WEB EVANGELISM BULLETIN
. . . learning from each other
W-E-B Issue 178 ~ March 2010
Monthly ISSN 471-0323
News this time...
INTERNET EVANGELISM DAY 25 APRIL
FACEBOOK AND FAITH
MOBILE REVOLUTION
GOD: NEW EVIDENCE LAUNCHES
CHURCH MOUSE PUBLICATIONS
GAMES ONLINE
BOOKS
POPULAR CULTURE
BELINDA GETS PUBLISHED
WHAT DOES EUROPE REALLY BELIEVE?
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
JESUS 101 NEEDS FACILITATORS
TIPS
TWEETING ABOUT DIGITAL EVANGELISM
TAILEND
"Once you get people laughing, they're listening and you can tell them almost anything" - Herbert Gardner
INTERNET EVANGELISM DAY 25 APRIL
Thanks to everyone who has blogged, Facebooked, tweeted, or otherwise helped to make IE
Day known. If you still have an opportunity to do this, here's some ready-made news to use
on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, or in your church announcement sheet:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/shortannouncement.php
Singapore has a whole week of IE Day meetings called IED@SG:
http://ied.sg/
OurChurch blog is running a special series of 20 daily blog postings to integrate with
IE Day: '20 Ways to Share Your Faith Online':
http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/04/01/20-ways-to-share-your-faith-online/
FACEBOOK AND FAITH
One in three web users outside China now have Facebook accounts (it is banned in
China). Facebook is, I believe, one of our biggest online opportunities for sensitively
sharing faith, because:
- anyone can create a Facebook page
- it's relational and dialogue
- it can leverage other online resources: video clips and websites
Here are guidelines:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/facebook-evangelism.php
FACEBOOK VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - If you have 5 minutes to spare each week using Facebook,
and would like to promote several outreach literature opportunities to Africa/Asia, please
write for more details:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/feedback
OUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGES - If you are on Facebook, please would you consider adding our Fan Pages to your own FB page? Please click the 'Become a fan' button, and if you have the 'Favorite Pages' application installed, also click on 'Add this page to your page's favorites'. We have three fan pages covering different aspects of online evangelism:
- Internet Evangelism Day: http://www.facebook.com/internetevangelismday
- Church websites for outsiders: http://www.facebook.com/church.websites-reaching.outsiders
- Free e-books: www.facebook.com/free.christian.ebooks
and also a page offering free outreach literature for Africa and Asia:
http://www.facebook.com/freepaper
Facebook tips: although you cannot format text on most areas of the edited text areas
of Facebook, you CAN copy/paste special unicode characters such as square bullet points,
arrows, stars and much more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unicode_characters
It is also possible to insert links into Facebook left margins using the Extended Info application. This is a nightmare to install into Fan Pages, but it can be done.
APPLICATIONS - there is a big need for Facebook applications with a genuine appropriate
evangelistic role:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/facebook-applications.php
MOBILE REVOLUTION
Mobile phones are the other growing opportunity for digital evangelism. One way is to
load some short video clips onto a phone, which we can use to initiate a conversation.
Some useful clips can be parable question-asking stories. The Global Short Film Network
offers a range of clips intended for this, and watch the chilling parable Alma:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/1230
The Big Story is a two-part non-formulaic non-preachy presentation by an InterVarsity
staffer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCVcSiUUMhY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4V60n6KiB8&NR=1
How African churches are using mobiles:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201002240058.html
Amazing mobile stats:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/1483
More on mobile evangelism:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/mobile-outreach.php
GOD: NEW EVIDENCE LAUNCHES
UK ministry FOCUS has launched an excellent new resource which presents the scientific
evidence for God through video and webpages. Dave Couchman writes, "We've just launched an
apologetics resource called 'God: new evidence'. It's about the evidence from cosmic
fine-tuning, and is partly a response to the claims of Richard Dawkins and the 'new
atheists'.
It's designed to be something that is 'out there' beyond the bounds of the church, and
which can be used without embarrassment with completely non-religious or unchurched people
- no religious language, no 'The Bible Says...' - in fact, there's only one Bible verse in
the whole thing, and this comes right at the end."
http://www.focus.org.uk/
There is also a Facebook fan page which you are invited to join and tell your Facebook
friends about:
http://www.facebook.com/godnewevidence
CHURCH MOUSE PUBLICATIONS
Churchmouse Publications writes, "We are a web-based publishing syndicate created to serve the Christian community. As such, it is an online source for articles, cartoons, children's material, syndicated columns, devotionals and more.
