Introduction to the

Survey Research

Thousands of churches from all denominations have found their way to the Internet. Several denominations have their own domains on the Web with hyperlinks to hundreds of member churches. Yet, one needs to question the form and function of the many churches in cyberspace. Are they only colorful information brochures or billboards, or are they really churches aimed at serving spiritual needs for people surfing the Net?

There are more than 10.000 Christian church-sites and home pages on the Internet early 1998. The number is constantly growing as new churches join the Net from all over the world. Most of the churches are really Christian congregations who want to present their activities and invite people to join their fellowships. As in the real world, some churches have an impressive Internet site with all kinds of technical features. Some of them are designed to give the visitor the feeling of being in a real church where one can visit different rooms by clicking the mouse, hear a sermon, interact with the pastor, and so on. Other virtual churches are plain, simple with just a short welcome and a brief introduction to their church services and activities.

Only a few of the more than 10.000 church-sites on the Internet are virtual churches. A virtual church can be described as a place on the Internet where people can experience a Christian ministry and interact for prayer and counseling. The virtual ministry shares many common features with a real church ministry. The gospel is presented in a number of ways--text, audio, video, slides, animation, 3D graphics, and so on. Real live chat offers text-based interaction among the participants. Prayer requests and counseling may take place via e-mail, IRC, or ultimately on Net telephone.

Drawing a distinct line between a virtual church and a real, physical church with a good Internet site is hard.
Some real churches also present their Net ministry as a church. Other churches appear more commercial with little or no significant ministry at all, or they are merely a place where real congregations can find a place to have their Internet site.

Besides Internet sites that call themselves a church, there are also several very good and high quality Internet ministry sites which offer very useful links to other Christian ministries, resources etc.

If you want to know more about my survey's in the virtual world just click on the icons. Enjoy!