We’re well into the 21st century and there’s no doubt that technology has been exploding. Just think of all the cool tech gadgets that you use on a daily basis. I remember when the very first cell phone came out and it looked something like the picture below.
The first mobile phone was huge in size
Do you remember those days when if you wanted to make a cell phone call then you had to pull out a briefcase that had a phone the size of Texas?
If you’re like the majority of us, you probably never owned one of these because they were just too darn expensive. These types of phones were definitely not made for the masses but only for a select privileged few.
But as the years have gone by and technology has brought us smaller and cheaper things, now almost anyone can afford a phone. And when I write anyone, I mean anyone!
So with that in mind, here are my top 5 reasons why I think Internet evangelism is going to be the next big thing:
1) Technology has become extremely affordable
If you think about desktops, laptops, tablets, or phones, you’ll see that in every one of these categories there are products that you can buy in a wide price range.
You can buy a nice laptop for $1500 or you can buy a netbook for $300. You can buy a phone for $200 or you can get one for free depending on the type of phone, carrier, and promotion.
The thing is that whether you buy an expensive product or a cheap one, all these devices are capable of giving a digital presentation of the gospel.
Even people in poverty-stricken countries can now afford a relatively cheap phone or tablet. You’ll soon be able to buy a tablet for less than $50 just like they are doing in India.
2) Internet evangelism can reach millions of people
With the advancements in technology, there is nothing to prevent us from evangelizing to people anywhere in the world. You might be in North America and you can reach somebody in Asia with the Good News. You might be in Asia and now you can evangelize to someone in South America.
With the Internet being available almost anywhere around the globe, we now have the tool necessary to spread our message that Jesus saves!
3) It’s cheap
Think about all the money it costs to put on a mass evangelism event like a Billy Graham crusade. You have to rent a stadium, advertise your event, and hire people to help you setup and tear down. Plus, you’ll need to coordinate hundreds of volunteers to help.
I will always love these types of events and I believe that they will always be necessary. But at the same time, we now can reach just the same amount of people if not more at a fraction of the cost. I believe that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has also realized this and so they have also entered into the arena of Internet evangelism.
Click here to check out the BGEA’s wonderful online evangelism resources as I’ll be blogging about them in the near future.
4) People love to share
People love to share all sorts of things and that’s why social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and others have become so popular.
Christians who have been touched by God’s love are also eager to share their testimonies and to point others to Christ. They might be shy or afraid but in their heart, they want people to have the same joy that they have experienced personally by giving their life to Christ.
5) Non-Christians are searching for God
More than 55 million people are searching for God every month on Google
The number of people searching for God is an absolutely HUGE number!
More than 55 million people are searching for God around the world every month. That’s millions of people who are hurting, who feel empty, and who feel like there is no purpose in life.
If you’d like to join this online community and reach the lost by sharing Jesus online, then click here to go through our quick 2-minute sign-up.
In your own opinion, what do you think is the best way to reach people on the Internet with the Good news? Share your feedback by writing a comment.
[fireworks image courtesy of Jon Spence and cell phone image courtesy of John Bundy]
Comments 31
Good News Indeed
http://goodnewsantonvanzyl.blogspot.co.uk/
I just read, “The joy of liberation”. I enjoyed it, great blog post 🙂
I agree with everything you wrote except Facebook. I know most people use it, but I have had nothing but problems with them. Hacking, inappropriate material, spam, etc. We have been able to reach many without the Facebook support.
I love your ministry!
Lol, yeah I know that a lot of people have had similar woes on Facebook. You’re absolutely right, you can reach many people just fine by ignoring Facebook. At the same time, that’s 800 million users around the world that could be touched by your insanely AWESOME ministry (Solomon’s Porch Radio) that God is already using in a powerful way 🙂
Would you ever be willing to give Facebook another shot?
Yes I would…..but would want to learn how to restrict the bad traffic. I know our ministry could get more exposure from the “800 million users”. I just want it to be Holy and Godly traffic.
Amen 🙂
Peter,,,,do you have any suggestions on how it could fit our needs?
I do 🙂 I think it is a great advertising platform in order for people to know about the great podcasts that are on
http://www.solomonsporchradio.com/
So for example if you have a podcast that is made for Christians, why not post it on a Facebook page that has been specifically created for Solomons Porch. That way when you post something on Facebook, all the people that have liked the Solomons Porch page will see that you posted something and are more likely to come visit your Facebook page and will also likely end up visiting your website too.
Facebook is such a great generator of traffic. You can get people to share your stuff on Facebook more because you’ll have more exposure. Every time you post something on Facebook it’ll show up in peoples news feeds and people are on Facebook all the time as you know.
It’s just a great way to grow your audience. I hope that helps. There’ll be many more discussions on this on this blog also in the future
Hey I also messaged you this on twitter nut its probably more appropriate on here.
I’m also passionate about internet evangelism, especially in social media, I feel God has called me to set up a Christian social network and then go big with an open social
network. I don’t have very much knowledge of evening building
websites so I’ll need all the help I can get. I’ve got the ideas. The
christian one will basically be based around equipping believers and helping believers network, and bring Christians together in unity.
Like I say God has put an awesome vision in my heart for this, its going to be incredible I can just feel it 🙂
That’s so wonderful François, your enthusiasm and love for the Lord is infectious 🙂 I’m also very excited about you starting this project for the Lord. The more people that we can have equipping believers or actually evangelizing to nonbelievers, the better 🙂
I’ll take a look at your tweet in just a little bit. How tech savvy would you say you are? I can introduce you to some great web building tools that can help you but I need to get a little bit more information about your background when it comes to technology.
