The Role of the Church & the Internet

The following material is adapted as bullet points from research done between June and July in 2006. The research was conducted in preparation for a presentation given to pastors and clergy during a symposium in the July of the same year.

The primary purpose of this research about the role of the church and the internet

Our primary task is to:

Work to discover the role of the Church and the Internet

In order to do this, we will educate ourselves about the Internet:

Population
What people do
Religious activities
Survey the mission field
Review types of online church activities
Discuss the uniqueness of internet evangelism
Briefly examine example tools of the trade

We Begin by asking questions

What is the role of the church in the world?
What is the role of the church in art?
What is the role of the church in media?

Believers Are Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-15

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

There are four components involved in being salt and light on the internet.

Visibility
Accessibility
Presence
Commitment to engage

Exploring the Internet Mission Field

Most of the following statistics are taken directly from various resources found at the Pew Internet and American Life Project

How many people are on the Internet?

North America has approximately 223,392,807 internet users
This is approximately 68% of the population
A 106.7 % growth since 2000
About 97 million people use it each day
63% of the adults in the country
81% of the nation’s teenagers

Worldwide there are approximately 938,710,929 users
- Approx. 14.6 % of the population
- A 160.0 % growth since 2000

Online Population Stats: Growth Continues

Internet usage among all countries continue to increase
Significant growth has occurred in:
- Africa
- The Middle East
- Latin America

Matthew 9

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

What are people doing on the Internet?

On a typical day:

5 million people post or share some kind of material on the Web through their own Web logs (or “blogs”) or other content-creating applications;
at least 4 million share music files on peer-to-peer networks;
3 million people use the internet to rate a person, product or service.

Pew Internet and American Life Project – Trends 2005

Online Activities

Send e-mail – 91%
Use a search engine to find information – 84%
Search for a map or driving directions – 84%
Do an internet search to answer a specific question – 80%
Research a product or service before buying it – 78%
77% - Look for info on a hobby or interest
72% - Get news
66% - Look for health/medical info
58% - Look for political news/info
58% - Go to a website that provides info or support for a specific medical condition or personal situation
57% - Research for school or training
56% - Watch a video clip or listen to an audio clip

Important Observations

Many of the activities involve information gathering and searching. While on the net, people are in the information gathering mode.

People are also conducting relationship-based activity.

Religious Activity on the Net

More People Use Christian Media Than Attend Church

The Internet is the only mass medium … whose audience share has grown during the past decade. The proportion of the population using the Internet for faith purposes has increased by two-thirds since 1998.

-- Barna Research, March 14, 2005

The following comes from Faith Online: Pew Internet & American Life project published April 7th, 2004 (http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Faith_Online_2004.pdf)

The United States has approximately 128 million Internet users
64% of the nation’s 128 million Internet users have done things online that relate to religious or spiritual matters.
Nearly two-thirds of the adults who use the Internet in the United States have used the Internet for faith-related matters. That represents nearly 82 million Americans.

Among the most popular and important spiritually related online activities:

38% of the 128 million Internet users have sent and received email with spiritual content.
35% have sent or received online greeting cards related to religious holidays.
32% have gone online to read news accounts of religious events and affairs.
21% have sought information about how to celebrate religious holidays.
17% have looked for information about where they could attend religious services.
Some 28% of the online faithful said they had used the Internet to seek or exchange information about their own religious faith or tradition with others
26% said they had used the Internet to seek or exchange information about the religious faiths or traditions of others

Most said they do it out of curiosity

Church activity on the net

The following comes from:

Wired churches, wired temples: Taking congregations and missions into cyberspace -- Pew Internet & American Life Project

Over 1,300 congregations responded to an email from the Pew Internet & American Life Project and filled out an online survey that asked how they built and use their Web sites, how congregations and leaders use email, and whether their use of Internet tools has helped the spiritual and everyday life of their members.

Congregational life on the Web

83% of those responding to the survey say that their use has helped congregational life – 25% say it has helped a great deal.
81% say the use of email by ministers, staffs, and congregation helps the spiritual life of the congregation to some extent – 35% a great deal.
91% say email has helped congregation members and members of the staff stay more in touch with each other – 51% say it has helped a great deal.
63% say email has helped the congregation connect at least a bit more to the surrounding community – 17% say it has helped a lot.

What churches are contemplating next on their Web sites

29% say they might add photographs of congregation events to their sites.
27% hope to post material for teens and their youth group.
22% want to provide space for prayer requests.
22% are thinking of including a sign-up feature for classes and programs.
18% want to provide links to scripture studies and devotional material.
16% are thinking of providing links to community sites such as the local media, the government, and festivals.

Internet use by clergy & pastors

81% have gotten information for worship services.
77% have sought information on the Bible, Torah, or other scriptures.
72% have gotten devotional resources.
72% have gathered information for education programs.
59% have hunted for information on matters of doctrine.
57% have gotten information on other denominations and faiths.
54% have sought information on matters of faith.

