Introduction to Evangelism on the 'Net
Writing Effective Content
Some Parting Thoughts...
There is a lot of Christian information on the web. A lot of sites for and by Christians, and some sites that seek to inform the uninitiated. But who seeks Christian information on the net, and why do they do it?
According to Pew Internet & American Life Project the most people who seeks information or uses other religious sites on the net are already Christian. Well, that?s nothing new. Mostly Christians frequent our meetings, mostly Christians watch the Christian TV programs and mostly Christians listen to Christian radio. It goes on and on. But it should really be the other way around, shouldn?t it?
Andreas Kumano Chernus
Andreas comes from the cold northern realms of Norway. He has been developing web-pages for his local church for a few years as well as taking some freelance jobs. He's active in the C-W-M community as X Q mano. His most recent project is the online poetry site: www.xqpoetry.com/ -- For the love of poetry.
Introduction to Evangelism on the 'Net
Writing Effective Content
Some Parting Thoughts...
The Internet has a vast audience, and there should be a vast potential to reach the unreached. The Internet has a lot of benefits. It can work two-ways, it is quite impersonal at first and people can stay anonymous and keep their search private for as long as they want (I see this as a benefit, although some people might call it a drawback, I won?t make an argument out of this here).
How then, can we unleash this vast potential?
I am going to show you an example of what I?ve done, before I come with some general views and some ideas for what can be done.
A site of mine, www.xqpoetry.com is a site about poetry (no big surprises there). Since I am a true believer -- and I?m passionate about my faith in God -- some of my poems are bound to be about my faith. So, I?ve included most of my poems there. My ?Christian? poems (if something like that exists), and my ?ordinary? poems. There are more ordinary poems since, as a poet, I?m first and foremost a poet and my faith is just a part of my life. So it permeates all of what I do, think and write.
However, I market the site as a poetry site, not necessarily a Christian site. I offer space on the page for other poets, Christian and non-Christian. I have Christians and non-Christians on my forums. I don?t try to deceive people. It is in fact a poetry site and not a Christian site. But poems about faith and God is there anyway.
And herein lies the idea! Make sites about what interests you, and let your faith shine through in everything you do. People are not seeking religious information, they are seeking information about what interests them.
Andreas Kumano Chernus
Andreas comes from the cold northern realms of Norway. He has been developing web-pages for his local church for a few years as well as taking some freelance jobs. He's active in the C-W-M community as X Q mano. His most recent project is the online poetry site: www.xqpoetry.com/ -- For the love of poetry.
Introduction to Evangelism on the 'Net
Writing Effective Content
Some Parting Thoughts...
I will include some ideas and examples that you can work on if it interests you.
I like music. Music is a wonderful thing, and it can be made destructive or constructive. How about making a music site? You can review records, concerts etc. Host competitions, polls, forums etc. In Europe there is often a distinct line between Christian and non-Christian artists. I understand that there isn?t that much of a difference in the US. But I think that a lot of people are scared away by the ?Christian music? label. So on your site, you drop it. You don?t NEED to mention the artist?s faith unless you want to.
Movies too are a great way of attracting visitors. Make a regular movie site. But in between the articles about movies, the interviews and movie reviews, the Gospel will shine through. Be creative, and ask God for guidance. Examples? Write articles about the allegorical qualities of movies like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Instead of blasting such movies as evil, they can be used for good purposes. I know a lot of articles has been written on such subjects before, but most of what I?ve seen has been on Christian sites frequented mainly by Christians.
In my opinion, the best way to have non-Christian readers is to have non-Christian sites. But since we are filled with the Holy Spirit, God will shine though! Be creative, make sites about your interests, but be sure to include articles, and other stuff that points to The Way!
Andreas Kumano Chernus
Andreas comes from the cold northern realms of Norway. He has been developing web-pages for his local church for a few years as well as taking some freelance jobs. He's active in the C-W-M community as X Q mano. His most recent project is the online poetry site: www.xqpoetry.com/ -- For the love of poetry.