Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – Online Mission

By Peter Fischer-Nielsen
October / November 2009

Especially in Europe, secularisation has estranged large parts of the population from their Christian roots. People are not familiar with the church and with its language and might find it awkward to go to a church with their questions. For many, it is easier to experiment with religion on the Internet, where a discrete investigation can be carried out from the living room, and a first contact to a church or a minister can go through an anonymous email.

Still, there is a great difference between the potential and the actual reach of a Christian web initiative. Even seekers will probably not know what they need when they are looking for answers on the Internet. Most people will find a Christian website through Google (or another search engine) via a link or by coincidence; therefore, if a website cannot be spotted these ways, it will probably not be seen at all.

Even more difficult is getting in touch with non-seekers who do not actively search for answers. They will not visit a Christian website, but are more likely to be met on the websites they usually visit. Therefore, the church must not isolate itself on its own websites; instead, it must take part in the fluent online traffic and develop initiatives on various platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Wikipedia.

The Church in Mission
A church in mission will always try to call people into community with God and with other people. When it comes to media, the Church is often better at distributing the Christian message than creating Christian communities. People might be excited about the gospel when they hear it in a television or a radio programme, but the distance between the sender and the receiver often makes it difficult to establish a social space where the two can meet.

Internet mission is interesting in that regard, since it, more than other media, is able to provide a social space where people can interact in various ways and meet as church. These online communities are not a replacement to traditional physical congregations, but a supplement and sometimes, and for different reasons, a better choice for the individual Christian—in the non-Christian parts of the world because it can be dangerous to meet in public or simply because it can be difficult to find other Christians in the neighbourhood; in the West because many feel disappointed with the church, have left their church, or simply don’t feel comfortable in a traditional church. In both cases, the Internet offers a social space where other Christians can be met and where you can develop your faith in freedom.

The downside of online communities is the lack of physical nearness and bodily shared experiences. Singing, praying, and receiving communion will probably never be the same online as it is offline, and people will continue to be in need of these elements as well. Therefore, the church should not feel threatened by the Internet. It is an extension of our communication and social life, but it can never be a replacement of physical contact. Consequently, part of the online mission should always be to point to the offline experiences which the church can offer.

More could and should be said about these issues. Here I have just mentioned how the Internet can be used by the Church to reach more people and create social communities. I have briefly suggested that online mission is also about representing Christian ethics when going online both as church and as an individual Christian. From my point of view this specific point demands more attention from the Church in the future. Finally, it must be mentioned that the Internet also provides an excellent platform for networking, further discussions about online mission, and the sharing of ideas. The Internet has come to stay and the Church must continually be in dialogue concerning how the Internet can be used to serve its mission.