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Tips for Cyber-Evangelism

By S.G.D.

The Internet is the new missions field of the 21st century, and we all have the potential to serve as cyber-evangelists, reaching out across the world as easily as we sit down at our computers. However, cyberspace is not just a place to hand out tracts or deliver sermons. The Internet is a unique medium where interactive users are in control of where they visit and what they want to see. Bombarding them with random, unsolicited prayer letters or testimonies is more likely to drive them away--to another web page, another chat room--than to interest them in your all important message.

"Only Connect."

You need to find ways to connect with people as individuals. The Internet offers unparalleled opportunities for online real-time interaction with people all around the world, from every culture. Churches can train young people to learn to witness through chat rooms, email, and Instant Messenger, since these media attract many youth.

When reaching out to people, whether in a chat room or through bulletin boards or email, try to connect on a non-spiritual level first. Avoid proselytizing them from the first moment of contact or using Christian jargon. Instead, try to speak simply, in terms that your email or chat room correspondents can understand. Learn their language.

When you are looking for a place to start, go to websites that grab your own attention--if you love reading, join a message group about books. If you love music, try connecting with fellow fans of your favorite musician. Build friendships based on common interests.

Demonstrate Christ's Love

Show a keen interest in others--their needs, their desires. Get to know them as people. Just as in real life, you need to demonstrate Christ's love in you. Let your words shine, since they are your representatives online.

Sensitivity is especially important in cyberspace, where words can be easily misconstrued without the context of body language to make them clear. Tempers flare more easily--what seem like calm explanations to you may seem like defensive arguments to others. Pray that the Lord will enable you to speak the truth plainly and that the truth will be understood without distortion.

Prepare Yourself

Preparation through prayer and reading the Bible is a crucial part of witnessing. Memorize key salvation scriptures, learn the "Romans Road," ask the Lord for wisdom to discern the right opportunities, then wait. Be a good listener. Pray for divine appointments.

Find a partner--try visiting chat rooms together with a friend, so that you can help each other answer questions and pray for each other.

Compile a list of excellent evangelistic websites online and add the links to your Favorites. Then you can go to these sites when you need quick guidance for a sticky question, or when you want to refer friends to whom you've been witnessing to a site where they can learn more information on their own.

Find sites like www.fishthe.net, the website of "Fish the Net-The Evangelistic Tacklebox," which offer DigiTracts. You can send these tracts to friends who are interested in exploring the gospel more.

Further Resources

These tips are only a starting place. The two websites listed below provide more useful information for "budding cyber-evangelists," but you will want to explore the Internet more on your own.

Fish the Net's Guide to Online Evangelism is a great introduction to online evangelism, as well as constructing your own website to be an aid to cyber-missions.

Another excellent resource is www.e-vangelism.com, the official site of author Andrew Careaga, an expert on using the Internet as a ministry tool.

For a perspective on cyber-evangelism and Muslims, see George King's article, "Missions in Cyberspace," in the Spring 2003 issue of the Message, coming online in February.