Use of Technology By Mission Workers

By Enoch Wan

Published in the “Technology” section of the January 2006 Issue of Global Missiology

In this short write-up, I want to recommend two things for the use of technology by mission workers.

I. PORTABLE SOFTWARE

For those who are on the move for mission work, there is portable software that you can download at:

The following are samples of choice software that can be install onto your memory stick then plug into any computer via USB port without the trouble of disturbing the host PC unit:

· Portable Firefox - Run the Mozilla Firefox web browser from a removable/USB drive

o Portable Firefox Live - Run Portable Firefox from a CD-R

o Portable Firefox: Deer Park - Try out the test version of Firefox 1.5

· Portable NVU - Run the NVU website editor from a removable/USB drive

· Portable Sunbird - Run the Mozilla Sunbird calendar from a removable/USB drive

· Portable Thunderbird - Run the Mozilla Thunderbird email client from a removable/USB drive

o Portable Thunderbird: Deer Park - Try out the test version of Thunderbird 1.5

You may also be interested in Portable OpenOffice, Portable AbiWord, Portable FileZilla and Portable Gaim.

This way, you can have the versatility of multiple-function operation without the burden of carrying your heavy laptop when you are on the move for mission work yet maximize ministry opportunities.

II. USE OF INTERNET FOR EVANGLEISM

I would like to express my appreciations to Tony Whittaker <tony@soon.org.uk> (webmaster of http://ied.gospelcom.net) for permission to show you two things:

(A) Making websites that are evangelistic – for details, visit the following site:

http://ied.gospelcom.net/index.php

(B) Ministry opportunities: Spare time and fulltime work in web evangelism

Visit the following site:

http://ied.gospelcom.net/vacancies.php

Making websites that are evangelistic

Websites offer us incredible power to share the Good News. But to make use of this potential, we must understand these six issues:

The nature of the Internet
It is a pull [www.web-evangelism.com/medium.php] medium. There is no automatic audience for any website. There are only three ways that someone will find a site:

using a search engine
following a link from another website
by a personal recommendation – in an email, on a contact card, in print, TV/radio etc.

The majority of website visits start through a search engine. Most other visits result from following recommended links on websites.

Because people are in control of which pages they visit, in general they only find sites they are searching for – those which correspond to their particular interests and needs. Only rarely do people find sites by accident about topics which do not interest them, and even more rarely will they linger at them. (If you have no interest in chess, when did you last accidentally find a chess website?)

The Web is non-linear and interactive
The outreach potential of the Web should not be seen primarily as ‘tracts online’. The Internet is a medium where people want choice, interaction, and a sense of community.
Most people are not seeking for God
Although research shows that a surprising number of people do search the Web on broadly ‘religious’ topics, we must assume that these relate to all types of religions, including searches for horoscopes, fortune telling, and similar New Age issues.

It is said that in any population at any one time, only about 2% of the people are knowingly seeking for God.

The Gray Matrix [www.web-evangelism.com/gray-matrix.php] is a valuable visual tool which helps us to understand the spiritual position of a person or group.

Most Christian websites are designed for Christians
The overwhelming majority of Christian websites are written purely for Christians, in terms of language and issues addressed. This can be called the 99 percent problem. [web-evangelism.com/99percent.php] The Body of Christ seems to spend most of its energies ministering to itself. Check the target audience of books and videos in any Christian bookshop, and do a count! Yes, of course we need feeding too – but to the end that we will have more to give than a ‘few crumbs under the table’.
Insider language excludes others
Many Christian websites, even those which hope to be evangelistic, tend to use Christian jargon. This may be incomprehensible to many non-Christians, and perceived as ‘church’ or ‘preachy’ by others. The result is that we tend to communicate well only to the ‘churched’ people (that is, those with some degree of church exposure in their lives), and fail to communicate with the much larger numbers of ‘unchurched’.

Jesus, by contrast, adjusted his language to his listeners, and most of his group evangelism took the form of stories in everyday language.

It is in fact possible – and highly preferable – to communicate the Gospel in easy neutral language. Arguably, the only religious words we need to use are ‘God’, ‘Jesus’, ‘Spirit’, ‘Bible’ and ‘heaven’. Everything else can be rephrased.

More:
• Avoiding Jargon – the words to avoid [www.web-evangelism.com/jargon.php]
• When Words Get in the Way – valuable advice from OnMission Magazine [www.onmission.com/webzine/jul_aug00]
• Free training video clips – TruthMedia.com resource on effective evangelistic writing and followup

Wise web communication
Effective web communication needs the gifts of a journalist, not a preacher or evangelist. You do not have a captive audience. Site visitors can leave at the click of a mouse. The Press has learned over many years how to engage with and retain an audience. Learn their secrets!