Our desire is to provide an outlet for talented Christian creators to showcase their
work, and a continually fresh variety of affordable material for churches, ministries, and
other Christian publications and programs. Churchmouse Publications is currently working
with 97 professional producers (authors, cartoonists and other creators). We have over
1400 features in over 15 different categories, and new submissions arriving daily."
http://www.churchmousepublications.com/
GAMES ONLINE
"Today, tens of millions of people around the world will log in to Facebook - and
engross themselves in the minutiae of crop rotation and animal husbandry. They are all
playing Farmville, a cute, colourful game...:"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7053126.ece
Meanwhile, at the high end of roleplaying games comes the groundbreaking 'Heavy Rain',
released last month. It is just like taking part in a crime drama film - and players'
choices really do affect the outcome. (This is not a children's game - it is rated 18 in
most parts of the world, though 15 in UK. This news item is about a concept leap in game
design and is not intended as a recommendation.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Rain
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/feb/21/heavy-rain-sony-quantic-dream
BOOKS
NetCasters: Using the Internet to Make Fishers of Men
Craig von Buseck
Broadman and Holman
Publication date: June 2010
'Netcasters' presents a unique overview into the vast and growing potential of the
digital media to share the good news of Jesus. There has been no title like this since
Andrew Careaga's books in the early days of the Web. Its well-researched and visionary
coverage, interviews and case studies are indispensable to anyone needing to understand
the nature of the new media and how to use them effectively. And since we all now live in
a 'digital communication culture', this surely means all of us: Jesus-followers at any
stage of our spiritual journeys, as well as pastors and leaders, college students and
faculty (it's an ideal textbook), or mission staff and believers from diverse cultures and
countries. And remarkably, we don't need technical knowledge for this!
It is due for publication in June, but you can order in advance:
http://tinyurl.com/netcasters
There will be a blog tour for the book release and other activities - we will feature
these next time. I've already read the manuscript, and can strongly recommend it.
John Dyer in 'Don't Eat the Fruit' blog, carries reviews to other books about
technology and faith:
http://donteatthefruit.com/2010/02/new-and-upcoming-books-on-technology-media-and-faith/
and here is news of two new e-books relating to church ministry:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/1542
Dr Dave Bourgeois is also working on a web ministry book 'God in the Tubes', and is
seeking feedback via his blog on areas that he plans to cover:
http://genesys11.com/lessonsfrombabel/category/book-god-in-the-tubes/
POPULAR CULTURE
NARNIA enthusiasts can look forward to 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader', now in final
editing:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/news/2010/willdawntreaderfloat.html
NEW SLUMDOG-LIKE FILM - 'Kavi' about a boy slave in India and directed by a Christian,
nominated in short film category:
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctmovies/2010/03/another-slumdogish-film-up-for-1.html
LETTERS TO GOD movie releases in US in April:
http://www.letterstogodthemovie.com/the-movie/reviews/
BELINDA GETS PUBLISHED
Belinda Burkitt writes, "I would like to send you a link to something I wrote that was
published on our Public Radio Website in St. Paul, MN. I want you to see it because the
Web Evangelism Bulletin has helped me with my writing skills. I've told many people about
the Bulletin and our church has used several articles in our communication workshop."
Thanks Belinda!
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/02/11/burkitt/
WHAT DOES EUROPE REALLY BELIEVE?
Having just got back from a web evangelism conference in Lithuania, I thought I'd look
up some stats for beliefs in that country, and found a remarkable table of Eurobarometer
Poll results for the whole of Europe. Figures are given in percentages for a) 'Belief in a
god', b) 'Belief in a spirit or life force', and c) 'Belief in neither a spirit, god or
life force':
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/1583
INTERACTIVE WORLD MAPS - ChartsBin offers online interactive world maps, each one
offering statistics for a wide range of topics. These are very helpful, both for research,
or for a presentation in a seminar. You can save any map as a complete web page, and it
will work offline to demonstrate later. Check, for instance, web users, mobile phone
subscriptions, infant mortality, numbers of feature films produced annually, and much
more.
http://chartsbin.com/
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
NEW SITES FOR INDIA - Jesus.net has just released two new 'Knowing God' sites for
India:
http://Parmeshwarkaprem.jesus.net/ (Hindi)
http://Mahagod.jesus.net/ (English)
BELIEF IN GOD relieves depression:
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/25/research-indicates-belief-in-god-relieves-depressi/
MISSION FRONTIERS magazine reports that 40% of church-planting breakthroughs among
muslim people groups followed some kind of natural disaster.
http://www.missionfrontiers.org/pdf/2010/01/24-27%20Ethne%2009.pdf
PEOPLE TRAFFICKING is the slave trade of our era. Popular blogger and writer Anne
Jackson writes in her Flowerdust blog of seeing it first hand in Moldova:
http://bit.ly/aseHnN
POSTER/WEB INITIATIVE IN AUSTRALIA - Outreach Media coordinated a March poster and web
campaign offering help with people with po-n.