I wouldn’t say I was that tech savvy, I mean I managed to build a very basic website in school once, but that was 2 years ago. I’m 17. I would be willing to learn, but I see myself more of the ideas person. I’m at college in England, so I don’t have much time to put into it personally at the moment.
Okay François, thank you for being so frank about where you are at in your life right now. I think that your idea is a great one and that it has a lot of potential.
If you stick around this blog, I’m sure that a Christian community is going to begin forming of people who love evangelism and to tell others about Christ. I’m sure you’ll be able to build friendships and that maybe some people that you meet here on this blog will be able to bring your ideas to fruition when the time is right.You’ve already made one friend here on this site – me 🙂
You know I’ve been watching your youtube videos and I was wondering what software you use, because thats another area I feel that I want to use for teachings etc
I use a software called Adobe After Effects
Would you recommend it, if I already have imovie?
Adobe After Effects and iMovie are kind of two different things. iMovie is decent for video editing but Adobe After Effects is more for after you have done your editing then you can add different effects to the movie. It has a very steep learning curve so I don’t really recommend it to anybody who isn’t able to spend a lot of time learning how to use it.
Would you recommend it, if I already have imovie?
Peter, I love this post and agree on all points, but I feel like I need to add something.There’s a shift going on right before our very eyes. Initially, we look at social media as an alternative social plane where people interact. That’s true, but soon it will completely merge with our everyday lives and become the PRIMARY plane of social interaction.We look at them Seperate, and they are, but the line seperating them will be reduced.
1.) Face to face interaction
+
2.) Online social media
=
Will merge into Total Integration
I’m an avid fan of lifestyle evangelism over “Door knocking.” Evangelism is us reflecting the love of Christ to non beleivers. Selling the gospel like a product doesn’t do that.I’ve had friends try and delete their facebook account, and they’ve been successful for a little while, soon they have to sign back up. When I ask them why they say, “I don’t know anyone anymore, everyone else is on it and I’m left out of the loop for everything.” This is just the beginning. Soon everyone will be on at least some type of social media. If you view this without the line seperating them, imagine just billions of christians and non believers intermixed in an single atmosphere, if those christians passionately spread the gospel, the results can be exponential.I know I’m removing the draw of the Holy Spirit from the equation, I’m just looking at it from a social vantage point.
Oh my gosh Logan, I totally love your comment! You bring up such a very important point and I have to say that you are quite the visionary. You also understand social media and technology quite well as you see the future of how online and reality are merging.
I don’t think that we are totally there just yet but I do think that that is the direction that we are heading. I do think that we should use social media to point others to Christ and that’s the whole point of this blog right here as you already know 🙂
You bring up a very interesting point Phil. Unfortunately it’s true that people have misrepresented Christianity for many years and that it has left a bad taste in many nonbelievers mouths. I did read the link to your blog post and you do make a very compelling case.
I would love to hear some more of your ideas on how we can bridge that gap in a one on one relationship online with nonbelievers?
I can totally see your point Phil about online connections being “disembodied”. I really like the idea of a walking church, I think it’s creative and can be very spiritual. I have some friends of mine that like to go on “prayer walks” and they feel like they can talk to God and also hear from Him.
I also checked out your piece on http://www.menonworld.org. Its a very interesting piece and I think it has the potential to grow to be something huge.
I can totally see your point Phil about online connections being “disembodied”. I really like the idea of a walking church, I think it’s creative and can be very spiritual. I have some friends of mine that like to go on “prayer walks” and they feel like they can talk to God and also hear from Him.
I also checked out your piece on http://www.menonworld.org. Its a very interesting piece and I think it has the potential to grow to be something huge.
I appreciate the encouragement. I admire what you’re trying to do through social media. Years ago I wrote a piece examinig the ‘borderlands’ of Christian faith. For whatever reason there are many people who find the threshold of a church building a step too far. Yet quite a number are willing to share and connect online.
I’ve often had reason to reflect on blogging which I’ve elsewhere called a ‘minor vocation’. Though I’ve occasionally taken blogging breaks I’m glad to have ‘radref’. Embodied or not, it has proven a facilitator of real community.
I’m glad to hear that Phil. I pray that the Lord will lead us in how to use all the evangelistic opportunities that we have via the Internet to reach a generation that desperately needs the Savior.
I like this but I think only discpleship can only be done face to face.
You bring up an interesting point Margaret. Discipleship is such an important thing because it’s heavily based on our relationship with the person that just got saved.
Sometimes I wonder if doing an online video chat with someone half way across the world would also be considered discipleship? I’m not sure but I think it may be something worth trying in this Internet era that we live in.
i love how technology can make the world a bit easier to access. We as Christians need to make sure that while we are enjoying all the fun that it brings, that we are using it for Jesus too.
Thanks for this awesome post!
@spreadingJOY
Thank you Marie for that feedback, I appreciate how you see the world of technology through the heart of our Lord. I too believe like you do that God wants us to use technology to tell others about His Son. Wishing you all the best 🙂
Internet ‘evangelism’ will reach some – an appropriate word at just the right moment in a person’s life – but many need to see Jesus in the reality of lifestyle and relationship. In order to *hear* the gospel instead just some guy trying to convert people online there needs to be a connection.
So what you say is good, but it is one part of a big picture. If your gifting is reaching people through the internet for Jesus then absolutely go for it. But for those who don’t have that gifting, we need to look to see what we are called to do instead.
That’s a very good point that you make Toni and I absolutely agree with you. I don’t think that Internet evangelism is ever going to replace one on one witnessing. I also agree with you that we need to be salt and light while we are here because that is probably the most powerful tool that we have.
Thanks for the great insight 🙂
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