Reaching the generations using the technoogy that has become a part of our everyday lives. Mobile Media Ministry, Mobile Apps, Facebook, Twitter and Other Social media...Internet...can all be used to spread the Gospel so we can FEED HIS SHEEP!
Even web-based services are starting to recognize that, and recently there have been more and more companies launching “free” SMS options — most often free for those users who want to send a text to a cell phone via the web and email.
Sending free SMS from the Internet isn’t a new idea at all and companies have been developing the bridge between email and SMS for years. By now it’s a simple and easy service to set up and companies have started adding these services as a feature to bring in eyeballs.
Commenters also mentioned services from http://www.mobivity.com
The comment section of this article is rich with useful feedback on these free services.
The amazing growth of digital media is transforming the world and changing the way we communicate and even think. There are growing opportunities for digital evangelism.
Internet Evangelism Day offers a one-stop online resource guide to help Christians understand these varied opportunities. Topics covered include: how to build a church website that is 'outsider friendly', using Facebook and Twitter in evangelism, and keeping a small portfolio of video clips on your mobile phone.
For many of these opportunities, you need no technical knowledge at all. And there are many opportunities to volunteer to be an email mentor to inquirers who have visited outreach sites operated by several online ministries.
Internet Evangelism Day is an initiative of the Internet Evangelism Coalition, based at the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton. It is supported by a wide range of Christian leaders and groups. "I am glad to commend Internet Evangelism Day," says John Stott.
This excerpt is from Internet Evangelism...With Facebook being so popular...we can't ignore it!! I tried to for a while to reach young people outside of facebook....thre was one problem...facebook is WHERE THEY ARE!
Here a few tips from this informative article...please see the full article for details...
•You can respond to other people’s postings with appropriate on-topic comments, sometimes including links to appropriate pages or video clips. Keep a portofolio list of pages and video clips ready to use. Consider inner pages from Power to Change – often one of their internal pages will relate to a specific topic you are commenting on: it also includes areas for men, women and students. Always do this in a sensitive and gentle way (1 Peter 3:15).
•You can upload your own video shorts into the video section of your Facebook profile, or post a link to a YouTube video in the same way as adding a hyperlink to any posting – a clickable thumbnail graphic will be automatically displayed. Short video clips a useful way to start discussions, especially if you link to conversation-starting videos rather than preachy ‘deal-closing’ presentations.
•Another fruitful area for conversations is popular culture – movie releases, music and books. Almost everyone is interested in talking about the latest films or music, and remarkably they frequently contain embedded parallels that point to spiritual truths.
•Create or join Fan Pages or Groups on topics that interest not-yet-believers and you, and participate sensitively. Look especially at Groups, because these are designed for ongoing member interaction, and are superseding the email discussion groups and bulletin boards that used to be so popular. There are vast numbers of Groups, some of them with very high membership. Use Facebook’s search option to find them. Is there, for instance, a Group covering a sport you are interested in, or a life problem or illness that you suffer with? Choose Groups with sufficient members to maintain an interesting ongoing conversation.
•Under religious views on their Facebook profile, many people enter something like ‘Jesus follower’ or ‘seeker after truth’ rather than the increasingly pejorative ‘Christian’ or some denominational label.
•Don’t treat people as ‘gospel fodder’. Build unconditional relationships with respect and tolerance. Use integrity. It’s dialogue, not preaching. “The focus should be on building authentic relationships. Without it, not only do you run the risk of not being effective, but also in ruining any chance that other Christians might have,” says Dan King of Bibledude.com. “That’s why the most important thing that you can understand about social media is that it’s social in nature.”
•Avoid Chistrianese jargon. Express truths in alternate neutral language.
•Various Facebook ‘applications’ can be used to extend what is displayed on your page. Some applications can be quirky to install, and there is only room for a few extra links on the horizontal top menu. (Adding applications to Fan Pages or Groups can be very complicated, counter-intuitive, and in some cases impossible. Yet other applications, such as Static FBML, only work on Fan Pages!) Read more.
