coalition of other organizations and churches will launch the first worldwide Internet Evangelism Day this year as part of efforts to reach an anticipated one billion Web users with the Gospel, BosNewsLife learned Thursday, February 3.
"It’s an exciting challenge," said Internet Evangelism Day Coordinator Tony Whittaker, in a statement sent to the BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest. "The potential of the Web is enormous," he added.
The event on Sunday, April 24, is a highlight for what is known as the Internet Evangelism Coalition, which the Wheaton based Billy Graham Center helped to found in 1999 as a tool to unite and support Christians using the World Wide Web for evangelization.
It comes amid concern among American and other evangelicals about Islamic fundamentalism on the Internet, which has been increasingly used by terrorist groups to communicate their messages to the world, BosNewsLife established.
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Evangelicals have also expressed worries about the increase of pornography on the Internet which they claim can be "addictive", and "progressively destructive". A recent study published by Christianity Today magazine found that 40 percent of church ministers admitted to have accessed Internet sites with sexual content.
Several evangelical leaders said they support the Internet Evangelism Day as a way to reach all sinners for Jesus Christ and to use Cyberspace for good , not evil. "Online outreach is an innovative response to today’s high-tech world. It is possible to evangelize one billion people through this medium," stressed Tetsunao Yamamori, an official of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.
"The Internet is one of the most key tools that God has given us in the church today," explained George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilization, an international mission organization which also supports in the Internet Evangelism Day.
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Organizers compare the Internet with the way Roman Empire roads were used by the first
evangelists to spread the news that God’s son died and rose from the death " so that
everyone who believes" in Jesus Christ "has everlasting life."
Coordinator Whittaker told BosNewsLife that his groups will not ask for money. "This is purely a ‘web evangelism awareness day’, there is no fund-raising element," he explained. He said many churches and other Christian groups are already planning to include a short program within church services and other meetings, on or near April 24.
The Internet Evangelism Day website ( https://www.internetevangelismday.com ) offers downloadable materials for this purpose, including short video testimonies of students "Kristi" who claims she "found God online" and Christina Vogt, who says she became a Christian after watching the film ‘The Passion of the Christ.’
It also includes short drama scripts, PowerPoint presentations, discussion questions, and links. "The team hopes for a range of outcomes. High on their list is that churches will create effective websites which can reach out into the community, rather than just be an online notice board for members," said Whittaker.
(By: Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, BosNewsLife News Center)
