Bezahlt(dot)Org: People Require Interaction

Bezahlt(dot)Org has some great things to say in response to the recent discussion about Ellison Research and the Agape Press article. Here’s just a sampling:

While I think the internet is a good way to introduce people to spiritual matters, it certainly is not the best way to care for people.

People require interaction. People need to be able to look you in the eye, cry on your shoulder or shout for joy with a person, not a keyboard and monitor. Jesus ministered to people, He did not have Matthew write down a sermon and post it on a sycamore tree or in the town square and wait for others to post rebuttals or praises....

No website, no blog, no band, no book, nothing can ever replace the Holy Spirit working through you and I, reaching out to a lost an dying world.

Websites, blogs, streaming audio and media are great teasers but nothing can replace that personal touch that all of us need. We’re the reason the church grows (I’m speaking universally now) not some amalgam of electrons piped into homes across the world.

If your church has a website tell your friends about it. Maybe they’ll hop on the internet for a few minutes to check things out. Then follow-up with them. Invite them to meet God at your place of worship. Websites are a tool for drawing people to Christ. Let’s not exalt the tool above the Toolmaker.

Excellent commentary. A church website’s primary purpose should be to draw unbelievers into face-to-face relationships with believers. If our websites don’t accomplish that purpose, I think we need to take a step back and re-evaluate.

Posted by on 01/11 at 10:32 AM

The Collective Voice!

tre continues the discussion:

Also remember, some sites are more human than others. It all depends on how they’re designed.

contributed on 01/13 at 11:15 AM

continues the discussion:

Tre:

Thanks for contributing!

Can you expand a little bit on what you’re saying, perhaps with examples of sites which are “more human” and sites which are less so? I’m not sure I’m understanding what you’re saying.

Thanks!
Frank

contributed on 01/13 at 03:29 PM

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You may be interested in reading these articles which enumerate core principles of the strategy we advocate:

Effective Church Websites For Emerging Generations
Investigating the various ways in which a church's website can be targeted toward unbelievers in a church's local community.

A Strategy For Local Internet Outreach
How can the internet be used for evangelism and outreach while maintaining an environment of authentic Christian community?

Flawed Follow Up Or A Flawed Philosophy of Evangelism?
The ease with which we can “share the gospel” online can actually short-circuit the God-ordained process by which unbelievers are brought to faith.

Should We Include A Gospel Presentation On Our Websites?
Should conversion be our immediate goal in our internet evangelism efforts?

A Strategic Opportunity For The Church
A proposed strategy in which a church would use short video profiles of members of their congregation to entice unbelievers in their local area to consider the value of a local congregation’s ministry in their own lives.

2 John 12
Is there something incomplete about digital communication?

Thu, August 28, 2008 at 03:32 pm
Frank : reviewing SEO recommendations from our partner.

Wed, August 27, 2008 at 09:53 pm
Frank : Going to try and do some work on that major website relaunch/redesign to which I've been referring.

Tue, August 26, 2008 at 06:58 pm
Frank Getting ready to start working on analyzing last week's promotions at his day job.

Mon, August 25, 2008 at 09:45 pm
Frank is gathering data to evaluate potential internal search partners for ecommerce sites.

Mon, August 25, 2008 at 08:46 am
Frank is going through the drudgery of adding products to ecommerce sites. While boring, operational precision is vital to ecommerce.

When the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association wanted to use the internet to promote their city festivals, they turned to Strategic Digital Outreach. Read more ....

Quick Contact Info

T: 831.461.1183
F: 831.461.1184
AIM: strategicdigital
ICQ: strategicdigital
Yahoo: strategicdigital
MSN: strategicdigital@hotmail.com

Web Development
Designwise Studios
DirectSteps
RockBeatsPaper
SparrowStyle
Turtle Interactive

Content Management
Expression Engine

Web Hosting
DreamHost

Email Management
Constant Contact

We work with several different organizations in exploring ways in which digital means can be used to reach an increasingly digital world. Some of these organizations are more traditional clients. Some are friends. All are our partners in the gospel (1 Corinthians 3:9). Invariably, we learn as much from them as they do from us. Here is a sampling:

David & Linda Arzouni
Assemblies of God missionaries to West Africa, based in Mali (the land of Timbuktu).

Assemblies of God
The Northern California and Nevada District, based in Sacramento, California.

India Prayer Drive
A 21-day prayer drive through the nation of India.

IreneDias.com
Although the suffering they face is severe, this is not a story of despair, but of an incredible faith and even more of an incredible God who sustains His followers with lavish grace, extravagant kindness, and unrelenting love.

Luis Palau Evangelistic Association
Proclaiming the Lord's Good News to the millions of people who have yet to respond to the Gospel.

Sacred Ink
Joyfully declaring the gospel to the tattoo subculture.

Santa Cruz Bible Church
Their evangelism department focuses on marketplace ministries.

ShareFest Santa Cruz County
Churches in Santa Cruz County, California join together to become a bridge from the church to the community through work projects designed to bless the community.

TimeOut Conference
Enabling a deeper relationship with God and more effective relationships with people.

Wake Up! Santa Cruz
Presenting the claims of Christ to the business community in Santa Cruz, California.

These are projects which we have initiated (either individually or as members of a team) in our efforts to use digital means to spread the gospel:

MissionEquip
MissionEquip.com was established to provide resources to missionaries and short-term missions teams traveling worldwide.

ChristianCruz
ChristianCruz.com is a localized portal for believers living in Santa Cruz County, California.

Prodigal God
ProdigalGod.com, a work in progress, is designed to provide biblical instruction to the wider body of Christ through the use of video teaching segments and written articles.

Christian Screen Savers
ChristianScreenSavers.com offers a selection of high-quality, inexpensive Christian screen savers which reflect biblical themes. Proceeds from the sale of these screen savers are used to support the work of Strategic Digital Outreach.

Blogs I Read

Adventures Of A Web Evangelist
The Appian Way
BetaChurch.org
BlogMinistry
BlogRodent
Boyink Interactive
Carpe' Digital
Christian Web Trends
Church Beauty
Church Communications Pro
Church Marketing Sucks
ChurchTechToday
Church Website & Blog Ideas
digital.leadnet.org
Digital Ministry
The Digital Sanctuary
e-vangelism.com
Effective Church Web Sites
Effective Web Ministry Notes
Equip Blog
Evotional
GodBit
Goodmanson
Gospelcon
Heal Your Church Website
If Jesus Had A Website
Leave It Behind
MicroExplosion
Outside The Box Ministry
Sacred Digital
So You Want A Church Website?
The Ultimate Issue
Web Evangelism Issues

Bezahlt(dot)Org: People Require Interaction

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