Strategies

So what strategies can we use to reach non-Christians effectively on the Internet? First let’s look at two types of outreach site: ‘gospel presentations’ and ‘evangelistic sites’.

Gospel Presentations
We define these as sites which focus mainly on the essentials of the Gospel. They may include some element of lead-in, but the primary focus is to explain the way of salvation. It is surprisingly hard to communicate the Gospel in a balanced biblical way, avoiding a cost-free ‘easy-believism’, while explaining the true nature of salvation by grace alone. IEC's Now Try God [www.NowTryGod.com] is a ‘gospel presentation’, view others here. [web-evangelism.com/gospel.php]

Gospel presentations can be easily found on search engines by people who are already seeking for the way of salvation. But in order to be read by a wider range of people, other strategies are needed. For instance, they are an ideal ‘find out more’ weblink for tracts, contact cards or radio/TV broadcasts.

They can also serve as ready-made gospel links for Christian pages. For instance church or other Christian websites can link directly to an existing presentation, rather than creating their own. Even sites with a Christian target readership such as this one, can link (see our page footer) to an existing gospel presentation. available for any non-Christians who happen to visit. Because there are so many good gospel presentations available, it is not always necessary to ‘reinvent the wheel’.

Evangelistic sites
These are distinguished from gospel presentations, by having content on a broader range of topics. They may well lead into a gospel presentation at their core, or they may link out to an existing presentation.

The big need is for many more sites of this type. But how can we draw visitors in to reach them?

The Bridge Strategy

“Bait the hook according to what the fish likes, not what the fisherman likes.”
- Hemingway

Here’s the logic:

Most non-Christians are not seeking for God.
Most online non-Christians have no wish to search for Christian websites.
All online non-Christians are searching for websites on needs they have, and topics that interest them.
Therefore to reach non-Christians, we must create websites around the topics and felt needs that they have. This is the Bridge Strategy.

It is “fishing on the other side of the boat”: John 21:5-6.

The Bridging Transition

A bridge site must be truly about the topic or need that is its starting point. There must be no sense of ‘bait and switch’ – this is not a ‘decoy trick’. But we can then transition across, with integrity, to:

testimony pages – of the webmaster, or other people associated with the site topic. (But don?t use the word ?testimony? – it is a jargon word. ?Life story? is much better.)
parallel pages: almost all secular topics contain embedded within them a spiritual parallel which can be drawn out.
‘meaning of life’ questions: pages which ask leading questions
a gospel presentation; the three previous categories of page can gently lead to an explanation of the way of salvation (within the site, or as an off-site link).

We are convinced that this Bridge Strategy [web-evangelism.com/bridge-strategy.php] is thoroughly justified biblically, and is a key to effective online outreach. For the first time, the Web allows us to target any affinity group of people with a high degree of precision, according to their interest, hobby, personal need, ethnic background or language.

What can we write Bridge pages about?

Anything! If you have a hobby or sport, you share that interest with millions of others. If you have come through a difficult personal problem or illness, you can be sure that is a felt need for millions of others. Do you have a professional interest? This is a wide-open field. The potential is mind-blowing.

Showcase examples of Bridge sites

You will see that different sites use the ‘bridge principle‘ in different ways. Some sites address personal interests or hobbies. Others are designed to meet people’s felt needs.

Women Today Magazine [www.womentodaymagazine.com] is a large and very effective site, which addresses women’s needs and issues. Because it is outwardly similar in appearance to a website which targets Christian women, it makes an excellent case study [web-evangelism.com/case-study.php] on how to target and write for non-Christians.
I am Next [www.iamnext.com] uses a similar magazine approach for the teen/student band. Note that the site does not appear blatantly Christian from the home page, though there are links indicating some spiritual content.
EveryStudent.com [www.everystudent.com] has a higher immediate spiritual profile than IamNext, with more apologetic material and answers to religious questions. Kristi and Patricia became Christians through this site: their stories.
Hobbit Lore [www.hobbitlore.com] is for Tolkein enthusiasts. The world is divided into those who don?t ‘get’ Middle-Earth, and those who do! This site targets, very effectively, those who do.
The Life [www.thelife.com] is one of several outreach sites which were developed in response to The Passion of the Christ film. It has been repositioned to take account of the tsunami tragedy. Cristina is one of many whose lives were touched through this site: her story.
Sport is a valuable starting point for an outreach site. To the Next Level [www.tothenextlevel.org] developed by Doug Reese, is one of a small number of sport-related sites which specifically target non-Christians, view other examples. [web-evangelism.com/sport-pages.php]
Health is one of the most-searched for topics on the Internet. There is a wide range of informational/diagnostic material online, and many support groups. Christians who suffer from a medical condition are well-placed to create a support site which can touch other sufferers. Unfortunately, a majority of such Christian sites position themselves as being for Christians suffering from the condition. This rather excludes non-Christians, and compromises any gentle evangelistic intent the writer may have had.

