The Internet

(This section has been contributed by Tony Whittaker. Tony is coordinator for Internet Evangelism Day and editor of Web Evangelism Guide)

Evangelism via the Internet can be dynamic... but...

...the problem with much evangelism in general is that it only meaningfully relates to those who are already seeking. This is especially true of many evangelistic web-sites. In other words, they are targeting people at about -2 on the Engel Scale, and who are also near the top of the bottom-right quadrant of the Gray Matrix. This is 'harvesting': bringing people through to a point of commitment and then hopefully discipleship - a vital task.

A further sad observation: the overwhelming majority of Christian websites don't target people even at this level. They are written purely for Christians and would be imcomprehensible to anyone else.

Harvesting versus sowing

But for harvesting to happen, a lot of sowing must take place first. People with no interest in the Gospel need it introduced to them at a level they can understand and relate to. They must begin to understand about the creator God, his reality and love for them, and his ability to meet their needs and change their lives, before they are ready to understand the issues of repentance and salvation.

The 'never-churched' are often missed

Without such sowing, the tendency is for us to only ever reach those who have some sort of Christian background - the 'once-churched'. This can be relatively easy - fishing in the limited pool of people who already know the Christian sub-culture and its language. And we may not even realize that we are not reaching the 'never-churched' - those who have never had contact with Christian teaching. To 'go out into all the world', and effectively communicate with this much larger block of people, is a harder challenge.

So we must find how to relate to people much 'further down', those who are in the left-hand corner of the bottom-left quadrant of the Gray Matrix. We need to understand how these people actually think. What are their needs? Their aspirations? Their view of Christianity and other religions?

A 'pull medium'

It is important to understand the nature of the Web as a communication system. We can call it a 'pull medium' because it draws users in - but only on the topics that interest them. It's like the world's largest reference library. Which people ever visit the Christian section of the local library? Christians, yes. Researchers, sometimes. Seekers, hopefully. But most will never go there in a lifetime. Instead, they visit the book-shelves that interest them.

The 'Bridge Strategy'

A major key to reaching people in the bottom-left of the Matrix: produce websites on the topics that DO interest non-Christians. Hobbies, popular culture, life issues, felt needs. The potential is endless. We call this the 'Bridge Strategy'. It is a biblical application of 1 Cor. 9:9-23.

Web 2.0

Each new medium that is invented takes time to develop and mature. When TV started, it was regarded as 'radio with pictures'. But it quickly transformed into a different medium, as its strengths, advantages, and limitations became understood.

The Web has been with us as a mainstream medium since the mid-90s. Over that time, it has developed from merely static 'pages on a screen' to something far more. This 'grown-up' Internet is often called 'Web 2.0'. Although this '2.0' concept includes best-practice design standards for webpage appearance and easy intuitive navigation, it embraces much more. Just as the church is people, not buildings; the Web is essentially relationships, not computer screens. People want 'connectedness', the opportunity to share in a two-way conversation, to feel they belong. This is often called a 'sense of community', and is a key part of Web 2.0.

There has been a huge growth in this 'relational web', for instance with 'blogging' and 'social networking' sites. The attraction of blogs is that they are usually friendly and intimate. The readers of a personal blog will quickly feel they 'know' the writer, and will frequently share their reactions and ideas on the blog (if it is set up to allow readers' comments). 'Social networking' sites such as MySpace are among the most popular sites on the planet. They are a virtual meeting place at a whole range of levels. Users can contact other people, post blogs, videos, and pictures, or discuss issues and interact in many other ways. Of course, it has long been possible to do these things online - but a social networking site combines them together in an easy coherent whole.

Thus we can meet people online in a variety of ways, and as we build relationships, we can share our hearts with them.

Video

With the growth of high-speed broadband connections, video is becoming an integral part of the web experience. As connection speeds increase, it is becoming increasingly practical to watch satisfying streamed TV or full-length videos online. These however are still a different medium - the one-way 'linear' broadcast (though broadcasting too is becoming increasingly interactive and feedback-based, and most radio/TV stations enhance their communication through a website).

In a web evangelism context, it seems that short video clips are a strategic way forward. For example, YouTube.com is another highly popular secular networking site where short videos are posted by users, and the most popular ones get the highest exposure, with other users giving feedback. This site's video clips fall into many categories such as movie trailers, video blogs, 'you've been framed' humor, pop music videos, or narrative story. Among these categories, there are some remarkably good and creative home-made shorts. (Yes, inevitably there is inappropriate material, but with some degree of protection because videos regarded as 18+ by users cannot be accessed by casual visitors).

This provides a whole new area for sharing faith online (and also hopefully through mobile phones) - the video short, posted online at secular networking sites such as YouTube. But what is going to work well? Not preachy 4-point sermons with appeals. Not religious churchy stuff. The way forward is surely to create highly creative, zany, possibly humourous films which communicate a single truth or a question to consider, embedded within a brief narrative story, and aimed at people who are likely well down the Gray Matrix bottom-left quadrant. Is this a new idea? No - it's exactly what Jesus did with parables.

Increasing numbers of normal websites also include short video clips, and the combination of sound and vision can enhance the communication experience. Video clips are very appropriate for short testimonies, and with the growth of video-equipped mobile phones, it has never been easier to create and download a short 'talking face' video. Online testimonies should be a jargon-free area - though usually they are not.

Meeting 'Web 2.0' expections

Web users increasingly expect interactivity and the option to share their opinion and ask questions. They want blogs, forums, discussion groups, things to vote on, frequent new material and news. In other words, 'relationship' and 'involvement'. Outreach websites which lack this interactivity, and merely offer a static message, will lose much of their potential. The day of uni-directional dogmatic preaching has long gone.

When we read stories of conversion - through the Web or any other means - what are the most common factors?

Although God can indeed work sovereignly in places where there are no Christians, a relationship with a Christian(s) who prayed for them is central to most testimonies.

These stories generally recount a steady movement from lack of knowledge and often antagonism, often over a considerable period of time, towards faith in God. This of course, is exactly the way God usually works in hearts, and which the Gray Matrix describes.

Incredible spectrum for evangelism

The Web as a medium is so broad that for any person it can be 'what you want it to be'. For some, it may be just the best way of keeping in touch with friends by email. For others, it can be any or all of: finding new friends, seeking information and doing research, hearing news, playing online games, sharing opinions, asking questions, making choices about purchasing, publishing writing, photographs or videos, and much more. And so the opportunities for online evangelism are equally wide. And note, many do NOT need any technical skill. Sparetime opportunities are listed here

We've hardly begun

The power of the Internet to reach its 1 billion+ users, including many in hard-to-reach '10-40 Window' countries, is barely yet realised, let alone implemented. For example, Japan, where nearly every household is connected to the Web, has only a handful of outreach sites in Japanese. Yet the Web could be a key for this unreached people.

The Gray Matrix illustrates the spiritual journey we want people to start. The Web is a means to lead them along that pathway.