Virtual Missionaries: How Virtual Missionaries Can Best Use Social Networking Sites to Evangelize Unbelievers and Edify Believers

Today, a staggering number of people log onto the World Wide Web daily and visit on social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. As a result of this phenomenon, we, as Christians, are finding ourselves on a whole new mission field, that is, a “virtual” mission field. The need for these “virtual missionaries” is great. It is evident from the many comments on these sites, that non-Christians and Christians alike seem to be questioning the validity of the Bible. Furthermore, we are now seeing threats to Christianity because many non-Christians collectively dismiss God’s Word as something that has no truth or real authority over mankind in a world of competing religions. In addition, Christians have become increasingly apathetic and no longer feel the need to evangelize. This is a growing concern, as well as a unique opportunity for true Bible-believing Christians to use social media sites as tools to spread the Gospel like never before.
There is a real need for online ministry. The use of technology can be used to great advantage to evangelize non-believers and to edify believers. Currently, it is being under-utilized because some Christians are not convinced of the appropriateness and usefulness of this form of evangelizing. However, there is the hope that those opposed to online ministry will soon realize that, as Christians, we have no time to lose and must use every resource we have to talk to others about the love of Jesus Christ. The research findings in this project indicate that people are indeed thirsty for the truth and are searching for significance in this world. As Christians, we can be a guiding light in this world of darkness and because of technological advances, we have the capacity to reach even more people. The purpose of this project is to encourage other Christians to use the tools before them to reach out and do what is commanded in Matthew 28:19-20, also known as the Great Commission. Online evangelism is very real, important and needed as one will see in the following pages. It is time for Christians to take a stand and speak out!