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The Internet is primarily a global medium. Anyone can access any non-restricted Web page no matter where in the world it is located. At the same time much of the activity on the Net is tribal and local in its focus. Tribal in terms of attracting people interested in a certain subject or local area because one aims to inform or communicate with people from a specific geographical area or region. From the two surveys we may conclude that most of the virtual churches have a global, evangelistic focus while the local Lutheran churches to a large extent are aiming to inform a certain geographical area or limited constituency about their services, yet lacking a broader vision for their presence at the Internet.
The concept of HEART language aims at asking some
key questions regarding the methods in use, the content of the message and
the messenger's own attitude. One needs constantly to keep the goal of a
holistic, evangelistic, authentic, reconciliating and transforming presence
as the motivation for staying on the Internet. A Christian church or ministry
is present on the Internet to communicate Jesus Christ. Each Christian faces
the challenge to «incarnate» the message about healing and reconciliation
in Christ in his or her «Net life.»
Although there are many good search engines available, it will become more
difficult to maintain a high profiled and very visible Christian ministry
on the Internet unless one deliberately develops strategies of affecting
the Net. In missiological terms many Internet churches or ministries are
thinking in Old Testament terms; encouraging people to «come up to
Jerusalem,» i.e., trying to attract people to their Web site so that
they can have the gospel presented to them.
In the same way as the Church sent Barnabas and Paul, and millions of missionaries to the whole world throughout the centuries, the churches need to commission dedicated men and women to penetrate the Internet, presenting the gospel and modeling a holistic, Christian life. A major model for this could be «friendship evangelism,» calling Christians of any denomination to join the more than 20,000 active user groups and e-mail conferences on almost any imaginable subject, to explore the tremendous opportunities of international interaction and building real friendships where sharing the faith in Jesus Christ is a natural thing to do.
For churches and ministries on the Internet this implies a challenge to
communicate their messages as well as their services by «advertising»
and making themselves known through search engines, various e-mail lists
which cover new developments on the Internet. Internet ministries determined
to attain a high profile and visibility will need constantly to develop
new ideas and products to keep attracting people to visit their Web sites.
Doing high impact ministries on the Net does not necessarily require a lot
of resources in terms of people, staff and money. Many virtual churches
are run by one or two people only, yet they have already made high quality
Web sites, and are communicating and affecting thousands of people worldwide.
They actively affirm that their Internet ministry has helped people to accept
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
The Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) challenges every Christian to «go
and make disciples of all nations.» Jesus commissions us to care for
our fellow human beings who have not yet accepted the good news of eternal
life by actively «going and finding» them! Today the Commission
must be extended to any «reality» in which people interact and
communicate within, so that the true good news may become a life-changing
reality to many more people. In a real sense, communication is normally
not only to «transmit» a message via an external tool (like
radio, TV, etc.) but to be willing to go in person, like a missionary.
Every Christian person, church or ministry on the Internet needs to regard oneself as an «ambassador for Christ» and recognize his or her vitally important potential for doing holistic, mission-focused work in a cross-cultural reality. Yet it is crucial that any church or ministry on the Net be prepared and has a clear commitment and strategy. The following is a general outline of strategic issues that must be considered when one is planning a high impact, high quality and interactive ministry on the Internet.
Firstly, establish a prayer and support team. Even before the Web
site is «up and running,» establishing a vital prayer base for
the ministry is important. Communicating Christ on the Internet is first
and foremost a spiritual and not a technical assignment! Research does confirm
that people have received Christ as their Savior through Internet ministries.
Like any other mission work, ministry on the Net requires all kinds of people,
gifts and skills. Writing, editing, audio and video experiences, design,
prayer support, financial support and management skills and a lot more will
be needed to establish a high quality web site. So get people together,
build a team, network, pray and play together--for Internet is a lot of
fun!
Given the many new technologies, an Internet ministry team does not necessarily need to be physically located in the same area. If needed, updates and management of a Web site can be done from another country on the other side of the globe. Yet it is always an advantage to be able to meet from time to time when one is doing teamwork.
