Animation can be used in online evangelism:
- Animated graphics on a conventional web-page
They can be eye-catching clickable links taking the reader to an evangelistic page. It's also possible
to use them as little tracts and include them in your email.
- Flash and Shockwave animations
Modern browsers handle these automatically, or can download a 'plug-in' when necessary.
These presentations with sound can be very effective.
Both are explained on this page with examples. A related subject is the use of
cartoons in evangelism.
Animated graphics
Animated graphics can be used evangelistically, though these days Flash is the easier option.
Here is an animated GIF, highly compressed and therefore quick to load:
This 11K GIF to the right which plays for about a
minute, was designed to advertise a "What Is The Gospel?" evangelistic page. The key to such extreme compression rates is
using a very small number of distinct colors, and avoiding dithering or similarly complex patterns.
Flash and Shockwave presentations
'Flash' and 'Shockwave' presentations can be very powerful. Considerable length is possible coupled with sound effects.
It's a method which could have many applications. Most of us may not have the gifts and experience to make presentations like this – but we don't need to – we can
link to those that are available already! You can also of course link to the best
evangelistic pages too.
Here are some examples:
- DigiTracts offer a range of Flash tracts which you can send by email or add to your own site; plus other resources and links to help inquirers and answer specific questions you might be asked.
This ministry is a major provider of electronic tracts in this format.
- ATS have an 'email this tract to a friend' option
next to many of the tracts in their catalogue, with the option to add a customized personal message.
- Gospel presentation. Another resources from Good News, aimed at students, among others.
- Good News Y2K presentation. While
few of us have the resources to produce something like this, we don't need to – because we can link to it from our
own sites! Not sure if the content has been updated since Y2K!
- John 3.16 - a moving presentation which you can link to, or download to
your own site (instructions are given). There are also several other presentations accessible from this page plus a page on making Flash presentations – check them all out.
- Interview with Jesus
- Wuzup God? – aimed at teens particularly.
Flash is becoming the standard for web animation. Flash grapics are 'vector-based' and therefore of smaller size than GIFs or JPEGs.
There are online tutorials on the use of Flash:
Macromedia |
Flash Academy |
Flashzone |
Interactive Fun.
Flashkit |
Flash Central
Swish makes automatic text animations and can be evaluated free.
Flash Player Inspector can help highlight available plugins.
Note that indiscriminate use of Flash can be irritating – see Flash is Evil. See also
Wired's assessment of Flash
To visit a rated selection of (secular) Flash sites, see Flash Candy.
PDF and PowerPoint
The PDF format also has potential for emailable cybertracts. Exciting graphic-rich multi-page
presentations can be designed, with clickable crosslinks. Because the tract is on the recipient's computer, movement between
the links is instantaneous. In addition, a PDF file like this can open in full-screen mode, and have embedded
sound too. The effect is therefore more like a game than a webpage. (Incidently, the PDF file can also be
password protected so that no-one can steal/modify the code.) And additional links could take a user
to a normal webpage for additional help.
Although file-size of such a presentation is quite large, it seems to have considerable potential.
This application is way beyond merely creating a printable version of a normal text tract.
PowerPoint can also be used for downloadable/emailable tracts - see examples by
Living Waters ministry.
