I have made a number of new friends during the past years. In some strange way they have become part of my life. We have various interest in common.

We spend quite a lot of time discussing and sharing information as well as engaging in much "small talk." Actually, some of them are much more outspoken and direct than many of my other friends. Perhaps even quarrelsome, always disputing another's opinion. I have come to experience them as very emotional, with a rich variety of strong opinions, with some shouting and a lot of smiling. On the other hand, they are also very easy to get in touch with and always ready to answer a new question. They are honest and astonishingly open, sometimes even intimate. I have learned a lot not only from them but also about them; their thoughts, feelings, lives; more than I have with many of my other friends.

They are my invisible friends. I have never seen even one of them. Never met any of them face to face in real life. They are all a part of my virtual community. Friends chosen out of common interests living in very different parts of the world with days of travel in between. Yet they live not more than a few minutes away. They are all friends I have met on the Internet.

Millions With Access to the Net

The Internet has become a part of everyday life for millions of people around the world. According to Nua Internet Surveys, more than 605 million people had access to to the Internet worldwide by September 2002. However, the number of people with Internet access is mainly from the US & Canada, Europe, Asia/Pacific, and the Middle East. In Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa), one in every 250-400 people have Internet access, compared to 1 in 15 people in the rest of the world. In North America and Europe, 1 in every 2 people has access to the Internet.

There is still a lot to do before people from all parts of the world have equal access to the Internet. Research also indicates that areas with many poor families have a low rate of Internet access in the United States. Without "Internet literacy" people may loose the battle for education and work in the years to come.

But the Net has come to stay. And it will continue to change the way people live and communicate; just like the refrigerator, TV or any other item that has become a normal part of a household. The Internet has become an important source for information for millions of people together with TV, radio and other media.

A Global Marketplace for Religions

The Internet is truly a battlefield for the human mind. There is an interesting openness among many "Netizens" (people "inhabiting" the Internet) for new ideas and new values in life. This openness may well be connected with excitement for new technologies and willingness to explore new inventions and challenge the boundaries of the human mind. With reference to the famous words of Paul on Areopagus one can surely say, "Humans of cyberspace! I see that in every way you are very religious," (Acts 17:22).

The Internet provides in many ways a confused and twisted mirror of our postmodern world with plenty of cults and room for "private religion" of virtually (sic!) any fashion. Dr. Stephen O'Leary is right when he observes that something revolutionary is taking place. "If current trends hold, computer and computer networks will play an increasingly significant role in the religions of the future," says O'Leary, and concludes: "It does not seem too far-fetched to think of cyber-communication as coming to play a major role in the spiritual sustenance of postmodern humans. The possibilities are endless. Online confessions? Eucharistic rituals, more weddings, seders, witches' sabbaths? There will be many such experiments." (Stephen D. O'Leary, "Cyberspace as Sacred Space: Communicating Religion on Computer Networks." in Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 64 (4) 1996, 805.)

Not all the virtual expressions of human religiosity deserve to be taken seriously. The tragic event in San Diego, March 1997, where 39 people, many recruited via the Internet, were found dead in an apparent of mass suicide, serve as an alarming illustration, a challenge for Christians to present the good news in a new reality.

10,000 Christian Websites

However, the majority of "religious websites" are connected to Christianity. According to a recent Ellison survey, of U.S. churches with congregations of 200+ members, 88 percent had a website, while churches with 100-199 service attendants were 60 percent likely to have a website.

Worldwide, anyone with a PC (or Macintosh) and Internet access can explore billions of online resources. Each person using the Net can choose his or her level of involvement from just looking at some home pages, downloading an illustration or software, join an e-mail group or participate in real-time online "chat groups." One can:

• visit cyberchurches or local churches for an online sermon, devotion, or other spiritual nourishment.
• search multiple Bible translations (even in languages such as French, German, Spanish, Italian, Tagalog and others) electronically.
• correspond with overseas missionaries without paying expensive long-distance phone charges.
• share your prayer concerns with friends, and be of help to them.
• read (or download) articles in current issues of many Christian magazines without a subscription.
• listen to Christian music, radio broadcasts, video, etc.
• read (or download) free copies of classic works by Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and many more.
• participate in e-mail conferences on topics of special interest to you (or even start your own!)

Helping People to Christ on the Net

Even more important is the fact that people come to faith in Christ via the Net. In an international survey among "cyberchurches" and other churches on Internet ca. 45 percent of the participants confirmed that one or more people had come to Christ as a result of their ministry in cyberspace.