Examples of health sites which are accessible to non-Christians: here [web-evangelism.com/health.php]

Relationships are another area of felt need [web-evangelism.com/felt-needs.php] There is enormous potential within this subject. Outreach sites such as Women Today Magazine [www.womentodaymagazine.com] and MOPS [www.mops.org] frequently address relationship issues. A few other sites also cover them in a style designed, or least accessible, to non-Christians: examples. [web-evangelism.com/romance.php]
Children: there are sadly very few sites designed for unchurched children: possible reasons. [web-evangelism.com/children.php] Most assume Bible knowledge and resemble Sunday School lessons. Look at HiKidz [www.hikidz.com] for a bilingual outreach, Kids Ranch [www.kidsranch.org] for a different approach and Kings Call [www.kingscall.com] as an example of an evangelistic children’s game. See other examples of childrens pages and games [web-evangelism.com/kids.php]
Apologetics sites (i.e. reasoned answers to questions about faith) are usually written almost entirely for Christians. But sites which understand how to present these answers from an angle and in language that relates to non-Christians, can be very effective: examples. [web-evangelism.com/apologetics.php]
Hobbies offer huge potential for outreach. A hobby-based site has the potential to reach millions of like-minded people around the world. If you have a hobby – you are well-equipped to write about what you know! Another strategy which is grossly underused: examples. [web-evangelism.com/hobbies.php]
Community-based resource sites also have great potential. You can create a small portal for your town or area which draws together the best relevant local secular sites, but also includes outreach sites in appropriate categories: examples. [web-evangelism.com/community.php]

Other approaches and strategies

Outreach sites can complement other media, such as radio or print literature, and can also be specifically designed to draw people into face-to-face relationships. (Church websites are a prime example of this 'twin track' approach.) More on this topic. [web-evangelism.com/twintrack.php]

The popular ‘blog’ style of website can be used with many of these secular topics. There is an another advantage here: it is possible to use a blog provider and create a very professional-looking site with very little technical knowledge.

God is leading some Christians into very creative and unusual ways to grab attention for the Gospel: examples. [web-evangelism.com/creative.php]

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Printed from Internet Evangelism Day © Dec 2005
Can be freely reproduced in print for any non-profit situation with attribution to InternetEvangelismDay.com.

Subject:  articles for Global Missiology

Date:   Mon, 24 Oct 2005 10:14:55 +0100

From:

To:     editor@globalmissiology.org

Dear Enoch

I am the coordinator of Internet Evangelism Day

www.internetevangelismday.com

the editor of the Web Evangelism Guide, and a member of WEC

International.

I wonder if you would be interested in any articles relating to the

Internet and cross-cultural mission?

Blessings

Tony

http://ied.gospelcom.net/vacancies.php

Ministry opportunities

Sparetime and fulltime work in web evangelism

You want to be involved in some area of web evangelism? What next? First, two important statements:

You do not need to be technical – there are many options available for everyone.
Please take time to learn: we offer a range of training materials and books on our Training page. We all need equipping for any type of Christian ministry, and web evangelism is no exception.

Find/start your own

If you want to be involved in web evangelism on a sparetime basis at home, here are suggestions:

Opportunity	Description
Chat room evangelism	Work at home as an individual. Or join a small team to co-operate and learn together
Create a website	Consider the great potential of a Bridge Strategy site on a secular topic that interests you – for instance your hobby. Remember, there are huge needs for evangelistic sites in non-English languages. If you are not technical, you can build a site using a CMS template system
Church website	Create or assist your church in production of an effective site
Counseling/ mentoring	Offer support and advice to inquirers to an evangelistic or church website
Other ministries	Be pro-active: find an online ministry with an agenda you identify with, and contact them directly. Many such sites are linked to in the Web Evangelism Guide and in the twice-monthly Bulletin email newsletter. Some members of the Internet Evangelism Coalition may also need volunteers.

