UK Evangelists Welcome the First Ever World Internet Evangelism Day
The first ever annual international Internet Evangelism Day will commence in few days on 24th April. With an aim to communicate the outreach potential of the web among the worldwide churches, Church Army’s Word on the Web, an unique online evangelism ministry in the UK, is in full support of the initiative.
Church attendances in the UK have been alleged to be declining, especially, young Christians are missing from the pews. However, it is a fact that people are spending more and more time online, and so online churches are being set up to catch these congregations in cyberspace. Evangelists are developing new ministries to offer spiritual food to thirsty souls, in particular to the "un-churched" or "de-churched".
Church Army is an association of evangelists within the Anglican Communion. Word on the Web is an online evangelism ministry with a vision to spread the Gospel through today's most powerful media tool - the Internet. Launched for over four years in the UK, it sends short and challenging Bible studies each day, 365 days a year, to 7,000 subscribers in over 100 countries around the world. The extent of the reach into people in the world is unimaginable.
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The authors of the Bible studies are famous Christian leaders such as Luis Palau, rock bands Delirious? and Friday, as well as singer Sue Rinaldi. Leaders from the Girls’ Brigade, Boys’ Brigade, YFC, YWAM, Salvation Army, as well as a number of bishops were also invited to write materials.
In view of attracting the interests of young people, the materials on the website are presented in a way that tries to match today's contemporary culture. There are up-to-date film reviews, interviews, Christian CD reviews, a discussion forum, a monthly competition, among other things.
Time has proven the success of the ministry, the founder of the ministry David and Alison Booker testified, "Four years on it’s amazing to know the daily notes go to around 6,000 people, not just in the UK but around the world. More important than the simple numbers are the stories that number represents. Almost from day one a steady drip feed of emails came through from people thanking us for the project. Some had drifted away from Church; others had been thinking about faith and had found us on the web. Through the daily emails they found an opportunity to glimpse God and many moved towards Him."
One of Word on the Web's writers, Share Jesus International’s Rev Dr Rob Frost, echoes the Bookers' enthusiasm for the project, "Word on the Web is an accessible, approachable and appropriate way in which Christians can relate to God's word for everyday life. In a generation which is increasingly computer literate, it's exciting to see that God's word can be imparted in ways that most people can now relate to."
Internet Evangelism Day is organized by the Internet Evangelism Coalition (IEC)- an umbrella group of evangelical Christian organizations across the world who share a vision for online outreach. Some leading groups include the Billy Graham Centre, Campus Crusade for Christ, Christian Broadcasting Network, Gospelcom.net, Willow creek among many others.
Derek Allan, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, responded, "Now that the internet is such a powerful means of communication it is vital that Christians use it to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ. I hope that Internet Evangelism Day will raise awareness of what might be achieved, not least by sharing good practice and offering effective tools to local churches. Young people, in particular, use the internet to find information and to communicate. Internet Evangelism Day could be a major factor in opening the eyes of Christians to effective ways of reaching young people."
Richard Bromley, Director of Local Ministries of Youth for Christ UK, said "Reaching out to this cyber-suckled generation requires an engagement at all sorts of levels both offline and online. 21st Century Communication of the gospel is taking place online. I commend to you the Internet Evangelism Day to see what God is doing on the Net and how you can engage with it and benefit from it."
Dick Davies, Communications Director of WEC (Worldwide Evangelism for Christ) International UK stated, "Internet Evangelism Day is a great way to celebrate the potential for the gospel of this great medium. We can also celebrate the fact that the Gospel itself transcends all means of communication. The incarnation of Jesus remains God's greatest and most powerful word. The apostle Paul was determined to use all means and opportunities, let’s pray that the Church of today will not lose that fervor."
