is provide a situation, a context, for the conversation to occur in. Once the conversation has started I have the opportunity to develop a relationship and within that, having gained the right to speak into your life I can start to talk about the Truth.
Does it happen? All the time. TruthMedia has built PowertoChange.com as our main evangelistic and discipleship site. You might think that the articles on the site are the point, but they’re not. The articles are a doorway. People come to the site because they’re interested in a topic. Once on the site we do everything we can to get them to talk to a mentor, join a chat, request prayer or leave a comment. The whole site aims to start a conversation because that conversation in the first step in a relationship that can be truly life changing.
I saw it happen just the other day. Someone came to our site to read an article on trust. She left a comment about the situation she was in with her boyfriend. She started a conversation. I commented back to her, sharing some of my own story, and asking if she would like to talk to a mentor. Now there’s a relationship. She responded within the hour saying that she would love to talk to a mentor, could I set that up for her. I did, gladly. By now she will have heard from the mentor and I can guarantee you that the mentor shared the Gospel with her (we train mentors very carefully and coach continually to ensure this is happening). Whether she comes to Christ or not is her action. Evangelism is happening.
No one has ever walked up to me in the grocery store and said “hey, I think my daughter might be in trouble, can you help?” but I have had people comment on my testimony and ask exactly that. Conversation, relationship, truth, action – starting the conversation online makes the whole world available to you.
I’m paraphrasing here.
Acts 1:8 says (roughly) “…you will be my witnesses in Twitter, and in all Facebook and MySpace, and to the ends of the interwebs.”
Or something like that.
I think so! Regardless of how gets heard, faith comes by hearing the word of God and the revelation of the truth is done by the Spirit of God, not by man. “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.”
Yes, it is. People are out there, online, searching. We need to post good stuff, truthful stuff, so that they don’t read about the hypocritical stuff first. I think it would be a great ministry tool.
Maybe we should be asking if real relationships can be had online? If there’s no relationship we’re not really spreading the gospel.
I think most of us here would say that while challenging and limited, real friendship can be had on the net, so I think evangelism on the internet is possible.
Carlos, you taught a great class at NOC. I laughed, I cried, I learned. (I really wanted to find some pillow of death jumpin’ stairs for my grandson)
Yup, it’s possible. In fact, it was probably the biggest factor, beyond the Bible, in my own salvation 5 years ago.
I visit the Yahoo Answers Religion page from time to time — lots of ‘trolls’ there, but also quite a few real seekers who are interested in hearing God’s word. You could spend hours on it witnessing. I’ve also found that posting a testimony on Facebook can really begin conversations.
where communication is possible, evangelism is possible. does it have to be more complicated than that?