Secondly, work together to develop and design a high quality Web
site. Try to build commitment and ownership for the Web ministry with as
many people as possible. Not all of them need to be on the actual Web ministry
team. Some may, for example, support the work financially and in prayer.
Aim at developing a high impact, high quality Web ministry. As Christians
we are ambassadors for the King of Kings, the supreme Lord of the Universe,
Jesus Christ--so let us not be mediocre in our works! However, we are not
necessarily talking about the latest and most expensive in high tech equipment.
Neither do the Web pages have to be highly sophisticated in terms of Java
applets, the logos, etc. The quality must be determined from what the purposes
of the Web site are.
Like any other assignment, Internet ministries require careful and visionary
planning. One needs to ask some important questions, like:
- Who is my primary audience? Secondary? (Be specific in terms of age, nationality,
areas of interest, educational level, cultural identity, etc).
- What are my main purposes?
- What will be the main content?
- How will we interact with the visitors?
- When will we interact with the visitors? (in terms of Net telephone, chat
rooms, etc).
Sometimes it may be important to ask:
- Why are we doing this? to make sure that everybody is committed to the
common goals for the ministry.
Normally it is a good idea to define a specific target group and design the message to reach this group in particular. This often helps to clarify the language, decide the tools, develop the content, and so on. Yet, since the Internet is a worldwide medium, keep in mind that a much larger general audience may want to look into your Web site as well. If one is aiming at an international audience, it may be wise to remember that many people still do not have very fast modems, so that the front page of the Web site should not become too heavy with graphics, sounds, etc. Generally it may also be a good idea to allow people to choose «text only» on important Web pages. Another important technical issue is to choose a reliable Internet Service Provider (ISP) with good capacity.
Thirdly, we need constantly to develop ways of making the Web ministry well known and truly interactive. The key word for ministry on the Net in the years to come will be «interactive.» An Internet site is not a show room or a bill board where people may look at fancy posters with a message. God made his Son become a human being and interact with people. In the same way Internet ministries need to be «incarnational» and interactive. Communication must be a two-way process.
This is happening in many ways already. E-mail enables people to stay in
touch with the Webmaster or a pastor. Various free cgi-scripts offer opportunities
for signing a guest book, letting a visitor write comments to an article,
send a prayer request, etc. Chat rooms and Net telephones will become ever
more common ways of interaction. For even more ideas, see the next paragraph.
Any church or ministry on the Internet needs constantly to consider new
ideas and ways to communicate its presence on the Net. «Advertising»
and making themselves known through search engines and various e-mail is
one option. Yet Internet ministries determined to attain a high profile
and visibility will need constantly to develop new ideas and products to
keep attracting people to visit their Web sites.
Fourthly, developing e-mail groups and user forums is important, in order to mobilize and equip people to witness on the Internet. To become a really interactive and effective ministry it is important to give people opportunities to be affective (emotional) in a safe, trust-building environment. The Internet provides numerous opportunities for building really important relationships through e-mail lists, discussion groups, etc. on whatever topic one may want to explore. A key issue is to build real relationships and friendships where one can share the gospel in a warm, trusting atmosphere.
The Internet also provides tremendous possibilities for learning experiences
in groups and as individuals. It is a unique tool to communicate knowledge
in a number of ways like text, graphics, pictures, movies, sound, animations
and on and on. Even better, the Internet is at its core an interactive medium
which will facilitate interactive learning experiences with all kinds of
different medias' involved to increase the effectiveness.
Fifthly, train people to do friendship evangelism. Having
people visit your Internet ministry is great, yet it is not enough. We are
commissioned to «go out to the whole world» and communicate
the gospel. The concept is not to «spam» groups and individuals
with Bible verses or other material. On the contrary, it is to model a holistic,
Christian life where the personal testimony flows out of who you are (being)
and what you are doing. It is a challenge to build real, intimate, emotional
relationships with whomever the Lord may send in your way. Doing «friendship
evangelism» is essentially to do the good work God created us to do,
while we are faithfully walking in His footsteps (Eph. 2:10)
This holistic concept is even more important in the many men made «realities» of the Internet. Especially in the playing «rooms,» the MUD's and the MOO's of the Net, committed and playful Christians courageous enough to model a Christian ethics on the borderline of imagination, are desperately needed. Maybe even daring to «be» famous Christian characters from the Bible to communicate the Living Word in a setting where people are open and receptive in a different way so that the Holy Spirit can speak to their hearts in a special way?
