The rapid growth of the Internet has yet to challenge church leadership to plan and to move forward with a dynamic Internet ministry. A purposeful church Web site can be a part of meeting the needs of the church and mankind in the 21st Century. This could incorporate announcements, listing of new members, biblical education, study guides, calendars of events, computer, and Internet training for children two years and up. The Internet is immediate in time, postage free, and worldwide in distribution. An Internet ministry can replace a weekly or monthly newsletter, audio and video tape ministries with an on-line video and audio ministry. Church members can take on special responsibilities in the church from their homes and can serve the Lord anytime day or night with a world wide database of Christian knowledge. Some, lacking Internet experience, have not seen the vision of the future byn thinking of the Internet as a church ministry.

The Value of the Internet as a Christian Ministry

What is the value of the Internet in conversions and living a spiritual life? Many churches only think along the traditional lines of conversion and spiritual living. Church web sites are often designed as e-brochures and e-billboards on the Internet super highway. They often lack the purpose and mission of the church, which is e-vangelism. An Internet team of volunteers and/or web ministers working together on various parts of the church web site can present a program of spiritual enrichment. The church web site, ever changing, can develop into a useable and dynamic ministry for e-vangelism for church members, the community, and the World. I am both dreaming and seeing visions. I know that some of the present generation have seen the coming of the Model T car, electric lights, radios with tubes, television, central heat and air conditioning, public address systems, fax machines, copiers, telephones, telephones without cords, audio and video tapes for the work of evangelism by the church. Now, WHY NOT THE INTERNET? Every church member, as a minister of reconciliation of man to God, can help make this dream or vision come true. Joel, God's prophet, captures my vision with these words: "your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions . . . upon whom . . . will I pour out my spirit." (Joel 2:28).

Church leaders that do not using the Internet are finding that they and their churches are falling behind the times. At the present time, 42% of the American households have a computer and most are on the Internet or using e-mail. By 2002, 52% will be on the Internet. Yet, of those using the Internet today, only 3% were on the Internet 27 months ago. Even Amway will sell by way of the Internet under the name Quixtar (pronounced QuickStar). Very few churches were on the Internet three years ago, but they knew they had to keep up with the Jones' and have a presence on the Web. Most churches lack the vision of the potential of the Internet for conversions, church planting, and spiritual growth for their church members and the world. The Barna Research Group of Ventura, California states:

"Our research indicates that by 2010 we will probably have 10% to 20% of the population relying primarily or exclusively upon the Internet for its religious input. Those people will never set foot on a church campus because their religious and spiritual needs will be met through other means - including the Internet. Whether or not the cyberchurch is a "true" church may not be pressing an issue as what current church leaders will do about the inevitable gravitation of tens of millions of people away from the existing church and how they can help to shape this emerging church form." (The Cyberchurch Is Coming: National Survey of Teenagers Shows Expectation of Substituting Internet for Corner Church <http://www.barna.org/PressCyberChurch.htm>)

Some may say that I am taking this verse (Prov. 29:18) out of context to explain the changes that have taken place in the church during the Twentieth Century, but it still gives a good meaning to Life. We need to recapture a vision for the lost. In the words of the Holy Spirit: "where there is no vision the people perish.".

Implementation of The Vision

The church leadership can establish a planning group to establish priorities for a long range plan :

1. The church leadership should start with a review group of church policy makers and Internet page designers to set up written policies on content and goals for the church Internet. This group should establish goals and priorities of development. They should meet monthly (more often at first to establish a workable plan for an Internet ministry) for the first six months or longer if necessary, then at least every three months thereafter to review the progress made and plan for changes in the future. The Internet is changing daily in scope and purpose. The church cannot establish an effective web ministry unless it knows where it is going. Just walking in circles without vision and planning will never get the local congregation to a goal outside that circle.
2. Many churches on the Internet have built a web site because they wanted to have a presence on the web without purpose and without a proper mission of the church in mind. In order for the church to sustain a really successful church website, the church needs a stronger reason for being on the Internet. If the church is to build a successful web site, then the church should:
   1. Use the web site to introduce your church and ministry to the rest of the world, including your own community.
   2. Use the web site as a list of Internet resources for church members, staff, and visitors.
   3. Use the web site to publish church/ministry presentations, Bible studies, religious chat groups, and also to share materials with other churches.
   4. Use the web site to store rich data collected locally about the church's curriculum, that is to say, related topics such as local teaching programs, and spiritual development.