http://tinyurl.com/despair-hope
TWITTER BIBLE - was unveiled at a German book fair. It took more than 3,000 believers
10 days to compile short and sometimes humorous tweets that make up the Twitter Bible:
http://sermons.logos.com/submissions/109217#content=/submissions/109217
CHINA'S OBESSIONS with the Web:
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Chinas_Internet_obsession_2546
PRINT-ON-DEMAND HELPS MISSIONS - 'Innovation in Mission' blog points out the huge
potential of using print-on-demand services to produce books as and when needed, when it
would be impractical to have a conventional large print-run due to finance, small demand,
or storage space:
http://innovationinmission.blogspot.com/2010/02/highlighting-innovation-in-print-on.html
WEB HELPS CHRISTIANS WITH LIMITATIONS SHARE FAITH, says Yvon Prehn:
http://www.effectivechurchcom.com/2010/04/international-evangelism-day-and-its-communication-potential-for-those-with-limitations/
RESTING - What do you think about the national day of unplugging and the Sabbath
Manifesto?
http://www.modernekklesia.com/2010/03/national-day-of-unplugging.html
THE CULT OF BUSY, by Scott Berkun. Straight common sense:
http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2010/the-cult-of-busy
LOOKING BACK AT EASTER - Were there women at the Last Supper?
http://www.kyria.com/topics/spiritualformation/biblestudyanddevotions/womenlastsupper.html
JESUS 101 NEEDS FACILITATORS
For each Jesus 101 class, JesusCentral.com needs qualified volunteers to encourage
participation and interaction. A past session had students from 99 different countries
learning about Jesus online. They offer a very easy training program for facilitators, and
their website is very intuitive to use. Facilitators are assigned a group of students, and
those who enroll are typically new believers in Christ or are seeking more information
about Jesus. While the facilitator may ask and answer questions in the group, they are not
expected to teach or be experts on Christianity. A facilitator's role is to encourage,
interact, and help point them to the resources in JesusCentral.com. The course runs for 6
weeks and time commitment for a facilitator is about 2 hours per week. The work can be
done entirely from the facilitator's desk or laptop, and done at their convenience since
it is all online.
"Participating in the Jesus 101 online course was a tremendous blessing and I will definitely recommend this to my family and friends. Not only was it inspiring to be in the Bible throughout the weekly lessons, but connecting with believers across the globe was a huge blessing. The course is well laid out in very do-able sessions that build upon each week. I enjoyed reading everyone’s responses in our study group and even made a few new friends over email. It is so encouraging to get to know our brothers and sisters worldwide who are searching for truth and learning more about Jesus. What a great way to connect and grow!" - a former facilitator
For more information on being a facilitator for a 2010 Jesus 101 course, contact Heather.Creighton [at] JesusCentral [dot] com.
TIPS
- non-techies look away now
BROWSER EXTENSIONS - if you are used to using Firefox developer extensions, try
extensions for Chrome:
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/
FIREFOX tips - /Tools > Options > Main - set startup as 'when Firefox starts: 'Show my windows and tabs from last time'
Also go to Tools > Options > Applications. Scroll down to 'Mailto' and set to the program you want an email to open in, eg Gmail
TWITTER resources and feeds:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/article.php/3868036
SPAM - how the spam bots work:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=1373&tag=nl.e101
IFRAME - position the page within an iframe by the exact number of pixels from top and
left needed:
http://www.willmaster.com/library/web-development/displaying-alternate-page-area-in-an-iframe.php
YOUTUBE is adding automatic captioning to clips:
http://www.researchbuzz.org/wp/youtube-now-with-automatic-captioning/
LOST LINKS NOT LOST - you may occasionally have old but useful resource links to sites which are for whatever reason, no longer online (for instance Geocities). All is not lost! Just go to the web archive www.archive.org and enter the URL of the missing page. Then take the URL of the latest archived version, and use that as your link, or just precede the lost URL by http://web.archive.org/web/
POWERPOINT - Make a self-running PowerPoint presentation:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/itdojo/?p=1556&tag=nl.e101
MINISTRYCSS offers ideas for church website styles and more:
http://ministrycss.com/
GOOGLE Apps marketplace
http://www.researchbuzz.org/wp/google-apps-marketplac/
TWEETING ABOUT DIGITAL EVANGELISM
A group of web evangelism advocates recently discussed the need of a Twitter hashtag to
highlight postings relating specifically to digital evangelism. We looked for something
short yet meaningful (to save space) and not already in use, and came up with #ieway
(meaning Internet Evangelism Way (s to do digital outreach). Of course we can change it if a
better suggestion turns up. But meantime, if you are tweeting, or wanting to follow other
tweets, please try #ieway.
To view recent tweets from round the world using this tag, see
www.twubs.com/ieway
OOPS
Apologies for using a quotation last time which was attributed to Einstein. While the sentiments expressed in it were true, apparently it is an urban myth that it originated with him.
TAILEND ô¿ô
I start with the letter e.
I end with the letter e.
I contain only one letter,
Yet I am not the letter e!
What am I?
(answer next time)
[Source www.mikeysFunnies.com ]
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