The first being a new Internet Ministry Conference on October 26-27, 2010 at the prince conference center in Grand Rapids, MI. The second, which I just found out about today, involves a new landing page for discussion and community surrounding this important topic. The Gospel Communications Association facebook page is officially online at http://www.facebook.com/gospelcom

My vision for this goes beyond just a facebook page though. I would love to see this Gospel Communications Association grow into a collection of passionate visionaries leading the way into the new opportunities we find in the world of Internet Ministry.

Do you have ideas for what this association might look like? Do you have recommendations for people who would be willing to lead the charge? Let us know your thoughts below!

John Edmiston certainly has. In an article at the Lausanne World Pulse, he lists 10 ways the internet is changing evangelism and missions. It’s clear from his list that the internet is providing unique ways for Christians to make themselves available. It’s also clear that in order to be visible to the vast majority of the population, you need to be visible online.

Within five years, at least half the globe should be online; within fifteen years, Internet reach should be almost universal. Global proclamation will soon be within the reach of any Christian with a computer.

Here are three of the 10 items from Edmiston’s list. You can read the rest at Ten Ways the Internet is Changing Evangelism and Mission:

2. 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. There is less and less reference to decisions promulgated by the central governing ecclesiastical bodies of the major world religions. People do their own thinking, and they do so increasingly online through sources such as Wikipedia; out-of-copyright commentaries; and through browsing various websites, e-groups, and postings on social networks. Those ministries who wish to influence opinion need to start doing so in cyberspace, because that is where Christian opinion is now largely being formed.

3. 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. A Muslim wishing to find out about Christianity is not likely to ask his or her family or imam; rather, he or she will look at Christian websites. About one-quarter of all Internet users make regular queries about religious matters. They are exploring their own and other faiths. The Church needs to have an evangelistic, apologetic, and missionary presence in this new global marketplace of ideas.

[...]

5. 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. One oft-quoted statistic is that eighty-five percent of young people check out a church’s website before deciding whether or not to even visit that church in the first place. Churches and organizations that are easy to validate online have a huge competitive advantage. This includes having a clear statement of faith and making your ethos, programs, meeting times, address, contact information, operating principles, and finances clear and above board to the honest online enquirer.

Read the rest of the article at LausanneWorldPulse.org.

The site you’re on right now, Gospel.com, was started three years ago in order to highlight Christian content from smaller internet ministries who might have previously been overlooked. Our goal is to facilitate numbers 3 (exploring) and 5 (validating) above.

Even a short three years later, the time and monetary cost of establishing a digital presence has gone way down. Now, it’s trivial to start up a blog and a Facebook page for any idea you might have. What this means is that individuals, ministries and churches have it easier than ever to make themselves available to people seeking information about Christ and Christianity.

How have you seen the internet change how you interact with your faith? Have you ever used the internet as a platform for evangelism?”

(Via Blog – Gospel.com – Christian Resources from over 300 ministries.)

Back in first century Jewish culture, Jesus taught utilizing a system referred to as the Rabbi-Talmid system. This meant that a Rabbi or teacher would choose those disciples that he felt had both the potential and the commitment to learn the his ways.

I like to think of this as the next step in the education process of young Jewish men. Up to this point, they had already gone through years of education. So this was a type of secondary education, if you will. Typically the best and the brightest were chosen to move on to this next level of learning.

After being chosen, a disciple had certain goals that were expected from him from the Rabbi.

Begin to understand and interpret scriptures in the same way as the Rabbi
Apply the lessons taught by the Rabbi to their life
Interact with others in a similar way as the Rabbi
Eventually become the “Disciple Maker” or Rabbi
The second category of ministry that we want to look at is Evangelism. It’s also the fourth goal of the disciple that we talked about in an earlier post.Jesus had a lot to say about becoming the “disciple maker” and inviting people into relationship with Himself.Most people will turn first to Matthew 28:19-20:
Matthew 28-19-20 – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Known to many as the Great Commission, this command given by Jesus at the end of the book of Matthew really defines what is expected of us in relation to evangelism.

It was Jesus’ way of saying, “Now it’s your turn…” As you live life, invite people to come into relationship with Jesus as you have opportunity. Then be sure take the new follower on as your disciple teaching them to imitate what you are doing as you imitate the example Jesus lived.