•There are very few add-on ‘Applications’ that enable us to add gently evangelistic areas to a Facebook page – here is an opportunity for developers. Read more about ‘Applications’ and those that could be evangelistic.
•Learning Facebook’s markup language enables additional features to be added to a page.
‘Blog’ is short for ‘weblog’. A blog is a type of website, but differ from the usual site style, by having these characteristics:
•An informal, personal, ongoing diary-type commentary by an individual: either about his/her life, or opinion/news about a specific topic.
•Most blog entries are plain-text mini-articles, though pictures, audio, and even video clips can be incorporated too.
•Latest blog entry appears near the top of the front page, with previous entries below it in date order.
•Blog entries are usually short; longer posts are sometimes split so the balance of the item is on a new page.
•Readers often have the opportunity to add their own comments about a blog entry, or even respond to other people’s feedback.
•Readers can opt to receive an alert by RSS every time a new entry is posted on the blog.
•Most blogs are created and updated through a web-based interface system such as Blogger. No technical knowledge is needed to start a blog, though technically-minded people can install software on their servers to create more sophisticated and customizable blogs.
So-called ‘blogging’ has vastly grown in popularity over the last few years – the whole world of blogging is sometimes called the ‘blogosphere’. It matches (and shapes) the modern desire to receive (and be able to comment on) information in short personalized conversational blocks. Many people, even in the Western world, are in fact some distance along the oral communication spectrum.
There are options now for Daily Devotions to upload to your Mobile Device. You can use them yourself and HELP SPREAD the word about them for others to consume!
Mobile Phone applications available at Mobile Daily Devotions:
Go there to select your choice. Installation Directions are Included. Daily devotionals from Charisma Magazine or Heartlight Magazine are available.
•Today God Is First
•Our Daily Bread
•Global Prayer Digest
•Prayer, Praise and Promises
•Daily In Christ
•Purpose Driven Life
•21 Laws of Leadership
•Streams in the Desert
Create Your Own Devotional Apps
To create your own Mobile Devotional one service that is avaible is called MobileBooklet.com. You can download free mobile booklets or create your own booklets at MobileBooklet.com. This website provides a simple way for anyone to create their own mobile booklet. Just login using Facebook or Google FriendConnect for a free account at MobileBooklet.com.
Mobile Phones and Other Devices - the Potential For Evangelism
The desire to be in touch with people and information 24/7 has led to the huge growth in mobile cell phones and other mobile devices. Over 90% of the world’s population now lives within a mobile reception area [www.picturebusinessmag.com/story/story.bsp?sid=40913&var=story]. There are about 4 billion mobile phone users (equivalent to more than half the world’s population) and many of these are in the non-western Majority World, often in 10/40 Window countries. There are more mobile phones used in Africa than USA. The mobile systems in Japan and Korea are more advanced than almost anywhere. It is a hugely significant medium. Unlike a computer, a mobile is always with you – an integrated part of you and your lifestyle.
Topics in this Helpful Internet Evangelism Article Include
*Convergence and capabilities *The Future *Using mobile devices for evangelism This includes a topic that is critical now...mobile media ministry. Here is an excerpt...see the link on the bottom for the full article
1. Downloadable bibles, Books and Apps A wide range of downloadable text Bibles in many languages can be installed on different mobile devices. At one time, these were mainly Java-based, but for modern phones, ‘apps’ are the easiest format to install and use. Thus a Christian can now have access to a Bible at all times because mobile devices are so convenient to carry. You can call up individual verses to share during a face-to-face discussion, or email/text them to others. You can also download and install e-books to read on a growing range of mobile devices using Mobipocket,
Inquirers may also wish to download Bibles or books onto mobile devices. This may have a particular significance in countries where it is not wise to be seen reading a Bible. In the Middle East, many thousands of online Bibles are downloaded each month. Audio Bibles in many languages can also be downloaded onto MP3-equipped mobile devices.
