10 ways the internet is changing evangelism and missions: “Have you thought about how the internet is changing missions?

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.

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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.)

There was a great session at the 2007 Internet Ministry Conference that
dealt with this very idea of understanding evangelism. Robby Richardson
led a session called, “ReThinking Evangelism.” I encourage you to
listen to this session. It is a discussion of this category of ministry
and it is really helpful.

Everyone seems to have a slightly different perspective on what it means to “do ministry.” For the sake of clarity I am going to begin to lay out the basis for ministry that we are using to understand what online ministry looks like. It really all starts with Jesus. He left us a perfect example of how to do ministry effectively.

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