Start with a few basic questions

The following questions will have to be answered early in the planning of the web site. These questions in turn will create more questions. One should also take notes on the questions and answers. Also one should take time to put the plan in writing. It is easier for individuals to conceive the plan for designing the web site than to rewrite many web pages.

Question # 1 "What is the purpose or mission of the web site?" It is simply to meet every Sunday to sing, to pray, to preach, to teach and to edify church members. Or is there more? If the church desires to grow and baptize people, then evangelism is the main purpose of the Internet web site; this web site should reflect the main objectives. If the church's main concern is pastoral care then that becomes its main goal. Remember, foreign missions is an extension of local missions, only the culture is different. If a church does not have a strong local church/community program, then it is difficult to have a strong foreign program. Again, what is the purpose and mission of the church? The web site should reflect that mission.

Question # 2 "Who will maintain the web site?" The answer is a minimum of two or more people who have a clear vision of the Internet ministry. At least two web design programmers should know the purpose of all web pages, even though others may actually create some of the web pages. If the web site has multiple purposes or missions, then the programmers should divide up the responsibilities. One person, using his e-mail address (or a volunteer's e-mail address), can work on a particular mission of the pages maintained. Many church web sites start out as a noble cause, but when the webmaster gets sick, gets tired of the thankless job, or even moves away. Then the web site becomes a cobweb site. E-mail responsibilities should be assumed by various member of the church since answering e-mail is not difficult to learn.

Question # 3 "How often will the web site be updated?" The web site should be updated at least weekly in some areas. For example, this includes the minister's page, announcments, and weekly activities. The Home Page should be updated every week. If the sick and shut-ins are published on the Internet, then two or three updates a week is necessary. Don't use "Under Construction" signs; the web site must be dynamic, not static.

Question # 4 "How much time will it take to update the web site?" Most volunteers will put in two hours a week or less. Much of the work can be done at home. If the church has paid employees, then the web pages can take on many ministries. Remember, keep the web site simple, because others may have to maintain a part or all of it. Keep the site manageable. Also let the teenagers maintain a web site that links from the church's Home Page. The youth minister or youth director can monitor its contents. The same criteria can apply to Bible teachers and others. This continuous update will enable church members to link to the various resources.

Other considerations for an Internet Ministry

5. Place the church's URL (Internet address) and appropriate e-mail addresses (church, minister, staff) on all church printed materials -- ads, brochures, letterheads, business cards, Sunday bulletin, and other materials. Don't play phone tag -- use e-mail (audio -- a-mail and video -- v-mail) and the Internet.
6. Ask for e-mail addresses on visitor cards and new member information sheets. If membership records are updated annually, then put a space for e-mail addresses on the form.
7. Get the children get on line, then their parents will be close behind. The Internet is a good resource for homework and home schooling.
8. Set up computers (new or used) in homes for shut-ins and/or the poor. Use the church home page as their computer's start page. Show them how to e-mail, how to answer e-mail, and how to search Christian web sites.
9. Use Church Management Software that allows e-mailing to specific groups created for different ministries and purposes. For those without e-mail, the computer prints labels for regular mail. The groupings can be changed in seconds and a different e-mail message can be sent.
10. Create a monthly e-newsletter to communicate with church members and the world. Remember e-mail is still free.
11. Establish a trial testing period for at least two months to church members prior to announcing the web site to those outside the congregation. Then register the church's site with the various search engines, for example, Yahoo, Excite, AltaVisa, etc. Each week place a few new pages on a church bulletin board so non-Interneters can see what the church is doing and the potential of the Internet. Introduce the web page designers to the congregation, the purpose of the web site, and the use of e-mail. Show people how to get a free dial-up e-mail account.
12. Set up a P.O. box in the church's office where the web page designers can pick up materials for the web site or simply e-mail it to the designers. If it is on a computer, then e-mail it as an attachment. If one publishes items in a bulletins or newsletters, then it should be worked into the Internet ministry program.

Some Potential Church Internet Ministries Visions

Locals Ministries   The church web site needs to develop a local mission that reflects the ministries of the church. As a part of these goals, the web site would include announcements, special events, and what church leadership considers the most important functions of the church. The church web site should also present the thinking points of the church's mission. Add various ministries where the church has a proven track record. Cut out those activities which have too little interest and that are too demanding for the web ministers. However, the church leadership needs to develop a direction for the future as well as the Internet ministry. Be prepared for dramatically radical changes within the next year with on-line audio and video clips, animation, streaming video of the various services of the church, and multiple threads of video classes meeting at the same time. With on-line coverage, the individuals that are providentially hindered from attending church gatherings will have access to the services of the church, even on-line giving like e-commerce.

