Use Online Tools to Share Faith on Internet Evangelism Day
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Internet Evangelism Day, to be held April 29, is a strategic resource to help the worldwide church understand digital media issues and use the Web to share the Good News. It is an annual focus day and a year-round online guide.
“The last 15 years have changed our world for ever,” says Tony Whittaker, coordinator of Internet Evangelism Day. “Digital media are transforming the way we communicate, behave and even think. If Facebook was a country, it would have the fourth-largest population in the world.”
Churches are encouraged to use Internet Evangelism Day resources to create a presentation for their members on or near that Sunday (or at any other time they choose). The Internet Evangelism Day website offers free downloads: PowerPoint, video clips, handouts, drama scripts, music and posters. These enable any church (or home group, college or conference) to build a customized program, lasting from five minutes to 50.
This year’s focus day will be the eighth to be used by churches around the world since the initiative’s launch in 2005. Over this period, digital media have developed dramatically, with the advent of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and the growing use of mobile phones to access online services. The outreach opportunities have multiplied too.
On April 29, more than 10 e-books that normally must be bought will be available for free download. An evangelistic iPhone app also will be available.
Internet Evangelism Day’s website is also a one-stop resource covering many subjects, including how to build a church website that is “outsider friendly,” using Twitter in evangelism, and blogging. Perhaps surprisingly, you do not need to be technical to share your faith online. And you can volunteer to be an email mentor to inquirers with several large online outreach ministries.
Internet Evangelism Day is an initiative of the Internet Evangelism Coalition, based at the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton, Ill. It is supported by a wide range of leaders and groups.
