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Marketing, Branding and Effective Outreach Through the Internet

Sponsored in part by Campus Crusade for Christ International, the first MinistryNet Conference taught leaders in dozens of countries how to gain practical tools to build a successful website

Sixty-seven people gathered from 27 countries and five continents for the first-ever MinistryNet conference in Budapest, Hungary to learn the effectiveness of Internet evangelism and gain practical tools to build a successful site.

The three-day "MinistryNet: Budapest 2005" conference was an impetus of Keith Seabourn, the Chief Technology Officer for Campus Crusade for Christ International. It was sponsored by four ministries of Campus Crusade for Christ International (CCCi), the Global Technology Office, The Eastern Europe and Russia AOA Office, The NAMESTAN Area of Affairs Office, and Global Media Outreach.

According to Seaborn's blog, the official website of the MinistryNet conference, the vision is to create a "Revolution and recruit hundreds and thousands of missionaries for the Internet."

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Seaborn stated, “When it comes to Internet ministry most think they have to know a lot about technology, but that’s not true. Today the technology is simple enough and Campus Crusade has provided a good, rich tool set that anyone can use,” , according to the Lausanne Committee's e-newsletter.

Sandu Onu from Moldova also told Lausanne that although he has never used the Internet in ministry, the conference helped him understand how important it was to begin now.

“I’ve learned that the tech part is easy and that the Internet can have a vital role in helping reach the 100,000 students on our campuses. If I didn’t come here, we would not be able to launch this year.”

Several speakers challenged the group to be relevant to the culture; to use an integrated platform that includes print, broadcast, and Internet; respond to web visitors; market and use graphic design; reach the new generation; and be effective in web writing among other topics. For a complete description, see http://ministrynet.blogspot.com/.

Attendees were from various nations, such as France, Spain, the United States and the Middle East, which contributed to the mapping of broad cross-cultural trends.

Yván Pinto from Agapé Spain summarized one trend among the young. “We have a generation that thinks with their hearts and listens with their eyes.”

According to Lausanne, "Several at the conference agreed and recognized that teenagers are turning to the Internet as their primary source of truth."

Speaking on web writing, Marilyn Adamson, Director of EveryStudent.com, the popular Campus Crusade website for student evangelism said that different from broadcasting or television, the Internet allows for persuasive, in-depth answers.

Larry Thompson, the Director of Affairs for Eastern Europe added to that picture by teaching that use of print and broadcasting along with the Internet - the trio is known as the "Media Canopy" - can be effective.

Marketing is direly important, speakers said. One aspect of marketing is image creation or branding. The problem, according to Dave Ginn, Regional Director of CCCi in Budapest is the Church has been branded by others, and because of the conspicuousness of the negative image, oftentimes the message is not even heard.

A talk given by Ray Rohland, the Area IT Coordinator for the NAMESTAN Area of Affairs, focused on a practical application of marketing. The 12 Words project teaches evangelistic websites to write articles using words like "sex," "dating," "health," "love," and "career" - the most searched words on the Internet, allowing search engines to market the websites free of charge, at the same time, becoming more relevant to the culture.

On design, speaker Patricia Williams, CCCi staff said graphics should not hinder communication. Sites must use color schemes, relevant photos, and fonts such as Arial, Verdana, and Helvitica, which are "websafe."

As just one example of a successful site, EveryArabStudent.com, launched last November, saw a rise in traffic visits to over 80,000 and the number of decisions to nearly 900 people in February. (Statistics obtained from Seaborn's PowerPoint Presentation on the conference's website).

Eric Célérier's topchretien.com launched in 1999, has become the number one Christian portal for French sites. With near 2,000 volunteers from 40 countries, an average of 15,000 people visit every day. Since March 2002, over 1500 have indicated being moved enough to accept Jesus.

“Internet ministry is limitless!” became a repeated phrase as excitement about reaching the unreachable grew, according to the Lausanne Committee's e-newsletter.

Seabourn's challenge, “Are you just building a website or are you reaching the world?” was answered by the end of the conference. An attendee said, "I didn’t want to come here. I thought, Why do I have to be there? I know nothing about the Internet. But now I know. It’s not about high technology and great design. It’s about our call to go and make disciples of all nations," according to Lausanne's e-newsletter.

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