Tomorrow (April 25) is Internet Evangelism Day in most of the world. (It is delayed a week until May 2 in Australia and New Zealand because of ANZAC Day.)
The internet is becoming more and more part of the daily lives of people all around the world, just as the telephone, the car, and TV have in the past. To give an example of this, think back to when Princess Diana died … how did you get information about what happened? If you were like most of us it was probably through radio and TV. Now think about Michael Jackson’s death … how did you get information about what happened there? In all likelihood your first port of call would have been the internet. The internet is now people’s first choice for receiving information.
Think also about your connections with your friends. Not many years ago most people had a real physical address book, which had their friends phone numbers and addresses on it. If you wanted to get in touch with someone you might call them on the phone (or even send them a letter!) Now we send email, or Facebook them. The internet has become the default medium by which we keep contact with our friends and acquaintances.
Now think about how you share your faith? Most likely you prefer to have such conversations in a face-to-face setting and the value of meeting and talking face-to-face cannot be underestimated. But what do you do before that? How do you help them find out information about Jesus, or how do you make connections between Jesus and their life. The internet has so much to offer in this area.
Here are some ideas of things that you can do tomorrow, on Internet Evangelism Day, to use the internet to help you be more effective in reaching your friends for Christ.
- If you have a blog, post something that helps people understand the gospel
- Put a link on your Facebook page to a good, thought provoking article or video. Some good places to find good articles and videos are Global Short Film Network, EveryStudent.com, Damaris.org and HollywoodJesus.com.
- Write a Facebook note, or Facebook status update, or twitter message that encourages people to consider Jesus and what faithin Him means.
- Think of a friend you want to share the gospel with and send them an email or Facebook message telling them that you want to meet to talk about this important issue.
Or maybe you have some more ideas of your own. But take this day as a reminder and encouragement to use the internet not just as an information superhighway, but also as a gospel superhighway.
