I have a different vision than most of how church websites can/should be used. When churches started jumping on the web bandwagon a few years ago, we saw a lot of sites which were not well-designed, to say the last. Sadly, we still see plenty of poorly designed church websites.

Now days, though, we are at least seeing more and more well-designed sites in the church arena. Some of that is due to church webmasters becoming more proficient at their craft. Some of it is due to the proliferation of companies offering template-based solutions to churches and ministries (while some may decry the “cookie cutter” approach of those companies, at least they don’t offer templates with spinning crosses and blinking text!).

As church websites become more and more usable and attractive, I believe that the next question we need to ask ourselves as a “community” of church webmasters is, “How can our websites be used most effectively?” Personally, I see very few church websites that make me think that the people responsible for the church’s web presence have spent much time considering that question.

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new website for Loving Leaders.

Once we had determined the client’s needs and desires, and using
Expression Engine for content management, we developed a basic site in two days for this Christian psychologist whose life purpose is to help marketplace leaders learn to lead with love.

Here is a list of resources I plan on distributing at the internet evangelism seminar I will be teaching in April and May. Does anyone have any suggestions for additions to the list?

Also, for the life of me, I can’t remember how I compiled this list. My apologies in advance to anyone from whom I borrowed this information!

Books
Allen, Roland. Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1966.

Graham, Billy. Christian Worker’s Handbook. Minneapolis: BGEA.

Baker, Jason D. Christian Cyberspace Companion: A Guide to the Internet and Christian Online Sources, 2d ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995.

Careaga, Andrew. E-vangelism: Sharing the Gospel in Cyberspace. Lafayette: Vital Issues Press, 1999.

Carega, Andrew. eMinistry: Connecting with the Net Generation. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2001.

Hybels, Bill and Mark Mittelberg. Becoming a Contagious Christian (Participant’s Guide). Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1995.

Wilson, Walter P. The Internet Church: The Local Church Can’t Be Just Local Anymore. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000.

Winter, Ralph and Steven Hawthorne. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1998 edition.

Downs, Tim. Finding Common Ground � How to Communicate with Those Outside the Christian Community While We Still Can. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1999.

Websites

The Web Evangelism Guide
http://www.gospelcom.net/guide/

Faith Online
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/126/report_display.asp

CyberFaith: How Americans Pursue Religion Online
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/53/report_display.asp

The Evangelism Toolbox
http://www.evangelismtoolbox.com

PowerToChange
http://www.powertochange.com

BibleGateway
http://bible.gospelcom.net/

A Letter To My Friends
http://www.lettertomyfriends.com

iamnext
http://www.iamnext.com

The Jesus Film Project
http://www.jesusfilm.org

Effective Web Ministry Notes
http://www.eministrynotes.com/

Equip Blog
http://www.forministry.com/equip/blog.dsp

The Internet Evangelism Coalition
http://bgc.gospelcom.net/iec/

e-vangelism
http://www.e-vangelism.com/

Cybermission.org
http://www.cybermissions.org/

Rusty Wright Articles
http://www.probe.org/rusty/rusty-clips.html

Internet Evangelism Day
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/

Outside The Box Ministry
http://www.outsidetheboxministry.com/

Heal Your Church Website
http://www.healyourchurchwebsite.com/

Strategic Digital Outreach
http://www.strategicdigitaloutreach.com

ChristianCruz
http://www.christiancruz.com

SantaCruzLife (coming soon!)
http://www.santacruzlife.com

DigiTracts
http://www.digitracts.com

Articles

Communicating Christ on the Internet
http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/1541/

The Role of Trust in Virtual Community Assimilation (in RTF format)
http://www.gospelcom.net/guide/docs/abstract.rtf

E-vangelism: Redefining Evangelical Identify in Online Global Culture
http://mkmccarthy.homestead.com/thesis.html

Cyberspace: A Valid and Effective Evangelistic Medium?
http://www.mleggett.uklinux.net/weq/html/results.htm

Here is my tentative outline for the fifth and final session of the internet evangelism seminar I will be teaching in April and May. Thanks in advance for any suggestions anyone might have - I really appreciate it!

V. Session #5: International Missions

A. Introduction of New Participants

B. Salvation Story #5 (preferably on international believer)

C. Discussion of last week’s homework: successes, challenges, questions, comments

D. Sharing The Gospel in Creative Access Nations
1. Instant Messaging
2. Cyber Caf�s

E. Evangelism Opportunity #5

F. Homework

Here is my tentative outline for the fourth session of the internet evangelism seminar I will be teaching in April and May. The outlines for this session and the final, fifth session (which I will post tomorrow) are less fleshed out, so your comments would be especially helpful!

IV. Session #4: Online Conversations

A. Introduction of New Participants

B. Salvation Story #4 (preferably a man)

C. Discussion of last week’s homework: successes, challenges, questions, comments

D. Chat Rooms, Message Boards, and Instant Messaging

E. Evangelism Opportunity #4

F. Homework

Here is the outline for the third session of the internet evangelism seminar I will be teaching in April and May. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated!

