by Dr. Rev. Arne H. Fjeldstad

I have made a number of new friends during the past years. In some
strange way they have become part of my life. We have various interest
in common.

We spend quite a lot of time discussing and sharing information as
well as engaging in much "small talk." Actually, some of them
are much more outspoken and direct than many of my other friends.
Perhaps even quarrelsome, always disputing another’s opinion. I have
come to experience them as very emotional, with a rich variety of strong
opinions, with some shouting and a lot of smiling. On the other hand,
they are also very easy to get in touch with and always ready to answer
a new question. They are honest and astonishingly open, sometimes even
intimate. I have learned a lot not only from them but also about them;
their thoughts, feelings, lives; more than I have with many of my other
friends.

They are my invisible friends. I have never seen even one of them.
Never met any of them face to face in real life. They are all a part of
my virtual community. Friends chosen out of common interests living in
very different parts of the world with days of travel in between. Yet
they live not more than a few minutes away. They are all friends I have
met on the Internet.

100 million with access to the Net

The Internet has become a part of everyday life for millions of
people around the world. According to Nua Internet Surveys "there
are currently just over 100 million people online at the end of
1997." Nua believes there will be at least 150 million Internet
users by the end of 1998. Other analysts are predicting that by the end
of 2000 there will be as many as 200 million people with Internet
access. However, the number of people with access to the Net is mainly
from the US & Canada (64 million), Europe (ca. 20 million),
Asia/Pacific (14 million) and the Middle East 4 million. Only 1 million
people living in Africa have access to Internet and about the same
number from South America.(Nua Internet Surveys, January 12, 1998 at
http://www.nua.ie/surveys/).

There is still a lot to do before people from all parts of the world
have equal access to the Internet. Research also indicates that areas
with many poor families have a low rate of Internet access in the United
States. Without "Internet literacy" people may loose the
battle for education and work in the years to come.

But the Net has come to stay. And it will continue to change the way
people live and communicate; just like the refrigerator, TV or any other
item that has become a normal part of a household. Only during the first
week of the Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan there were 316 million visits
to the official Net site. With ca. 50 million visits a day the Internet
has become an important source for information for millions of people
together with TV, radio and other media.

Actually, radio and video has become a part of the Net. Today one
can listen to radio broadcasts over the Internet, or watch TV-news in a
small window on the PC. In the years to come improved technology will
enhance the technical quality and provide a much faster and
user-friendly environment for interaction and communication across the
globe.

A Global Market-place for Religions

The Internet is truly a battlefield for the human mind. There is an
interesting openness among many "Netizens" (people
"inhabiting" the Internet) for new ideas and new values in
life. This openness may well be connected with excitement for new
technologies and willingness to explore new inventions and challenge the
boundaries of the human mind. With reference to the famous words of Paul
on Areopagus one can surely say, "Humans of cyberspace! I see that
in every way you are very religious." (Acts 17:22)

The Internet provides in many ways a confused and twisted mirror of
our postmodern world with plenty of cults and room for "private
religion" of virtually (sic!) any fashion. Dr. Stephen O’Leary is
right when he observes that something revolutionary is taking place.
"If current trends hold, computer and computer networks will play
an increasingly significant role in the religions of the future",
says O’Leary, and concludes: "It does not seem too far-fetched to
think of cyber-communication as coming to play a major role in the
spiritual sustenance of postmodern humans. The possibilities are
endless. Online confessions? Eucharistic rituals, more weddings, seders,
witches’ sabbaths? There will be many such experiments." (Stephen
D. O’Leary, "Cyberspace as Sacred Space: Communicating Religion on
Computer Networks." in Journal of the American Academy of Religion,
64 (4) 1996, 805.)

Not all the virtual expressions of human religiosity deserve to be
taken seriously. The tragic event in San Diego March 1997 where 39
people, many recruited via the Internet, were found dead in an apparent
mass suicide serve as an alarming illustration, a challenge for
Christians to present the good news in a new reality.

10,000 Christian Web Sites

However, the majority of "religious Web sites" are
connected to Christianity. At least 10,000 churches and Christian
ministries are present on the Net in the beginning of 1998. Anyone with
a PC (or Macintosh), a modem and a telephone line can explore a
multitude of resources. Intomki maintains that there are currently
around 100 million documents online and predict that there will be up to
800 million documents online by 2000.

Each person using the Net can choose his or her level of involvement
from just looking at some home pages, downloading an illustration or
software, join an e-mail group or participate in real-time online
"chat groups." One can

visit cyberchurches or local churches for an on-line sermon,
devotion or other spiritual nourishment. search multiple Bible
translations (even in languages such as French, German, Spanish,
Italian, Tagalog and others) electronically. correspond with overseas
missionaries without paying expensive long-distance phone charges. share
your prayer concerns with friends, and be of help to them. read (or
download) articles in current issues of many Christian magazines without
a subscription. listen to Christian music, radio broadcasts, video, etc.
read (or download) free copies of classic works by Augustine, Calvin,
Luther and many more. participate in e-mail conferences on topics of
special interest to you (or even start your own!)

Helping people to Christ on the Net

Even more important is the fact that people come to faith in Christ
via the Net. In an international survey among "cyberchurches"
and other churches on Internet ca. 45 percent of the participants
confirmed that one or more people had come to Christ as a result of
their ministry in cyberspace. The survey documents that thousands of
people visit Christian homepages on the Net every week. Some of the
participants in the survey got several hundreds of prayer requests
during a month. Theanswers clearly stated how the Internet is a global
medium where people can interact no matter how far apart they live in
real life. A majority of the participants received more than a hundred
responses during a year, many from outside their local area, just
because of their presence on the Net. It is really true that a small
church or ministry can have a much greater impact through the Internet
than their actual size might indicate.