Home Page   The "Home Page" is the front door to the church's web site from which most people enter and receive their first impression of the congregation. Use the Home Page as a bulletin board for special announcements -- printable on a single sheet of paper! Keep the Home Page short, sweet, and simple. For instance, the announcements of special events, marriages, new members, new Web pages, new mission, specials on various ministries, and Internet ministries on the Home Page. The Home Page can be changed daily, or as needed, but at least once each week. Larger churches may want to link to a new members page, announcement pages for the week or the month, or even a church calendar. (A free 30 years calendar can be downloaded to the web site with restricted updating from <http://www.ice-network.com/calendarindex.htm> and a chat program <http://www.iachat.com/> for on-line discussion groups and Bible study groups.). The "Home Page" that changes one or two times a week with special announcements, references (links) to some updated events will invites the church members to visit the web site frequently.

The "Home Page" is not a place for a lot of graphics that take considerable time to load a picture of the church and staff. The church members know what the church looks like and will soon tire of waiting for the graphics to download every time they visit the church web site. To speed up the load of graphics, the web designers need to run all graphics through a program like Ulead SmartSaver Pro <http://www.webutilities.com/ssaver/noslip.htm> which can speed up the loading of graphics by two-thirds without losing quality. On the other hand, mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, or listing of the various ministries should be links off the Home Page, i.e., "About Us" and "Church Ministries".

Keep the Home Page simple with a maximum of sixteen to eighteen major links to relational pages. Special care must be taken in establishing index description names to reflect the content of the relational pages. On the Home Page, use a maximum of 35 lines to reference other materials on the church web site or other Internet links. Use the Home Page to welcome visitors, guests, and whatever -- ALL IN 35 LINES MAX.

Daily Devotional   The church can write daily devotionals, link to a web site with daily devotions, place them on the daily calendar, or e-mail the daily devotional to all church members having e-mail. One of the most popular is "Heartlight.com" at <http://www.heartlight.net/>. Also daily scripture readings can be e-mailed daily to church members.

Calendar of Events   Run a calendar of events from today's happenings down. Also, one may include other major events that will occur during the year. This may take several web pages, and may be divided up by some scheme, i.e., youth groups, teenagers, "golden years", men's events, women's events, and so on. This data needs to represent the church's mission. These groups can be included on the calendar mentioned earlier. The "calendar of events" can be updated daily as needed. Also Friday is a good time to list the sermon topics for Sunday.

One should develop web pages for those who need our prayers -- sick people in hospitals and nursing homes, as well as shut-ins and prayer requests.

Minister's study   Develop a Web page from the minister which outlines what the church is doing, new programs, messages for the church members and non-church members. The reading time from the minister's page should take 30 to 45 seconds and changed at a scheduled time of each week. Add a short audio or video clip about two to three minutes and change it weekly. This can be a personal message to all church members. Short clips are preferable to long sermons. Specify the listening or viewing time. The Interneter knows how much time they have for those clips.

Church leadership and staff   Here is the place for pictures and e-mail addresses of the church leadership, ministers, staff, and various ministries. Mention individual areas of responsibilities and who to contact. This web page(s) should include mailing addresses, telephone (24 hour contact numbers for emergencies or call forwarding) and fax numbers, and especially e-mail addresses -- both at home and work with answering hours. These web pages can include or link to the church's history and map location.

Internet Ministry   The church can set aside a room(s) in the church and install some computers and hold classes on how to surf the Internet, how to design web pages, how to used advanced web page building tools, and how to set up bookmarks/favorites for church use and updating Christian education resources. The church can introduce people to the Internet, teach computer skills to people in the church and in the community. This area can be hosted by computer professionals and hobbyists in the congregation.

When teaching the Internet, one should use the church web site, how the site is laid out, its purpose and proposed changes. Searching about Christianity and the Bible will improve the development of the church web site. As a result, many of the ministries may want to develop their own web sites that can be a part of the church web site. One needs to learn the right way and what standards are required for good web pages that can be read by most browsers. This is the goal and mission of "webminister.com" (<http://webminister.com>).

Build links of materials for Pre-Schoolers, home schoolers, games for children, and general Christian entertainment, those being smut free sites for children. In other words, build an Internet Christian Education Program.

The Library and Internet Links   Make lists of the Internet's religious and church resources by catagory. Various classes -- from young adults, singles, families, families looking for Christian children's web sites, home schooling, Bible resources -- can conpile resources for future use. Encourage a Bible class to find ten good web sites on a particular topic and then to exchange them with other class members in order to develop a core of materials for the church web site.

