2. 1 Chronicles 12:32 1 Chronicles 12:32, “from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do…” An understanding today leads to better action today and better planning for tomorrow.
3. Summary Topics Reaching the Next 1 Billion Introduction All Roads Lead to Rome Internet Statistics Why People Use the Internet Reasons for Internet Ministry Web Lingo Your Church and the Internet (Adventist Church Connect)
4. All Roads Lead to Rome It is often said that “all roads lead to Rome” Road system spanned more then 400,000 kms Including more than 80,000 kmsof paved roads
5. All Roads Lead to Rome The roads provided the speedy movement and accessibility of the Roman troops. The roads provided an opportunity for trade. The roads made travel and communication possible that allowed for the spread of the gospel.
6. All Roads Lead to Rome Rome’s impressive and enduring transportation network was of such an extent that it stands as a historical example of a connective technology linking together a globalized empire, transforming education, communication and evangelism. Just as the Roman road system in New Testament times enabled the rapid spread of the Gospel, so also the Internet has become an effective worldwide channel for evangelism.
7. All Roads Lead to Rome Matthew 24:14, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Soon become a digital reality 360,000,000 internet users world wide (Dec. 2000) World Population is estimated to be at 6,845,609,960 (Dec. 2010) 2 billion active Internet users worldwide (Dec. 2010) Potential for about 3.5 billion over the next 2 to 3 years
8. Reaching the Next 1 Billion Internet Usage Jan.2011: Canada= 26,224,900 Internet users in Jun/10 (77.7% of the population) United States= 239,893,600 Internet users as of Jun/10 ( 77.3% of the population) France & United Kingdom = 62% of population
9. Reaching the Next 1 Billion "More of us are using the web regularly, most especially the over-45 set. Email is far from dead, and the top search on-line is for health info…" May 2010, Professor Matrix (Queen’s University, Ontario) In 1977, Vint Cerf (Google’s vice president) created the web protocol IPv4, which connects computers globally, as part of an experiment while working with the US Department of Defense. He said he never expected his experiment "wouldn't end". "I thought it was an experiment and I thought that 4.3 billion [addresses] would be enough to do an experiment,” (ctv.ca)
10. Why People Use The Internet Top 6 reasons people use the internet (Gartner.com) Email – (Nov. 2010 email via mobile devices grew by 36 percent) Gather Information Online Banking Sharing photos, videos and files (youtube.com) Geographic navigation services (google maps) Shopping online U.S. Online Holiday Shopping Season Reaches Record $32.6 Billion for Nov-Dec Period, Up 12 Percent vs. Year Ago January 5, 2011 – comScore - a leader in measuring the digital world
11. Email Stats 2010 107 trillion – The number of emails sent on the Internet in 2010. 294 billion – Average number of email messages per day. 1.88 billion – The number of email users worldwide. 480 million – New email users since the year before. 89.1% – The share of emails that were spam. 262 billion – The number of spam emails per day (assuming 89% are spam). 2.9 billion – The number of email accounts worldwide. (stats from royal.pingdom.com)
13. Why People Use The Internet: Websites Statistics In 1995 there were approximately 18,000 websites online. Today there is approximately 255 million websites online(royal.pingdom - Dec. 2010).
14. Reaching the Next 1 Billion The Internet = “pull” medium (the consumer requests the content and "pulls" it through the delivery channel – eg. Web search) Television and radio = “push” mediums (the consumer does not request the content be sent – eg. Television commercials) “Questions about God can be asked in complete privacy on the internet. The Internet displays no culture, no race, no gender, and no age. It provides a seeker with the ability to navigate his or her way to the foot of Calvary’s Cross. You can explore the internet in search of answers without having to reveal who you are.” - Walter Wilson, The Internet Church
15. Reasons for Internet Ministry First choice of personal communication globally Low Cost & low risk Multiple media formats Group and one-to-one communication Wide multilingual, multicultural and geographical reach Always on & eliminates time zone challenges Archived media & communication Collaborative network of contributors Globalized social network
16. Reasons for Internet Ministry First choice for quick dependable information & answers Targeted Demographics Channel for receiving & sharing information in low internet saturated areas Less licensing required then other media Missionary training, relationship building, cultural awareness
17. Web Lingo HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) Domain Name (eg. mcquesview.com) FTP (File Transfer Protocol) CMS (Content Management System) ISP (Internet Service Provider) SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Google Analytics
19. A Look at Adventist Church Connect A website network of the Seventh-day Adventist churches across the NAD. Over 3000 church websites Began in 2006 Churches in the US, Canada and Bermuda Managed by AdventSource
20. What Is Provided? Free hosting for churches and schools (1st GB) Free technical support and training Easy to update interface Team Management Ability to add your own images Customize and update your own content Professional designs & ability to create your own
22. Additional Features(adventistchurchconnect.com) Newsletter: Communicate with members and visitors Photo Gallery: Create slideshows of church activities Survey: Receive Feedback through the website Prayer Requests: Allow site visitors to submit prayer requests Calendar of events: allow departments to enter & categorize their own events. Audio/Video: tools for uploading A/V files (not free) User Management: built in user levels for easy website management.
24. Reaching the Next 1 Billion Illustration: Business man from Australia Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” From the Roman highways to the information highway, God has been using technology to spread the gospel.
Compaq 386 ran at a speed of 16MHz and had a 40Mb hard drive. This was the beginning of computers and technology for me. And now today, over 20 years later, many things have changed in the computer and technology world. We’ve gone from megabytes to gigabytes to tetra bytes over night. ----- Meeting Notes (11-01-10 15:21) -----Compaq 386 ran at a speed of 16MHz and had a 40Mb hard drive. This was the beginning of computers and technology for me. And now today, over 20 years later, many things have changed in the computer and technology world. We’ve gone from megabytes to gigabytes to tetra bytes over night.
I believe God is leading us as a church world wide to use the unique opportunities and technologies we have before us to lead people to Jesus.I am reminded of this bible text on the screenThat is the purpose of this technology seminar.To better understand the technology age in which we live and how to use it to lead people to Jesus.
Programming and development of the software is done by Simple Updates, located in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
I remember one particular prayer request I received approximately three years ago from a mother in Alberta. She stated that she had reached the very lowest time of her life. She lost her job, her marriage was in ruin, and she was having suicidal thoughts. She was asking us to pray for her situation and that God would work in a very special way. After I received the email, I prayerful responded with some encouraging words. To make a long story short, she ended up attending my church in Kelowna with her two kids and has made some very good friends. The prayer request feature has been a doorway to many new relationships and a wonderful tool for providing spiritual encouragement and prayer for many people.
The Internet sees no country borders. God is doing something incredible.As Christians, we must not be afraid of the Internet or see it as just a technology of networked computers.We must see the Internet as an evangelistic tool that God is using to tell the world about Jesus.We must recognize that we live in the digital communication age and learn to use the Internet as an effective worldwide channel for evangelism as never before.