Anonymity may be a help for some to share their questions and
concerns about faith and life. Many people join the Net from their homes
where they feel relaxed and safe. This may also give a good atmosphere
for an open conversation. The Internet is strangely personal and many
people surfing the Net are looking for relationships. As in broadcasting
there is a need for follow-up by real people. Many cyberchurches also
encourage their visitors to become a part of a local church. As The
Cross Ministries says, "Should you replace your local church with
The Cross? Absolutely not! Your local church is a vital element of your
spiritual strength and growth. Because while we can be a lot for you, we
cannot serve you as your local church can serve you. Real human touch, a
handshake, even a proper hug, are absolutely necessary. As is the gentle
glow of a caring smile, and a heart reaching out to you, asking
"How are you today .. really?"

Internet missionaries needed!

The Internet provides an open, non-judgmental marketplace where
people can leave some of their prejudices behind. It is an exciting new
opportunity for evangelism. In the same way as the church sent Barnabas
and Paul, and millions more missionaries to the whole world throughout
the centuries, the churches need to commission dedicated men and women
to penetrate the Internet, presenting the gospel and modeling a
holistic, Christian life. A major model for this could be
"friendship evangelism," calling Christians of any
denomination to join the more than 20,000 active user groups and e-mail
conferences on almost any imaginable subject, to explore the tremendous
opportunities of international interaction and building real friendships
where sharing the faith in Jesus Christ is a natural thing to do.

The Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) challenges every Christian to
"go and make disciples of all nations." Jesus commissions us
to care for our fellow human beings who have not yet accepted the good
news of eternal life by actively "going and finding" them.
Today the Commission must be extended to any "reality" in
which people interact and communicate within, so that the true good news
may become a life-changing reality to many more people. In a real sense,
communication is normally not only to "transmit" a message via
an external tool (like radio, TV, etc.) but to be willing to go in
person, like a missionary.

Every Christian, church or ministry on the Internet needs to regard
oneself as an "ambassador for Christ" ( 2 Cor 5:20) and
recognize his or her vitally important potential for doing holistic,
mission-focused work in a cross-cultural reality. Yet it is crucial that
any church or ministry on the Net be prepared and has a clear commitment
and strategy.

Doing high impact ministries on the Net does not necessarily require
a lot of resources in terms of people, staff and money. Many virtual
churches are run by one or two people only, yet they have already made
high quality Web sites and are communicating and affecting thousands of
people worldwide.

The very basic challenge will be to strengthen the idea of a
God-given reality, of revealed truth which is valid throughout eternity
by proclaiming the God-given ability of relationships and stimulating
real interaction. God, or Jesus, is not "virtual" and
"relative" depending upon whatever perception of history or
reality a person might have. We confess the God of history and his
interaction with the human world through Jesus Christ as an objective
truth. At the same time we are challenged by the new tools of modern
computer technology to not only proclaim the good news of the gospel in
the virtual world but as active participants in the many forums of this
society to manifest a "Christ-like" lifestyle as a holistic
witness of a uncompromisingly real, living faith.

Values are Real also on the Net

On a personal level, the visible expression of a Christian lifestyle
in virtual communities will become ever more important. If we believe
that the 10 Commandments are not "out of date" or invalid as
moral principles in our personal lives or in society as a whole, we need
to be consistent in our ethical values for the Internet community. It
cannot be claimed that the acts performed on the Net are not
"real" and therefore do not have consequences for our everyday
life in a human society. Sexual conduct on the Net is not only a matter
of stretching moral limits in a world "out there" but has
severe implications on real interaction among humans in "real
life." Life on the Internet is in no way morally neutral.

A Christian presence on the Net also implies a clear witness of a
holistic ethical and spiritual lifestyle. In a virtual community where
values are constantly challenged, shaped and reshaped, an inclusive,
loving and mature Christian life is and will be as strong a witness as
in real life. It definitely has profound opportunities for influencing
people’s real lives. The intimate and affective attitudes in many
virtual forums may provide unique opportunities for deep-level impact
from active believers living out their faith also in the virtual world.

Cyberspace belongs to God

The cyberspace belongs to God, as does the rest of the Creation.
God’s people need to be there to pray, present and embody the love of
Christ to the very real, living person at the other end. Yet in the
midst of all techniques, methods and technologies we must constantly
keep in mind that this must never become a substitute for Scripture.
Christian churches and ministries must fervently use whatever technology
or medium suitable for the task to communicate the gospel and glorify
God. When doing this we need to be reminded of the early church, as
René Padilla says, "The picture of the church that one
derives from the New Testament is certainly not that of a powerful
organization that has achieved success in its conquest of the world by
the masterly use of human devices and techniques. It is rather the
picture of a community experiencing a new (supernatural) reality, the
Kingdom of God, to which "the Lord called day by day those who were
being saved." As Michael Green has put it, "In the early
church the maximum impact was made by the changed lives and quality of
community among the Christians." Changed lives and quality of
community, that is to say, faithfulness to the gospel in practical life,
do not come through technology but through the Word and the Spirit of
God. Technology will never make up for our failure to let the gospel
mold our lives!" (Arne H. Fjeldstad, Communicating Christ on the
Information Superhighway, D. Min. dissertation at Fuller Theological
Seminary, Pasadena, Summer 1997, 248.).l

More information about Internet evangelism and cyberchurches etc. is
available at the author’s home pages:

http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/1541/

Reproduced with permission of the Lausanne website –
http://www.lausanne.org