Steve Brown, the founder and president of Key Life Network and one of the keynote speakers at the 2000 Internet Evangelism Conference in Orlando, Florida, expressed his purpose for speaking at the meeting with a thought from Martin Luther: that we should "preach the gospel to one another, lest we become discouraged." It can be easy to become discouraged when working in online ministries. Few in the church seem yet to grasp the importance of Internet evangelism. Those with a desire to share the gospel with the lost in cyberspace find it difficult to find support, either financially or from church leadership, simply because it is difficult to measure results of this seed-scattering effort.

So Martin Luther's words seem particularly apt for a gathering of people interested in Internet evangelism. Some 250 people -- from grassroots e-vangelists to staff members of major evangelical parachurch ministries -- were on hand to share ideas, learn from each other, and encourage one another.

The gospel incarnate

I came away from the conference encouraged on several counts. I had the gospel preached to me through excellent keynote presentations by the likes of Steve Brown, Kay Arthur, Leonard Sweet, Roderick Caesar and Lee Strobel. But just as encouraging was the interaction I had with brothers and sisters of like interests. Through their words and the evident excitement they have about their online ministries, I heard -- and saw -- the gospel being preached. The gospel was, indeed, incarnate in the lives of so many of the conference participants I met with.

It was encouraging also to engage in face-to-face conversations with many with whom I have conversed online. It is a strange but delightful sensation to meet in person folks you've chatted or corresponded with online over a period of several weeks or months.

Finally, I was encouraged by the chance to further solidify partnerships and collaborations, and to discuss possible new collaborative efforts to equip online evangelists.

I love to talk about telling the story...

At the same time, I left the conference a bit discouraged. I left wondering just what we have accomplished in the realm of online evangelism. Others who have attended past conferences and consultations -- this year's was the third meeting on Net evangelism -- may have a better perspective, and may be able to point out the great strides made over the past three years. But as one who has been involved in Internet evangelism at the grassroots level, without much involvement in the work of parachurch ministries, I left the conference wondering if any of us -- at the grassroots or in the major evangelical organizations -- are truly prepared for the global online harvest that awaits us.

Another keynote speaker at the conference, Kay Arthur of Precept Ministries, pointed out that John 4:35 -- the fields are "ripe for harvest" -- applies to the Internet mission field. While souls are waiting for us to preach the message, we plod along with our plans to evangelize the online culture. 

We fine-tune our long-range plans, "four months more and then the harvest," and fail to heed Jesus' words: "Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest" (NIV). As one conference organizer summed up: "Do we love to tell the story, or to talk about telling the story?"

Here's another question we should ask ourselves: "Do we love to tell the story, or to talk about telling the story to ourselves?" So much of our online activity focuses on the online Christian community, rather than on those we claim we wish to reach. Also, we continue to use "Christianese," the jargon of the church, which does not resonate with an online culture more interested in file-swapping, pop music and professional wrestling than in anything we have to offer.

Another concern I have about the conference attendance had to do with the lack of representation from an international perspective. Of the 250 or so conferees in attendance, only a few were from non-English-speaking nations (Brazil, Spain, Taiwan). Today, with nearly half of the online population speaking a language other than English, ministries from English-speaking cultures cannot afford to ignore the true globalization the Internet is hastening.

Finally, I am concerned about the lack of local church involvement in the conference. I believe this lack of involvement points to a leadership issue in the local church. Local pastors and ministers do not understand the opportunities of Internet evangelism. The "Great dot-Commission" is not preached from our pulpits. Yet, as Leonard Sweet pointed out, the church has always thrived from a grassroots approach to ministry -- and many cybersaints who may be quiet as the proverbial church mouse on Sunday morning are keyboarding the gospel to a global audience throughout the week.

Encouraging signs

All in all, despite my misgivings, I have to say that I am encouraged about the state of Internet evangelism. I was encouraged by the Internet Evangelism Conference's focus of mission -- to motivate and enable the "doers" of Internet evangelism. It's a mission near and dear to my own heart. My own online calling resonated with Ephesians 4:12, which calls the ministry "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (NIV).

The Internet Evangelism Conference's goals of expanding the conference site to provide trustworthy resources for all online ministries is an encouraging sign. Also encouraging is the conference organization's goal to create a seeker site on the Web that will be available to ministries either as a link or as a plug-and-play Web resource.

We'll have to wait and see just what occurs over the coming months. Meanwhile, the harvest awaits (John 4:35 again).

I plan to do my part to support this international e-vangelism effort -- both through prayer, and through my personal membership. I plan to contribute as an individual member of the Internet Evangelism Coalition (a $100 minimum donation), and if you're interested in seeing the global harvest occur online, I encourage you to support this effort as well, if at all possible.

Cyber salt and light

Finally, I want to encourage those individual Christians at the grassroots level who are being salt and light in cyberspace. You are not alone. I met many Net evangelists during this conference who are out there, reaping the harvest:

There's Charima Young, who is involved in Back Door Ministries, a chat-room-based evangelism ministry that is sprouting forth from a local church in Atlanta, Georgia, USA (one of the few church-based outreaches I'm aware of).

The chat room ministry of Rev. Gerald Boyd (AmazingGrace.com) and Jim Coulter (Netevangelism.com) was featured in one of the conference workshops. The work of Rev. Boyd, an 82-year-old retired minister who spreads the gospel regularly on America Online, should be an encouragement to us all.

Another workshop presenter, David Bruce of Hollywood Jesus, is emphasizing the importance of developing Web sites that are culturally relevant to the online community. David, keep up the great work!

A young man from Brazil, Marcelo Gioia Oliveira, who soon will launch a version of the Good News Bulletin in his native language of Portuguese, to encourage and equip believers in Brazil and elsewhere.

I have much more to report, in due time, about the efforts under way to use the Internet to spread the kingdom. But for now, I will close with two thoughts: This Internet Evangelism Conference made it abundantly clear to me that we have much "equipment" for the army, but we need to get this equipment into the hands of the online missionaries who are actively engaged in Net evangelism.

Regardless of whether you are active in Internet evangelism, I would encourage you to pray for those who are moving into this new mission field. For the words of Jesus to His original disciples still resonate with us today:

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Luke 10:2 (NIV)

Andrew Careaga is the author of E-vangelism: Sharing the Gospel in Cyberspace and editor of the Good News Bulletin, a weekly newsletter on the topic of Internet evangelism, available online at http://www.e-vangelism.com/ .