Cybermissions – Opportunity Now!

Using Means….

William Carey, often called “the father of the modern missionary movement” wrote a famous pamphlet calling of people to “use means” to fulfill the Great Commission.

The Internet is a low-cost communications medium that can be used by mission agencies to communicate Christ to multiple cultures.

It is a means of front-line evangelistic ministry to the nations.

The Internet & The Great Commission

Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples

The Internet allows us to do part of that task (mainly the proclamation and teaching part) at very low cost

However first we need to understand how it works as an evangelistic tool

The Word of God In Cyberspace

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:17)

The encounter with the word of God is what brings faith to birth in the heart.

God’s Word can be proclaimed on the Internet and people can be saved – even while we are asleep!

Personal presence is not required, the word of God and the Spirit of God are the only things that are absolutely necessary

Seekers In Cyberspace

People often get to web sites via search engines

They engage in information-seeking behavior

This means that the people who arrive at your website are in a sense pre-selected to be interested in your content

This is ideal for evangelism – you are only sharing with those who think that they want to hear

Decisions In Cyberspace

Decisions in cyberspace are ‘just as real’ as decisions in the ‘real world’

When a person prays to receive Christ online that is just as real as the same decision being made elsewhere

The response rate of people browsing evangelistic websites is about the same as at a Billy Graham Crusade (2% )

The Internet Is The Fishing Net!

The Internet is a very powerful and under-utilized tool for evangelism

It can reach places that are difficult for missionaries to access by ordinary means

It is low-cost & does not require a visa!

It allows both one to one and one to many modes and a high-level of interactivity with enquirers

God has raised up the Internet so we can complete the Great Commission in these Last Days!

Emerging Opportunities

CyberchurchesInternet evangelismChat room evangelismEmail evangelismMySpace, Facebook,

YouTubeSecond Life, MUDs, MOOsMobile evangelism –

cellphones, PDAs, Blackberrys, 3G devices

Christian online and video gaming

Podcasting and video-casting

Internet cafes – bridging the digital divide

Ebooks, online training, downloadable materials

Push, Pull and Viral

The Internet is NOT a broadcast medium

It does not PUSH content to users

The content remains on the server and the users come to the content

Thus the web is a PULL medium not a push medium

It is more like an art gallery than a newspaper

(The exceptions to this are email and RSS)

Viral – is when people discover a website, video clip or podcast then share it with others.

Viral mixes BOTH push and pull aspects

Search

PULL technologies rely on some outside referrer (reviews, word of mouth, advertising, links, search engines) to get eyeballs

Search engines send visitors to your website . It is the main way most people will get there

Search engine friendly websites are a must

Use HTML not Flash or PDF

Do not put text on imagesUse head tags, keywords,

and have great contentHave a good XML sitemap

Content Is King

Google does not rate your website on how cute your images are

Google rates on great unique content

No visitor has seen your images when they click on the link to bring them there

Some of the most visited websites are low-graphics (e.g. Craigslist, Google, Wikipedia)

Being “cool” (e.g. an all-Flash website) can kill your website and send it to the bottom of Google rankings

A Service, A Community Or An Opportunity

Of the top 500 websites in the Alexa ranking most provide either a service, a community or an opportunity

http://www.rapidshare.com/ (No. 19) provides a way of sharing files for free with one click

http://www.yahoo.com/ (No 1.) provides email and search services

MySpace, Orkut, Hi5 and Facebook (Nos 6,8,15, 18) etc provide community

YouTube (No. 4) provides an opportunity (to be seen) – broadcast yourself !

Ease Of Use

None of the top websites are graphically complex or require plug-ins

Amazon wins with ‘1-click’ shopping

Google wins with ‘1-click’search

RapidShare wins with ‘1-click’ file uploading

Users Have Feelings…

If the user is made to feel dumb they just go away

If their problems are ignored they will resent you

But if people feel they are helped quickly they will become loyal

If the user feels empowered they build enthusiasm

If a user feels ‘’hey I am cool I can do this’ they build pride and tell others

Specialization

People tend to search for specialized information online

Have one main highly specialized function

A website on “God” will get lost in Google and get few hits

A website on ‘a Christian view of cloning’ will be one of the few on that topic and get many hits

General grocery sites were a huge failure

Vintage wine sites, rare book sites, rare car sites etc. are a huge success

The PHP.Org website is one of the top rated!

Private Thinking

People do their private thinking online - thinking that they cannot do publicly without facing some disapproval

Medical information Online Dating Political debates Conspiracy research Changing religion Sexual exploration People thinking about Jesus

will do research on Christianity online first before making a decision offline and we must provide them with good information.

Bridge Websites

Have a specialized secular interest that will draw in unbelievers

Then lead into the gospel – say with a testimony as the bridge

Decision page as the other end of the bridge

Christian athletesHollywoodJesus.com – a

Christian view of the moviesXXXChurch.com – a

Christian take on pornography

The Edges Of Cyberspace

The growth of the conventional Internet is slowing as the number of users = the number of landlines

Now new users are being added at Internet cafes and on mobile devices such as PDA’s and cellphones

There is a rush to make better screens, more flexible screens and docking devices for mobile devices

With 3G cellphones becoming widespread some say that 3 billion users may be connected to the Internet by 2010

We need to be ready to share the gospel with those currently ‘on the edges of cyberspace’.

Some Technical Challenges

Evangelistic Java programming of mobile devices

A mission-friendly CMS perhaps based on Joomla or Drupal

High quality production facilities for evangelistic podcasting & video-casting both to conventional Internet and to mobile devices.

A high-bandwidth secure server cluster dedicated to serving missions media – video clips, audio, ebooks etc.

Improving LTSP? – Linux Thin Server Protocol for Internet cafes and better open source computer center management software

Desirable Future Applications

Secure evangelistic response and follow-up systems capable of coping with non-ASCII characters and with large numbers of respondents.

Good, open-source, text to email gateway applications for crusade follow-up

A website that lets ministries create their own Christian Internet radio station

An evangelistic avatar?

Online – Offline Synergies

Crusade Follow-UpKeeping in contact after

short-term missionsFan club for radio or TV

broadcastCorrespondence courses

by web / emailBuild relationships offline

put complex content onlineIf you cannot give an

overt appeal give a website URL where they can make a decision for ChristGenrev.net

Challenges To ICCM

Move to the front line of mission

Realize you can be an online evangelist!

Think user processes – making it simple to hear and to respond to the gospel

Think multiplication – how can technology multiply proclamation and response?

Think Internet cafes and mobile devices and getting the gospel to the developing world

Think media – audio and video for oral learners / non-readers