Operation World: The Internet

1 More evangelistic sites. Although many Christian organizations and churches use the Web to communicate with their own constituencies, there are relatively few websites specifically designed for non-Christian readers. Pray for more Christians to realise the Web’s potential for cutting-edge outreach.

2 English is still the largest language on the Internet, but others are growing fast. Hundreds of millions of people use English as their first language, and many more read it well enough to access English web pages. But billions do not, and sadly, in most languages there are very few evangelistic websites — pray for more. Chinese, Japanese and Arabic are big needs.

3 Empowerment at home. Online evangelism is not just for Christian organizations. One person can touch the world from home — young, retired, disabled, or shy. The Web is a great leveller.

4 The Middle East. There is relatively free Internet access throughout the Middle East (except Saudi Arabia). This allows Muslims to consider the claims of Christ in a non-threatening, anonymous way. Pray for more specialist web ministries to Muslims.

5 Pornography. It is impossible to completely stop online pornography at its source; pray for Christians and others fighting this problem, both at organizational and personal levels.

7 There are many strategies for online evangelism. WEC has produced a detailed Web Evangelism Guide to explain these concepts [www.web-evangelism.com]. There is a need to translate it into other languages.

8 Discipling. As with radio ministry, follow-up of distant converts is a problem. However, the Web allows easy two-way email discipling and counselling. There is much online material for new Christians. There is a growing international, cyberspace community of believers, which is of great help to those who are isolated.

9 Mobile ‘wireless’ access to the Web. One billion people may have Web access through mobile cell phones and handheld devices by 2003. Pray for new evangelistic strategies for this medium.