Areas of Interest   Build a good human interest area with pictures of the building, members of the congregation, Bible classes, people talking, church social events, the new church and educational building. In other words, things the church is doing and has done -- graduations, weddings, birthday pictures and interesting stories. A small town newspaper editor said: "The more people I mention in the newspaper, the more papers I sell." The ideas are just endless.

E-mail addresses   At present, adults -- both husband and wife -- heads of households, teenagers (usually want their own web e-mail address page), younger family members want their own listing, even if it is the family e-mail address. Teenagers have learned e-mail first, then the Internet. The church is a good place to start. E-mail addresses for the church youth (either their e-mail address or their parents' address) help build church relationships. Many companies offer free e-mail. Let the youth have their own e-mail address web pages. More than one account can be set up on a computer. The church can even host youth Internet Home Pages (in good taste, of course). This will bring their friends to the church web site.

Losing Sight of a Goal

Just over a hundred years ago many Christian leaders were making plans for the new 20th Century. In the last half of the 19th Century, the European countries explored and colonialized most of Africa, Asia, South and Central America. The sending of missionaries and colonial governors conveyed the idea that European political and religious ideas of Europe would conquer the remaining unchurched areas of the world. It is in this vein that Todd M. Johnson's "The Crisis of Missions: The Historical Development of the Idea of the Evangelization of the World by the Year 1900" (International Journal of Frontier Missions 5(Jan-Oct, 1988):5-106 -- good bibliography.) writes that dream and vision of a world in which everyone would have heard the Gospel by 1900. The challenge was presented in an article by A. T. Pierson "Can the World Be Evangelized in the Present Century?" ( Missionary Review November-December, 1881) The focus was on the idea and debate on if and how it could be done lasted well beyond 1900. Pierson wrote:

Why not! These are days of giant enterprises in the interest of commerce, science, art and literature. Why not carry the spirit of sanctified enterprises into our religious life and work! I wish by voice and by the aid of the press to set forth a practicable business proposition, namely that before the year 1900, the gospel shall be preached to every living soul! [page 437]

In 1888 the London Conference of denominations divided up the world to teach everyone the principles of Christianity, leading to increased missionary budgets and the recruiting of missionaries. One writer with extensive figures estimated it would take 50,000 missionaries, five million dollars, and ten years to teach Christ to everybody in the world. The main reason for the failure was most missionaries, budgets, and resources were used to build on existing mission fields instead of opening up new areas of the world.

The same challenge has been prevalent in the last decade of this century. Many churches have set goals in increased attendance, giving, budgeting, new members, and new building programs. Many of these churches have had a dream and a vision of what can be done, but have failed to provide a means to arrive at the goal. With an Internet ministry:

13. How much money has been budgeted -- initially and annually? Has the need been studied?
14. What church resources will be allocated? What room or rooms will be used, equipment needed with updating in hardware and software?
15. What qualifications must the qualified web ministering personnel possess? Who has the training to oversee the ministry and what is expected?
16. How much time will be required in maintaining existing pages and creating new pages? How is the Internet ministry plan going to be phased in and implemented?

A lot of changes have taken place in the last three years on the Internet (a virtual lifetime). No past tradition exists upon which to built an Internet ministry, but that ministry must be build upon the purpose and mission of the church that Christ established.

Remember When? -- A Future Vision?

Remember when the minister rode a horse, church members came in horse drawn wagons, and the minister's study was truly a study -- no phones, no electric lights, no fax machines, no secretary, no church records? Probably not. Then came the Model T car, the radio, and commercial airlines. After World War II came television and mobile phones. The church adopted these methods of travel and communication to spread God's Word. The church budgeted funds because they saw the potential for evangelizing the world. Now at the end of the 20th Century comes the Internet, which is a faster form of communication, an inexpensive way to get the message across, instantaneous delivery of communication, and content changable like an hourly newspaper.     Now, WHY NOT THE INTERNET?

I am both dreaming of the potential in using the Internet to spread God's Word, and a vision of what the future will be for e-vangelizing the community and the world. Instantanous communication by audio, video, and web pages of everything going on in the church. Every Christian keeping in touch with every other Christian and missionary on Earth (and space.). The technology is changing, but the message is still of the same. God loved the World and Christ died for our sins that we might have life everlasting. Remember, "where there is no vision the people perish." (Prov. 29:18)     Now, WHY NOT THE INTERNET?

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