Internet evangelist

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An Internet evangelist is a person who uses the Internet to present a religious viewpoint such as Christianity to the world.

Today, there are many ministers who have Internet ministries and who practice evangelism on the Internet. Internet evangelism can be carried on in any number of ways, including one on one chat room ministry, web information ministry and Christian books. It is a ministry which can be fulfilled by an individual at home, or a major web outreach team who produce a portfolio of evangelistic sites.

Churches can reach out into the community through their Church websites, though research shows that very few church sites are user-friendly for non-Christians.^[1] and would benefit from the analysis provided by a Self-Assessment Tool. It is currently quite popular to put streaming audio and video sermons and entire church services online that can be experienced via the Internet. There are even Internet based churches online. Bible College courses are now also offered via the Internet.

Methodology and strategies for Internet evangelism are explained in the Web Evangelism Guide. One important method of gaining attention from non-Christians is the "Bridge Strategy".^[2]

The Internet Evangelism Coalition has initiated an annual worldwide focus day to help Christians understand more of the potential for online evangelism. The first Internet Evangelism Day was held in April 2005, and the next is scheduled for April 29, 2007.^[3]

There are a number of opportunities for distance learning and training in web evangelism.^[4]

Some organizations plan special training sessions, such as the Liberty University MA Communication Studies "Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century" held April 1-2, 2005, with sessions available online in mpeg and DVD. The Internet Evangelism Coalition also holds regular conferences, as do other organizations.^[5]

[edit] Other uses

Internet Evangelist can also mean "someone who actively promotes the benefits of Internet technology." For example Vinton G. Cerf of Google has Internet Evangelist as his job description.