Based on this command from Jesus, I would break out my understanding of evangelism into two parts…

1. “go and make disciples of all nations”
- as you live your life, both online and offline, be inviting people into relationship with Jesus at every opportunity

2. “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”
- Assist them as they begin to grow in that new relationship with Jesus

Back in first century Jewish culture, Jesus taught utilizing a system referred to as the Rabbi-Talmid system. This meant that a Rabbi or teacher would choose those disciples that he felt had both the potential and the commitment to learn the his ways.

I like to think of this as the next step in the education process of young Jewish men. Up to this point, they had already gone through years of education. So this was a type of secondary education, if you will. Typically the best and the brightest were chosen to move on to this next level of learning.

After being chosen, a disciple had certain goals that were expected from him from the Rabbi.

1. Begin to understand and interpret scriptures in the same way as the Rabbi
2. Apply the lessons taught by the Rabbi to their life
3. Interact with others in a similar way as the Rabbi
4. Eventually become the “Disciple Maker” or Rabbi

Discipleship is the idea of working with someone who has a relationship with Jesus and helping them grow further in that relationship. When we look at the goals of the disciple, I put the first three goals into this category.

Why focus on these goals in relation to discipleship? Well, I’m glad you asked…

Understanding and Interpreting Scripture

This is key to the disciple of Jesus. The scriptures form the basis for many of the teachings that Jesus gave. So as a disciple, seeking to follow Jesus in everything, building a similar foundation based on the scriptures becomes essential for moving forward with the next two goals.

Apply the lessons taught by the Rabbi to your life

The parables that Jesus shared became the principles that he expected his disciples to live by. If Jesus taught something. He expected the disciples around him would take it to heart and apply it immediately to their lives. Following the example of Jesus means living out the teachings of the Rabbi daily.

Interact with others in a similar way as the Rabbi

Since the disciples spent every moment with Jesus for three years, they saw how he lived his life and interacted with others around him. They learned how to respond to the variety of people they would meet throughout their lives.

Nothing communicates where our heart is and what we follow more then the way we respond to people in different situations. Therefore, this is an essential goal in growing disciples.

At it’s most basic level, the definition of a disciple is one who learns. Within the realm of Christianity, a disciple is one who follows Jesus, the Rabbi (teacher).

Online discipleship then is the training or mentoring of fellow disciples of Jesus by providing information, resources, tools, and opportunities to grow one’s relationship with Jesus and develop one’s character toward Christ-likeness.

Devotionals:

Our Daily Bread

Back To The Bible

Delve Into Jesus

Literature Ministries International

Words Of Hope

Articles:

Into Thy Word

Delve Into Jesus

Legacy Youth Ministry Resource

Youth Ministry Exchange

Blogs:

Mark Batterson (Pastor/Leadership blog)

Swerve (Leadership/Technology blog)

Online Communities:

LifeChurch Internet Campus

Wiki Site

Urban Ministry.org

Audio Resources/Podcasts

Sermon Index

CatalystSpace Podcast

Flickr Photo Group

Church Marketing Lab (Center for Church Communication)

INVITING PEOPLE INTO RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS

Need Him.org – Different options for different people

Journey Of Joy.com – Focused toward women

WomenTodayMagazine.com – a more subtle evangelistic approach for women

MenTodayOnline.com – a more subtle evangelistic approach for men

PowerToChange.com – a personal story based evangelistic approach

LEADING NEW JESUS FOLLOWERS TO THE WORLD OF DISCIPLESHIP

Growing In Christ.com

New Christian Life Ministries

WHAT IS ONLINE MINISTRY?
-my first thought was to break down the word in order to come up with a definition.

Online:

Having to do with the Internet; in most cases, referring to the World Wide Web.

Ministry:

The activity carried out by members of the body of Christ in fulfillment of their mission. Some ministry is directed towards members of the body of Christ, and some towards non-members. (from Wikipedia)

With these thoughts along with some discussions with fellow staff at Gospel Communications, I put together this definition of the term Online Ministry. What do you think? Am I missing anything? How would you word it?

Online Ministry:

Serving users of the Internet by providing information, resources, tools, and opportunities in order to introduce those users to Christ or deepen their existing relationships with Christ

If we look at this definition of  “online ministry,” we can see  that it can be broken down into two main areas.

1. introducing users to Christ (Online Evangelism)
2. deepening the relationships of those who already have a relationship with Christ (Online Discipleship)

So as we continue to explore online ministry, it becomes key to understand these two areas.