Lausanne World Pulse – Digital Ministry—Incredible Mission Opportunities

By Tony Whittaker

We thank God that some ministries and missions are already “seizing the day” and using the Web and other digital tools effectively for outreach. Unfortunately, these are still the exception rather than the rule. Although there are vast numbers of Christian websites and blogs, the overwhelming majority are only for Christians. In fact, many church websites can be very off-putting to outsiders.

The situation is even worse for non-English languages. Japan, for instance, has huge potential for digital evangelism; however, few ministries are involved in this area. In some languages, there are no evangelistic websites! The Middle East is an exception to this; indeed, remarkable things are happening online (without much publicity for security reasons).

Missions and the Web
 Missions have enthusiastically adopted the Internet for mission communications and home-end publicity to existing or potential Christian supporters. The digital revolution has also significantly boosted Bible translation, audio and video editing, desktop publishing, networking, prayer information distribution, research, and many other aspects of mission.

But surprisingly few missions use the Web (and related digital media) for direct outreach. There may be several reasons for this:

  • Mission Web ministry has been perceived as belonging primarily to the publicity and communication departments, rather than for outreach teams on the ground. It may also be that some mission policymakers grew up before the days of computers and still have that sense of being uneasy “immigrants” in the digital world.
  • Missions have long known that real evangelism is costly, incarnational, and relational, and requires a deep understanding of and engagement with culture. (Incidentally, it is interesting to note that Western churches are realizing that these mission principles are needed in evangelism in the West also.) They are rightly suspicious of mediums or methods offered as a quick fix, especially if these bypass the creation of relationships. They may also worry that email is too impersonal and distant to build real relationships, or that Internet ministry requires technical knowledge.

  • Web ministry is not yet taught in most Bible colleges. Although some Web-related skills can be learned from journalism and communication courses, there is a big need for students to understand the nature of the Internet as a medium and the many different ways it can be used effectively.

Building Relationships
 The truth is the unique properties of the Web make it a valuable “fit” for evangelism on a worldwide basis. The Internet is now almost anything you want it to be—the largest encyclopedia in the world, a marketplace and “water cooler” meeting area, a twenty-first century version of the biblical “Roman Road” system which enabled travel and evangelism, a comprehensive news agency, a means of self-publishing and opinion-sharing, etc. At its heart is “connectedness.” By connecting one computer to another, it links people with ideas and builds relationships. Since evangelism is also based upon connecting and 2-way relationships, there is a perfect match.

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