"The Internet has some unique advantages for Christians who want to reach their world for Christ. … Believers can share the Gospel with others halfway around the world from the privacy of their own homes."
(SAN DIEGO, CA)—To help make the Christian community aware of the evangelistic opportunities on the Web, April 26 has been designated Internet Evangelism Day by a coalition of ministries including the American Tract Society, the Billy Graham Center, Christianity Today, Mission America, and others.
Internet use has skyrocketed in the past 8 years. At the end of 2000, there were 105 million Internet users in North American, and today there are over 250 million. But that 132% increase is dwarfed by what has happened in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Internet use has soared by 475% in Asia, 1,100% in Africa and 1,200% in the Middle East in less than a decade.
Today, nearly 1.6 billion people use the Internet, 24% of the world population.
Sterling Houston, Director of North American Ministries, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and chair of the Internet Evangelism Coalition (IEC) said, "The Internet has some unique advantages for Christians who want to reach their world for Christ. With information available 24 hours a day and an instantaneous reach across time zones and national boundaries, Believers can share the Gospel with others halfway around the world from the privacy of their own homes."
The director of www.AllAboutGod.com, Randall Niles, said, "People have spiritual questions! Guess what? They're not all walking into churches and asking pastors for the answers. The research shows that an increasing number of people are seeking their answers on the Internet. The key is for the Body of Christ to meet these people right where they are."
The goals of Internet Evangelism Day are to:
* Increase Christian understanding and awareness of the Internet as a medium for sharing the faith.
* Provide insights into outreach strategies that fit with the Web's intrinsic properties and strengths.
* Help churches create new websites, or modify their existing pages, to become user-friendly and attractive to non-Christians in the community.
* Call people into Web ministry outreach, including Christian writers.
* Challenge existing Web evangelism ministries to help ministries and missions not currently involved in web evangelism, and to investigate how they might move into this field.
www.InternetEvangelismDay.com has a wealth of resources including PowerPoints, videos, and printable handouts and posters that can be used by churches and other groups to raise Internet evangelism awareness.
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