III. Session 3: Preparing For Effective Internet Evangelism

A. Introduction of New Participants

B. Salvation Story #3: Patricia

C. Discussion of last week’s homework: successes, challenges, questions, comments

D. Preparation For Effective Internet Evangelism
1. Personal relationship with Jesus
2. Prayer and dependence on God
3. Compassion
4. A written testimony
5. Become familiar with an online Bible (preferably in a modern translation)
6. Some background in apologetics is helpful, but not absolutely necessary (knowing how to respond to objections can be important)
7. Know the plan of salvation

E. Evangelism Opportunity #3: Advanced Steps
1. Develop a bridge website

F. Homework
1. Think about your passions. What would be a good bridge website topic for you?

Does anyone know where I can get a list of the number of internet cafes which exist in each country of the world?

Thanks in adance for any help anyone can offer!

In April and May, I will have the privilege of teaching a 5-week internet evangelism seminar in Santa Cruz County, California. I have a tentative outline prepared, and I thought it might be a good idea to post the outline and see if the readers of this website have any suggestions about content to cover (general concepts, links, statistics, etc.). I’m not certain as to exactly what I’m looking for, so feel free to make any suggestions which might occur to you.

Here’s the outline for the first session:

I. Session 1: Introduction To Internet Evangelism

A. Introduction of Facilitator

B. Introduction of Participants

C. The Historic Opportunity
1. The First-Century Opportunity
2. Today’s Opportunity
3. The Modern-Day “Agora”
4. Technological Innovations Throughout History � The Church Has Always Embraced Technology For Evangelistic Purposes

D. Salvation Story #1: Kristi Tuck

E. Evangelism Opportunity #1: Simple First Steps
1. Email signature
2. Online profiles
3. Business Cards
4. Tell others about good evangelistic websites
5. Evangelistic screensaver

F. Homework (choose one or more)
1. Write an email signature
2. Prepare an online profile
3. Find good evangelistic websites
4. Design a business card

The outlines for the second through fifth sessions will follow on subsequent days.

Many churches (and other groups such as Bible colleges) are planning to mark the first Internet Evangelism Day on 24 April. By using a downloadable PowerPoint presentation, video clips, dramas and other resources, they are creating a custom ‘do-it-yourself’ non-technical focus slot, to share with their members the enormous potential of the Web for effective outreach. Part of the program is how to make effective church websites.

For more information, visit InternetEvangelismDay.com.

Darren Rowse of ProBlogger recently interviewed Glenn Fleishman, an authority on entrepreneurial blogging. While the interview was primarily about blogging for profit, one portion caught my eye because I think it has application to online ministry.

People want to read and hear a real voice. This is why marketing is doomed to failure. No one believes it except the marketers. Real voices trump canned voices. That’s part of the Cluetrain Manifesto (paraphrased) and it’s why blogs have taken off in all realms.

This is something I think churches and ministries should heed. If we are perceived as trying to manipulate people through slick marketing approaches, our efforts are doomed to failure. Instead, unbelievers want to “read and hear a real voice.” They are looking for authenticity in our online presentations.

What’s the best way to present a “real voice”? Simple, let your people share their stories.

Brian Bailey, the Internet Manager at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas. recently blogged on Leave It Behind about the power of the internet (more specifically, of blogs) to facilitate offline conversations and relationships:

I had the chance today to have coffee with Erik Lane, someone I met through the wonder of weblogs....Our conversation confirmed once again that blogs really enable offline conversations as much as online ones. Meeting someone for the first time who you already know through blogs is very unique as a shared history already exists.

Reading what Brian wrote reminded me of a quick exchange (it was so short that I can’t call it a conversation) at our local evangelical ministers fellowship meeting a couple of months ago. A small groups pastor from one of our local churches teased me a bit by saying, “It’s good to see you in person and not just behind your computer!”

He was teasing me, but the teasing had a valuable lesson at its core. Since I am a strong believer in small groups and the power of community that is expressed in small, intimate gatherings of believers, I took what he meant as teasing to be a healthy reminder that internet evangelists should not forget.

All that we do as Christian workers in the digital arena should have as its ultimate goal the facilitation of face-to-face relationships. It’s ultimately the love of Christ revealed in community that convinces the unbeliever of the love of God and of Jesus’ mission (cf. John 17:21-23), and so any evangelism which takes place outside of community should be considered suspect in its effectiveness.

Does this mean that an online chat is ineffective? No, not any more than a face-to-face one-on-one chat is ineffective. But it does mean that we should always be looking for ways to facilitate face-to-face relationships and offline conversations through our efforts on the web.

Face-to-face conversations lead more naturally to wider exposure for the unbeliever to Christian community. Faciltating that process through online conversations requires a more intentional commitment.

For example, when I am in the midst of an online conversation with an unbeliever who I have never met face-to-face, am I thinking about where they are located and if I have believing friends or acquaintances in that area to whom I can eventually introduce my new friend?

Sometimes, this may not seem feasible (in conversations with people in certain creative access nations, for example), but it should always be our goal.