Opportunities available with different ministries

The following ministries can use unpaid sparetime volunteers. These opportunities are posted in good faith – we believe these ministries are, to the best of our knowledge, worthwhile in practice and orthodox in belief, but you must make your own judgement about them. Volunteers must expect to go through an application and vetting process; it is likely that an organization may wish to take up references about you with your church leaders.

A few of these ministries also offer fulltime ministry in online evangelism. Often, these will require applicants to raise their own support.

Organization/contact person	Opportunity
Email addresses are not clickable: copy/paste to your email program and then add back an '@' sign by hand	Short description of work involved
AllAboutGod.com RandallAllAboutGOD.com	• Writing, editing • Email counseling • Providing biblical answers/response • Administration
www.Cristoweb.com jchukscristoweb.com	• Email counselors and evangelists • Article writers • Translators (English to Spanish) • US liaison representative
www.e610.com e610e610.com	• Writing • Posting articles • Website housekeeping (using website and reporting broken links, etc.)
www.EveryStudent.com Marilyn.Adamsonuscm.org	• Promote the site in personal conversations or in major promotion • Write & submit articles to effectively help college students understand either who God is or what it might be like to know Him. Write for unbelievers, in conversational & interesting style.
GlobalMediaOutreach.com Marnie.Rinkerccci.org	• Email Responders: Answer emails from seekers and inquirers • Prayer Team Coordinators: Collect, develop, publish and post content for weekly prayer letter • Research Coordinators: Research countries to be profiled in newsletter • Web Site Designers: Collaborate with Chief Technology Officer to design site content • Graphic Artists: Assist design for GMO brochures, posters or websites • Computer Input Assistants: Computer data entry • Prayer Partners: Sign up on website for weekly prayer letter; agree to pray regularly for GMO ministry
www.iamnext.com marc.mikitkacrusade.org jackieiamnext.com	• Online Mentors: Email counseling, evangelism and discipleship • Mentor Coordinator: Manage mentoring requests; assign emails to mentors • Writers: Offer relevant insight to university students’ concerns, touching hearts, minds and spirits • Poster Girl/Boy: Post honest, funny, incisive, intelligent, down-to-earth reactions to website articles, to help stimulate conversation and build online community • Spinmeister: Create short (10-30 word) summaries for each online article. Requires ability to synthesize, creativity and a facility with language to help move reader from site entry point to Gospel. Especially important for French site, www.ilyaplus.com
This site: InternetEvangelismDay.com email	• Experienced publicists to write and circulate news releases and promote IE Day to denominations, Christian leaders and news media • Technical experts for occasional consultations on style, coding, and graphic design, including creation of occasional graphics • Experienced counselors to give email advice and mentoring to non-Christians with life problems, arising from an evangelistic site • Full-time/part-time database expert based in Derby UK
www.probe.org fieldfibertel.com.ar (for Spanish) sueprobe.org (for Chinese)	• Translators (English to Spanish) • Translators (English to Chinese)
www.responsecenters.org To contact Ministry Response Centers, follow instructions on website.	• Email interaction with seekers and inquirers • Note: This site coordinates online follow-up for a growing number of ministries and seeks to blend high-tech with high-touch, personalized, prompt response.
www.truthmedia.com To contact Truth Media, follow instructions on the website	• Mentoring • Prayer • Writing articles • Witing your life story • Chat participation • Chat hosting
www.acts-on-the-net.org infoacts-on-the-net.org	Write your own page about a hobby or interest, to be posted on the Acts website.
www.worldlinc.org To contact CCCI WorldLinc, follow links on website	Full-time opportunities: admin/support, software development, server administrator, webpage designer, writer/editor, site administrator, translator, Spanish webmaster. Part-time opportunities: translators, web designers.
www.techmission.org To contact TechMission, follow instructions on the website	Training, encouragement and support, to teach IT skills to disadvantaged communities, anywhere in the world. Follow the ‘get involved’ menu link.
www.aibi.ph johnaibi.ph	Sparetime: co-ordinators for online courses in Russian and Thai. PHP/MySQL/Linux programmers, and help with security for CAN nations. Pastors/Bible college graduates as online facilitators for online learning courses. Course content developers. Graphic artists/web designers to upgrade website.

Send us your opportunities

We are happy to post other opportunities on this page. Please note: they must be directly related to online evangelism. Web-related opportunities in, for example, an evangelistic or mission agency, where the target audience is the ministry’s Christian support base, are outside our scope. To be added to this page, opportunities should primarily be outreach to non-Christians, or mentoring and discipling new Christians. Use the brief descriptive style displayed on this page.

You may find broader career opportunities at churchstaffing.com/lifeway and christiancareercenter.com. In UK, see Christian Jobs.

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