It is essential to understand the nature of the Web if we are to use it effectively for evangelism.
Linear versus interactive
Print, video, and radio are mainly linear mediums. They communicate by sending out a consecutive ('linear') prepared message, usually only to a single area of the world. Although some satellite/cable TV now allows interaction, the user is essentially a passive recipient. The interactive Web, however, places the user in control.
Push versus pull
Literature distribution can be defined as a 'push' medium. A standard message is 'broadcast' to
all recipients, irrespective of their interests or situation. In places where there are few
channels of radio or TV to choose from, those broadcasts are largely also 'push' - the users take
it or leave it. The Web however is a 'pull' medium. It pulls in visitors - though only on the
basis of a defined interest.
The Web is not designed to send out generalized information to a relatively random audience
(like the local radio that people may listen to with half an ear, all day), but to draw selected
people to very specific information on thousands of subjects. The difference is critical. There is no
automatic audience. People usually only go to pages on subjects they are searching for.
Unless you understand how to draw people through a network of links to your
website you can end up with zero visitors.
The Web is most like a vast library and generally surfers do not
visit web-pages by accident any more than they take out a library book by accident.
The Internet is not passive like listening to radio, rather the surfer is always active -
clicking, searching, reading, browsing and intentionally navigating through cyberspace.
Thus the web surfer is a self-directed seeker driven by curiosity traveling through a community
of hyper-links. So you have somehow to be connected to where that person is
now if they are ever to reach you.
But do it right, and the incredible advantage of the Web is that it is global: anyone, anywhere
- in China or the Middle East - can find in a few seconds a page that matches their interest.
For the first time in history, using the Bridge Strategy, we can target any affinity group, any ethnic/linguistic grouping,
any interest, any need, on a worldwide basis.
Two-way
The other unique property of the Internet is interactivity. Not only are users in control of which pages to visit, they can also send feedback to a webmaster. They can easily ask questions, receive help and advice, leave comments in a guest-book, or discuss issues on a Bulletin board or an email discussion group.
This option to
build community around a website is very important. It helps people feel wanted and that their opinions are valued. It gives them a place where they can ask questions in a safe way, when perhaps they would not do that face-to-face.
It can be a place where their deepest heart needs for relationship can be met, at least to a
certainly level, in a non-threatening environment.
For evangelistic websites, this interaction is very important. Very few people become Christians
just by reading something. Conversion is usually a long process, and involves friendly interaction
with people who are already Christians. Think back to how you became a Christian. For most
people, seeing the life of Jesus in someone else, usually through experiencing friendship,
is the most powerful witness. And finding out that Jesus can meet our felt needs
is very often a big step in the journey.
All mediums are not the same
TV is not just radio with pictures. Print is not just speech written down. So too the Web should not be
seen as just another way of delivering tracts or sermons. It is a revolutionary medium which
can be used for evangelism if we understand its unique dynamic and
develop strategies
which understand and 'work with the grain' of this interactive medium where the user is in control. It is, without exaggeration, a 'new wine' which needs 'new wineskins' in order to be at its best.
- Missions In Cyberspace - overview of web evangelism by John Edmiston - extracts from this long but insightful article appear on this page.
- Good Documents - explains how to communicate online and why the Web differents from print
- Socio-Technical Humanity - Christian perspective on how we can integrate technology and spirituality
A Learning Fountain
Web marketer Paul Siegel defines different 'pull' pages that help people learn about things they
are searching for, as a
Learning Fountain.
He divides them into five categories:
- Referer: a directory or search engine
- Informer: presents useful information
- Advisor: offers visitors useful advice and solves their problems
- Context Provider: presents a problem-solving tool that enables vistors to solve their own problems
- Learning Community Stimulator: designed to get visitors involved in helping each other
Many of the strategies in this Guide fit into this very useful concept.
The 99 percent problem
There are enormous numbers of Christian websites - and church sites outnumber all others by 5 to 1.
But, just as with literature and videos - the overwhelming majority, let's say 99 percent - are written
almost entirely for Christian readers, in terms of language, assumptions, and the needs they
address. There remains a desperate need for more cutting-edge evangelistic sites in English, and
even more in other languages.