However, people who are not seekers or at least inquisitive, may have no interest in downloading a Bible, and we need other resources that can engage with people ‘further back’. For not-yet-Christians, it will be strategic to produce seeker-friendly materials with jargon-free introductions and explanations. For instance, a mobile version of John’s gospel (often given away in print form in evangelism) could have an introduction appropriate to seekers, in the way that Pocket Testament League include in their printed gospels. There is huge potential to create such presentations as ‘apps’.
Apps can also be like multi-page websites, and address felt needs or bridge strategy topics, and also act as a portal to draw down video clips or other online content. Of particular potential for outreach is the comic book. These can be loaded onto mobile devices as sequential picture blocks, complete with sound: full story.
In the West, comic stories can reach children effectively. In some countries, they are also highly popular among adults, particularly the Manga-style in Japan. Training in cartooning, comic production and animation for evangelism is offered by Rox35Media.
It is also easy to subscribe to daily Bible verses, devotionals or audio Bible portions by email, text message, or through an ‘app’. Again, we must point out that their primary application is to Christians, though for some cultures and demographic groups, others do choose to subscribe to these. Some ministries have found success in positioning such daily verses as tips for daily living.
4 Text Messaging
There are many ‘verse of the day’ or mini-devotionals available to subscribe by text message (eg. FourteenFloor). In most countries, these are currently limited to 160 characters. (In Korea however, a service is now available which as well as color graphics and embedded audio, allows 1000 characters.) Of course, portable devices with email capability can bypass this restriction.
While Christians are the predominant users of such daily messages, it is also possible that inquirers may subscribe too, especially if the content is positioned to be seeker-friendly and jargon-free. In addition, Christians can share such messages with friends, through their network of relationships.
Text messaging is being increasingly used in the secular world to share information. Company adverts frequently offer a mobile Short Code number which will automatically send product information to the user. This gives us the potential to offer contact numbers in order to receive Christian information. For instance, church street-side notice-boards (and press advertising or contact cards) can display a Short Code number which will automatically send an invitation and details of the church’s activities. Many mobile users, especially in non-western countries, do not have access to the Web. Shirts That Text Back is an example of this approach.
Text messaging is also used as a followup/inquiry medium in some countries. For instance, 70% of follow-up inquiries for radio programming from FEBA come in as text messages, often with two-way texting discussion for a time after each program.
An interesting excert from this for street evangelism and written media:
Some groups produce emailable ‘digitracts’ which can also be used with mobile devices.
MP3 audio can also be downloaded (including by podcast) and passed on virally. This can include music, radio programs, or audio shorts specifically made for mobiles. See further discussion on MP3s in section 8.
Outreach street teams, Christian bookshops and churches will increasingly be able to offer such downloads to passers-by using Wifi, BlueTooth (see below) or Short Code Service autoresponder text message. Web outreach sites can also partner with such teams by offering a Short Code autoresponder number that the team can publicize. (Unfortunately, Short Code numbers are usually country-specific.)
----A related feature is a graphic tag, a ‘Quick Response (QR) Code’ square graphic (somewhat like a barcode) that can be added to your website, posters, flyers, etc. A user takes a photo of this mobile tag [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_tagging] with their mobile phone camera, and can then visit the website of your choice. Software to create this fuction is available from, for example, MicrosoftTag [http://tag.microsoft.com] and the www.goo.gl URL shortening service. Expect this easy graphic-to-website functionality, needing no keying-in of an URL, to become very popular. Consider using it as widely as possible, on all printed materials, church streetside noticeboards, car stickers, etc.
To the right, there is a QR Code that embeds the URL of this page.
Read more: http://www.InternetEvangelismDay.com/mobile-outreach.php#ixzz1LjK0G6AZ
at Internet Evangelism Day
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