Cybermissions – Opportunity Now!

1. Cybermissions – Opportunity Now! Keynote Session 1 – ICCM 2007 John Edmiston

2. Using Means…. William Carey, often called “the father of the modern missionary movement” wrote a famous pamphlet calling of people to “use means” to fulfill the Great Commission. The Internet is a low-cost communications medium that can be used by mission agencies to communicate Christ to multiple cultures. It is a means of front-line evangelistic ministry to the nations.

3. The Internet & The Great Commission Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples The Internet allows us to do part of that task (mainly the proclamation and teaching part) at very low cost However first we need to understand how it works as an evangelistic tool

4. The Word of God In Cyberspace The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:17) The encounter with the word of God is what brings faith to birth in the heart. God’s Word can be proclaimed on the Internet and people can be saved – even while we are asleep! Personal presence is not required, the word of God and the Spirit of God are the only things that are absolutely necessary

5. Seekers In Cyberspace People often get to web sites via search engines They engage in information-seeking behavior This means that the people who arrive at your website are in a sense pre-selected to be interested in your content This is ideal for evangelism – you are only sharing with those who think that they want to hear

6. Decisions In Cyberspace Decisions in cyberspace are ‘just as real’ as decisions in the ‘real world’ When a person prays to receive Christ online that is just as real as the same decision being made elsewhere The response rate of people browsing evangelistic websites is about the same as at a Billy Graham Crusade (2% )

7. The Internet Is The Fishing Net! The Internet is a very powerful and under-utilized tool for evangelism It can reach places that are difficult for missionaries to access by ordinary means It is low-cost & does not require a visa! It allows both one to one and one to many modes and a high-level of interactivity with enquirers God has raised up the Internet so we can complete the Great Commission in these Last Days!

8. Emerging Opportunities Cyberchurches Internet evangelism Chat room evangelism Email evangelism MySpace, Facebook, YouTube Second Life, MUDs, MOOs Mobile evangelism – cellphones, PDAs, Blackberrys, 3G devices Christian online and video gaming Podcasting and video-casting Internet cafes – bridging the digital divide Ebooks, online training, downloadable materials

9. Push, Pull and Viral The Internet is NOT a broadcast medium It does not PUSH content to users The content remains on the server and the users come to the content Thus the web is a PULL medium not a push medium It is more like an art gallery than a newspaper (The exceptions to this are email and RSS) Viral – is when people discover a website, video clip or podcast then share it with others. Viral mixes BOTH push and pull aspects

10. Search PULL technologies rely on some outside referrer (reviews, word of mouth, advertising, links, search engines) to get eyeballs Search engines send visitors to your website . It is the main way most people will get there Search engine friendly websites are a must Use HTML not Flash or PDF Do not put text on images Use head tags, keywords, and have great content Have a good XML sitemap

11. Content Is King Google does not rate your website on how cute your images are Google rates on great unique content No visitor has seen your images when they click on the link to bring them there Some of the most visited websites are low-graphics (e.g. Craigslist, Google, Wikipedia) Being “cool” (e.g. an all-Flash website) can kill your website and send it to the bottom of Google rankings

12. A Service, A Community Or An Opportunity Of the top 500 websites in the Alexa ranking most provide either a service, a community or an opportunity http://www.rapidshare.com/ (No. 19) provides a way of sharing files for free with one click http://www.yahoo.com/ (No 1.) provides email and search services MySpace, Orkut, Hi5 and Facebook (Nos 6,8,15, 18) etc provide community YouTube (No. 4) provides an opportunity (to be seen) – broadcast yourself !

13. Ease Of Use None of the top websites are graphically complex or require plug-ins Amazon wins with ‘1-click’ shopping Google wins with ‘1-click’search RapidShare wins with ‘1-click’ file uploading

14. Users Have Feelings… If the user is made to feel dumb they just go away If their problems are ignored they will resent you But if people feel they are helped quickly they will become loyal If the user feels empowered they build enthusiasm If a user feels ‘’hey I am cool I can do this’ they build pride and tell others

15. Specialization People tend to search for specialized information online Have one main highly specialized function A website on “God” will get lost in Google and get few hits A website on ‘a Christian view of cloning’ will be one of the few on that topic and get many hits General grocery sites were a huge failure Vintage wine sites, rare book sites, rare car sites etc. are a huge success The PHP.Orgwebsite is one of the top rated!

16. Private Thinking People do their private thinking online - thinking that they cannot do publicly without facing some disapproval Medical information Online Dating Political debates Conspiracy research Changing religion Sexual exploration People thinking about Jesus will do research on Christianity online first before making a decision offline and we must provide them with good information.

17. Bridge Websites Have a specialized secular interest that will draw in unbelievers Then lead into the gospel – say with a testimony as the bridge Decision page as the other end of the bridge Christian athletes HollywoodJesus.com – a Christian view of the movies XXXChurch.com – a Christian take on pornography

18. The Edges Of Cyberspace The growth of the conventional Internet is slowing as the number of users = the number of landlines Now new users are being added at Internet cafes and on mobile devices such as PDA’s and cellphones There is a rush to make better screens, more flexible screens and docking devices for mobile devices With 3G cellphones becoming widespread some say that 3 billion users may be connected to the Internet by 2010 We need to be ready to share the gospel with those currently ‘on the edges of cyberspace’.

19. Some Technical Challenges Evangelistic Java programming of mobile devices A mission-friendly CMS perhaps based on Joomla or Drupal High quality production facilities for evangelistic podcasting & video-casting both to conventional Internet and to mobile devices. A high-bandwidth secure server cluster dedicated to serving missions media – video clips, audio, ebooks etc. Improving LTSP? – Linux Thin Server Protocol for Internet cafes and better open source computer center management software

20. Desirable Future Applications Secure evangelistic response and follow-up systems capable of coping with non-ASCII characters and with large numbers of respondents. Good, open-source, text to email gateway applications for crusade follow-up A website that lets ministries create their own Christian Internet radio station An evangelistic avatar?

21. Online – Offline Synergies Crusade Follow-Up Keeping in contact after short-term missions Fan club for radio or TV broadcast Correspondence courses by web / email Build relationships offline put complex content online If you cannot give an overt appeal give a website URL where they can make a decision for ChristGenrev.net

22. Challenges To ICCM Move to the front line of mission Realize you can be an onlineevangelist! Think user processes – making it simple to hear and to respond to the gospel Think multiplication – how can technology multiply proclamation and response? Think Internet cafes and mobile devices and getting the gospel to the developing world Think media – audio and video for oral learners / non-readers