The Internet can be a hostile and confusing land

New and rapidly changing technology, unknown terms, scams, viruses, spy-ware, “phishing”, identify theft, credit card fraud
Not a lot of patience with new users on community sites
Bogus and unreliable information
People don’t know what to believe or trust

Therefore…
People need a place of refuge, someone to guide and help them

Example: A place to turn - after 9/11

Internet Evangelism: Revolutionary & Unique Online Evangelism : A guide to Web Outreach

This material is comes directly from http://guide.gospelcom.net/index.php and should be read there in full context.

An incredible new technology enables the transmission of text on a worldwide basis. It rapidly reduces production and distribution costs and for the first time allows large numbers of people to access text and pictures in their own homes.

The invention of 'movable type' by Gutenberg – the printing press.

transformed education, learning, evangelism and communication
laid the foundations for the Renaissance, the arts, sciences, and the world as we know it today

The digital revolution is bringing about a similar huge change in evangelism, Christian discipleship and community, in ways which are only just beginning.

-- (http://guide.gospelcom.net/index.php )

The "99% problem"

99% of Christian books [and media] are written only for Christians, using Christian language, thought-forms and assumptions
Some Christians believe that "because it is Christian, it is evangelistic". But this is not usually true.

Why the Web is a different medium

Push

Print, video, radio and TV are mainly 'push' mediums, sending out a consecutive ('linear') prepared message, usually only to a single area of the world.

Pull

The Web is a 'pull' medium. It pulls in visitors on the basis of a defined interest. It is global: anyone, anywhere - in China or the Middle East - can find a page in seconds.

Two-way

Unique property of the Internet is interactivity. Build 'community' around a website 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. Interaction is very important. Very few people become Christians just by reading something.

All mediums are not the same

TV is not just radio with pictures. Print is not just speech written down.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 'work with the grain' of an interactive medium where the user is in control.

Web communications tools and Types of Online Evangelism Activities

HTML
Database-driven websites
Flash
Forums
Chat
Blogs
Podcasts
Wiki
CMS

Audio/Video -- MP3, Real Audio, Movies
IM

Types of Online Evangelism Activities

Chat
IM
Blogs

http://www.blogs4god.com/

Forums/community sites

http://www.christianforums.c...

General publishing (articles)
Pod casting

http://www.podcastdirectory....

Online education
Digital tracts

Online magazines

Women’s Magazine
Poetry

Internet Radio/Video

Conclusions and Questions to ask ourselves: Discover our Role and the Church as Internet Evangelism

What is Internet Evangelism?
How is Internet Evangelism primarily informational?
How can Internet Evangelism be relational?

Community sites – (another two stories)
Bridge sites

What is not Internet Evangelism?
Is explaining the details of Christianity or church history considered evangelism?
Is there a difference between Internet Evangelism and Church Mission?
What evangelism are you currently doing online?
What would you like to be doing?
Share with us what you’d like to accomplish.
What did you want out of this article that you did not get yet?

Discuss the Role of the Church and the Internet

Appendix: The Role of the Church and the Internet Tract

The following material has been excerpted from the excellent tract offered by The Society of Archbishop Justus and may be read in full context at: http://justus.anglican.org/r...

The Church has a two-fold aim in regard to the media. One aspect is to encourage their right development and right use for the sake of human development, justice, and peace—for the up building of society at the local, national, and community levels in light of the common good and in a spirit of solidarity. Considering the great importance of social communications, the Church seeks “honest and respectful dialogue with those responsible for the communications media”—a dialogue that relates primarily to the shaping of media policy. “On the Church's side this dialogue involves efforts to understand the media—their purposes, procedures, forms and genres, internal structures and modalities—and to offer support and encouragement to those involved in media work. On the basis of this sympathetic understanding and support, it becomes possible to offer meaningful proposals for removing obstacles to human progress and the proclamation of the Gospel”.

But the Church's concern also relates to communication in and by the Church herself. Such communication is more than just an exercise in technique, for it “finds its starting point in the communion of love among the divine Persons and their communication with us”, and in the realization that Trinitarian communication “reaches out to humankind: The Son is the Word, eternally ‘spoken' by the Father; and in and through Jesus Christ, Son and Word made flesh, God communicates himself and his salvation to women and men”.

God continues to communicate with humanity through the Church, the bearer and custodian of his revelation, to whose living teaching office alone he has entrusted the task of authentically interpreting his word. Moreover, the Church herself is a communion, a communion of persons and eucharistic communities arising from and mirroring the communion of the Trinity; communication therefore is of the essence of the Church. This, more than any other reason, is why “the Church's practice of communication should be exemplary, reflecting the highest standards of truthfulness, accountability, sensitivity to human rights, and other relevant principles and norms”.

The answer might sound very simplistic, but we think it’s the answer just the same: Learn how to use the internet, or how better to use the internet, in your church. Use it for mission, to spread the Word of God. Use it for community, to talk to one another. Use it for administration, to save money, and to draw closer the populace and the administration of the church. If you do this, and God calls you to do something specific, you will know it when the time comes.

If you are one of the Church’s thinkers, a theologian, an ordained, a doctoral candidate, a lecturer, then you should try to engage with the moral and ethical issues raised by the internet and its use, some of which are touched on in this paper. The internet needs serious and informed study of these points, and the Church should involve itself in them.
If you are a Christian who is not part of the structure of the church, make sure you let your Christian values and behavior shine through on the internet the same way that you let it shine through in your daily life.