Sixthly, take time to evaluate and update your ministry
regularly! Again, the HEART language may provide a tool for evaluation of
the content, role and impact of the church or ministry Web site.
Trends and technologies will continue to change rapidly in the future. New
technologies will increase and expand the possibilities for interaction
and communication. New trends will emerge and, after a while flow away like
tides of the ocean.
Keeping pace with «what is going on» will not be an easy task.
Often we may not even want to surf on every new «wave» coming
along on the Net. However, it is very important constantly to keep our eyes,
minds and hearts open to monitor and interpret the significance of both
philosophical and technical trends emerging, and regularly to evaluate and
update the content and the technology being used. We are communicators of
the Living Word, of a living Lord and Savior, so our messages need to be
fresh and vital!
Equally important is to keep the prayer ministry and various support ministries
«behind the scenes» committed and actively participating in
the ministry as a whole. Also an openness to evaluate the ethical implications
of the ministry, the goals, tools and methods of the ministry and to listen
to the Lord's directions, is vitally important.
Seventhly, remember your global setting--and keep linking to other related churches or ministries. Christians in the «cyberspace» are also people in a «community.» Even more important is to visualize that being a Christian is to belong to a community, to the universal Church of Christ. True Christian love across denominational borders will become increasingly important. A heartfelt, loving Christian presence in a virtual reality will always be a «living and breathing argument for God» (Kevin Graham Ford).
Finally, a word about the global nature of the Internet
and its importance for Christian churches and ministries on the Net. Throughout
the history of the universal Christian church the gospel has been translated
into several hundred languages all over the world. People from almost all
kinds of nations, cultures, and languages are getting connected to the Internet.
In the same way as we eagerly work to translate the gospel so that new people
groups can read the good news in their «mother language,» their
«heart language» we need to communicate in several languages
on the Internet as well.
Not all Christian Internet sites need to have multilingual Web pages but
the most of them should try to introduce themselves in some key languages
(like Chinese, French, German, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish). If at all
possible one should also have interactive links to other churches or ministries
with more information available in the specific language.
A good «community rule» on the Net is also to link to other information available on certain issues so that the user can effectively utilize the unique way of finding related information. There may be organizational or theological reasons that keep people or churches from linking to related issues outside their own denomination or «frame of reference,» yet it would be a good effort to develop the ecumenical nature' of the Internet.
In the midst of all techniques, methods and technologies, we must constantly
keep in mind that this must never become a substitute for Scripture, as
René Padilla says «on the assumption that what we need is a
better strategy rather than a more biblical gospel and a more faithful church.»
1 We are basically following our Lord Jesus' command
to take part in spiritual work. As Viggo Søgaard emphasizes,
"the task of bringing a person from darkness into the light of
Christ is the exclusive role of the Holy Spirit (John 6:44, Titus 3:5-7).
The communicator is a witness and a channel, not the power." 2
Christian churches and ministries must fervently use whatever technology or medium is suitable for the task to communicate the gospel and glorify God. Yet, when doing so we always need to be reminded of the early church:
The picture of the church that one derives from the New Testament is certainly not that of a powerful organization that has achieved success in its conquest of the world by the masterly use of human devices and techniques. It is rather the picture of a community experiencing a new (supernatural) reality--the Kingdom of God--to which «the Lord called day by day those who were being saved.» As Michael Green has put it,
"In the early church the maximum impact was made by the changed lives and quality of community among the Christians.» Changed lives and quality of community--that is to say, faithfulness to the gospel in practical life--do not come through technology, but through the Word and the Spirit of God. Technology will never make up for our failure to let the gospel mold our lives!" 3
So let us then build the Kingdom of God in the virtual realities empowered by the Holy Spirit, living out a holy life molded by the true gospel that bring life throughout eternity!
Endnotes:
1 René Padilla, Missions between the Times, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1985), 34.
2 Søgaard, Media in Church and Mission, 22.
3 Padilla, Missions between the Times, 34.