14 Ways to Learn, Live, Lead and Leverage Your Faith for Internet Evangelism Day

Sunday May 15th is Internet Evangelism Day (IED). If you’re not familiar with IED, it is a day to bring focus and attention to the vast opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ online. It’s also a day for Christians to educate themselves and strategize within their organizations about how they can better share their faith online throughout the year.

You don’t have to be an Internet guru, a Bible scholar, or an evangelist to point people to Christ online. Anyone can do it. That means you. It also means that if you are a leader in a church, youth ministry, Bible college, or other Christian organization, everyone in your organization can point people to Christ online. All they need is a little encouragement and instruction, which you can provide.

What can you do?

Learn

Start by learning as much as you can about how to share your faith and live out your faith online. Here are three ways you can do that:

1) Check out the resources on the Internet Evangelism Day website

2) Read the 20 Ways to Share Your Faith Online series published here last year.

3) Read the book @StickyJesus and participate in the group discussion taking place here on Christian Web Trends this month.

Live

Knowledge without action is useless. So, as you learn more about how to live and share your faith online, put that knowledge to use by doing what you learn.

4) Use Facebook to connect with family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Look for opportunities to encourage, help and pray for them. Be a genuine friend. Share links to stories and articles that express your faith.

5) Blog about life. Don’t preach or teach biblical theology on your blog. Just write about the things that happen in your life and show the way God’s love and power weave their way through all of it – the good and the bad, big things and little things.

Lead

As you gain more understanding and experience living and sharing your faith online, encourage others to do the same.

6) Share links to articles and resources about sharing and living your faith online on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog.

7) Encourage your Facebook friends and Twitter followers with “Likes,” comment, and retweet when they raise a spiritual issue online.

8 ) Talk offline with your Christian friends and people in your small group about how you can better work together to live out your faith online.

Leverage

While anyone can lead by encouraging the people they have online connections with to live their faith online, if you have a formal leadership role in a church, bible college, or other Christian ministry, you have a special opportunity to leverage that role to inspire and train the people in your organization to live out their faith online.

9) Include an insert in your program or newsletter with tips on how to share your faith online and evangelistic websites you can point people to.

10) Post a blog article or news item on your website with tips on how to share your faith online and links to evangelistic websites you can point people to.

11) Do a 5 minute drama/skit during Sunday service about Internet evangelism.

12) Do a 2-10 minute overview of Internet evangelism during the Sunday service.

13) Do a 45-60 minute class or training session on living and sharing your faith online.

14) Announced and organize a web evangelism team for your church, school, or ministry.

The possibilities are endless and can be tailored to the needs and constraints of your specific situation.

What are you going to do for Internet Evangelism Day this year?