Lausanne World Pulse – WORLD PERSPECTIVES – The Twenty-first Century Roman Road–Signposts along the Way

By Tony Whittaker

To use the web effectively, we must understand its nature as a medium. Each time a new means of communication is invented, people initially think of it in terms of a previous medium. Thus, television began as radio with pictures, but quickly developed into a different medium in its own right. Christians have sometimes been slow to make the conceptual jump. How many supposedly evangelistic radio programs still use the hymn/prayer/sermon “church medium” that few non-Christians can easily relate to?

Linear Versus Non-linear, Push Versus Pull
Many mediums are linear—they communicate a single sequential message. Radio and television are essentially linear, as are fiction books, videos and tracts. However, a newspaper is non-linear—it contains multiple messages not linked together sequentially. Readers can move around as they choose. Likewise, the web is non-linear. A website is not normally a single page of text, but offers a range of interactive choices. We must not think of it as merely “text on a screen.”

We must also distinguish between “pull” and “push” mediums. Outreach literature is largely a push medium. For instance, people put tracts into others’ hands. Radio is mostly a push medium. There are a limited range of stations that the user either listens to or turns off.

The Internet, however, is a pull medium. It draws people in—but only within the areas in which they wish to be drawn. It is therefore more like a reference library than a literature distribution program. There is no automatic audience for a website, no magical trickle-down effect. How many non-Christians visit the religion section of their local library even once in their life? This is why we need the “Bridge Strategy,” or another advertising method, to pull non-seekers into outreach websites.

The Ninety-nine Percent Problem–A Mismatch of Resources
“Some want to live within the sound of a church or chapel bell. I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” – Pioneer evangelist C. T. Studd

It’s almost like there is a rule when it comes to published Christian material: ninety-nine percent is for Christians, one percent is for non-Christians. We can see it reflected in Christian bookshops, where a quick analysis of books and videos reveals that the vast majority of material is produced entirely for Christians in terms of language, content and underlying assumptions. How many books and videos are truly evangelistic and accessible to unchurched people who do not know the language and the concepts? Try checking them using the “X-Spectrum” tool (see article by Hackett). The same situation can be seen for Christian websites. Perhaps ninety-nine percent are written mainly for Christians.¹ Sites often take no account of where someone is on their spiritual journey. The “Gray Matrix” helps us visualize this.

Opportunities for Outreach Online
Outreach Websites
How can we attract the attention of someone who is not an active seeker? One method is to integrate web evangelism within a multiple-media outreach to a town or area. This is being effectively used in Australia’s 2005-2006 Jesus. All About Life campaign.

Pages: ALL   Prev    1    2    3    4    Next   

Tony Whittaker is editor of the Web Evangelism Guide and accompanying twice-monthly newsletter, Web Evangelism Bulletin. He is part of SOON Ministries (a branch of WEC International) which produces outreach literature in English, French, Fula, African-Portuguese and Swahili.