Essay: The United States is the world leader in internet evangelism

Global Media Outreach is an internet evangelism ministry.

Internet evangelism is, as the name suggests, the process of evangelizing and spreading the gospel using the internet.

Since its inception, Christianity has seen a consistent and dramatic increase in its number of adherents. In the 1940s the Lausanne Movement was started to help Christendom evangelize globally with greater effectiveness and thousands of Christian leaders from around the globe meet regularly to increase the effectiveness of Christian evangelism.

Cru is one of the world's largest evangelism organizations within Christendom and has over 25,000 full-time missionaries. In 2006, Alan Beeber of CRU predicted that internet evangelism would result in more conversion than all other forms of evangelism for CRU combined. Internet evangelism is effective at spreading Christianity globally - especially in countries where there is Christian persecution and evangelism is more difficult.

The Christian internet evangelism organization Global Media Outreach indicates that it has had over 2.5 billion "gospel visits" to its websites. Global Media Outreach works with many Christians around the world (see: Global Christianity).

The Christian internet evangelism organization Network211 indicates that over 56,000,000 web visits have occurred on its websites. Network211 works with many Christians/churches throughout the world.

There are other significant Christian internet evangelism efforts as well. For example, the Billy Graham Association is also active in internet evangelism.

Franklin Graham is the president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

In 2022, the Billy Graham Evangelism Association announced:

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Launched in 2012, Search for Jesus impacts website users with the truth of the Gospel and relies on a network of over 1,400 trained volunteers who interact with users and answer live questions. With a mission to reach those hurting and in need, Search for Jesus utilizes the accessibility of the internet to reach places otherwise closed to the Gospel. Using these digital tools, more than 300 million people have indicated a decision for Christ and received follow-up through the internet ministry. To date, the PeaceWithGod.net websites have welcomed over 100 million online users. With messages in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, American Sign Language, and Russian, Search for Jesus has been able to expand globally and cross-language and accessibility barriers. “This is significant because we’re following Billy Graham’s legacy of spreading the Gospel across the globe using every opportunity we have. The average person spends nearly seven hours a day on the internet, so we want to meet these people where they are,” said Mark Appleton, director of internet evangelism for BGEA, in a press release. “Search for Jesus has given us the chance to spread the Gospel like never before.”

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The Billy Graham Evangelism Association says about its desire for volunteers for its internet evangelism program:

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People around the world are searching for answers online. Many find hope through Search for Jesus. Would you join us to make a lasting impact for God’s kingdom and see lives changed by Christ? You can serve with us as an online counselor, discipleship coach, or email responder, or get your church involved. If you have a heart for sharing the Gospel, an Internet connection and a few hours a week, consider making Search for Jesus your own personal ministry–a way for God to use you by reaching hurting people around the world in their time of need.

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The Christian Post states:

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Online evangelism is producing real disciples for Christ, according to a recent study. Over half of those who made a decision for Jesus over the Internet have subsequently shared their faith with others, Global Media Outreach's study reveals. Additionally, 34 percent read their Bibles daily and nearly half pray for at least 10 minutes a day... The study, called the Christian Growth Index, measured the responses of more than 100,000 people from around the world... Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said they shared their faith three times or more and 37 percent said they shared their faith at least once or twice. Global Media Outreach is a global ministry that presents the Gospel online through websites such as WhoisJesus-Really.com and GrowinginChrist.com. There are more than 5,500 trained online missionaries worldwide who respond to questions asked by seekers through emails.

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Also, many churches stream their services online in real-time and/or provide them on a platform (such as Facebook or YouTube). This is not only for the benefit of members who cannot attend services due to illness or old age, as well as people who live in areas with no Bible-believing church nearby, but also for visitors who want to check out what the church believes and how it conducts services before deciding whether to visit in person and ultimately become members.