The survey documents that thousands of people visit Christian homepages on the Net every week. Some of the participants in the survey got several hundreds of prayer requests during a month. The answers clearly stated how the Internet is a global medium where people can interact no matter how far apart they live in real life. A majority of the participants received more than a hundred responses during a year, many from outside their local area, just because of their presence on the Net. It is really true that a small church or ministry can have a much greater impact through the Internet than their actual size might indicate. (Arne H. Fjeldstad, Communicating Christ on the Information Superhighway, D. Min. dissertation at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Summer 1997, 248.).

Anonymity may be a help for some to share their questions and concerns about faith and life. Many people join the Net from their homes where they feel relaxed and safe. This may also give a good atmosphere for an open conversation. The Internet is strangely personal and many people surfing the Net are looking for relationships. As in broadcasting there is a need for follow-up by real people.

Many cyberchurches also encourage their visitors to become a part of a local church. As The Cross Ministries says, "Should you replace your local church with The Cross? Absolutely not! Your local church is a vital element of your spiritual strength and growth. Because while we can be a lot for you, we cannot serve you as your local church can serve you. Real human touch, a handshake, even a proper hug, are absolutely necessary. As is the gentle glow of a caring smile, and a heart reaching out to you, asking "How are you today … really?"

Internet Missionaries Needed!

The Internet provides an open, nonjudgmental marketplace where people can leave some of their prejudices behind. It is an exciting new opportunity for evangelism. In the same way as the church sent Barnabas and Paul, and millions more missionaries to the whole world throughout the centuries, the churches need to commission dedicated men and women to penetrate the Internet, presenting the gospel and modeling a holistic, Christian life.

A major model for this could be "friendship evangelism," calling Christians of any denomination to active user groups and e-mail conferences on almost any imaginable subject, to explore the tremendous opportunities of international interaction and building real friendships where sharing the faith in Jesus Christ is a natural thing to do.

The Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) challenges every Christian to "go and make disciples of all nations." Jesus commissions us to care for our fellow human beings who have not yet accepted the good news of eternal life by actively "going and finding" them. Today the Commission must be extended to any "reality" in which people interact and communicate within, so that the true good news may become a life-changing reality to many more people. In a real sense, communication is normally not only to "transmit" a message via an external tool (like radio, TV, etc.) but to be willing to go in person, like a missionary.

Every Christian, church or ministry on the Internet needs to regard oneself as an "ambassador for Christ" ( 2 Cor 5:20) and recognize his or her vitally important potential for doing holistic, mission-focused work in a cross-cultural reality. Yet it is crucial that any church or ministry on the Net be prepared and has a clear commitment and strategy.

Doing high impact ministries on the Net does not necessarily require a lot of resources in terms of people, staff, and money. Many virtual churches are run by one or two people only, yet they have already made high quality Web sites and are communicating and affecting thousands of people worldwide.

The very basic challenge will be to strengthen the idea of a God-given reality, of revealed truth which is valid throughout eternity by proclaiming the God-given ability of relationships and stimulating real interaction. God, or Jesus, is not "virtual" and "relative" depending upon whatever perception of history or reality a person might have. We confess the God of history and his interaction with the human world through Jesus Christ as an objective truth. At the same time we are challenged by the new tools of modern computer technology to not only proclaim the good news of the gospel in the virtual world but as active participants in the many forums of this society to manifest a "Christ-like" lifestyle as a holistic witness of a uncompromisingly real, living faith.

Values are Real Also on the Net
On a personal level, the visible expression of a Christian lifestyle in virtual communities will become ever more important. If we believe that the 10 Commandments are not "out of date" or invalid as moral principles in our personal lives or in society as a whole, we need to be consistent in our ethical values for the Internet community.

It cannot be claimed that the acts performed on the Net are not "real" and therefore do not have consequences for our everyday life in a human society. Sexual conduct on the Net is not only a matter of stretching moral limits in a world "out there" but has severe implications on real interaction among humans in "real life." Life on the Internet is in no way morally neutral.

A Christian presence on the Net also implies a clear witness of a holistic ethical and spiritual lifestyle. In a virtual community where values are constantly challenged, shaped, and reshaped, an inclusive, loving, and mature Christian life is and will be as strong a witness as in real life. It definitely has profound opportunities for influencing people's real lives. The intimate and affective attitudes in many virtual forums may provide unique opportunities for deep-level impact from active believers living out their faith also in the virtual world.

Cyberspace Belongs to God
The cyberspace belongs to God, as does the rest of the Creation. God's people need to be there to pray, present and embody the love of Christ to the very real, living person at the other end. Yet in the midst of all techniques, methods and technologies we must constantly keep in mind that this must never become a substitute for Scripture. Christian churches and ministries must fervently use whatever technology or medium suitable for the task to communicate the gospel and glorify God.

When doing this we need to be reminded of the early church, as René Padilla says, "The picture of the church that one derives from the New Testament is certainly not that of a powerful organization that has achieved success in its conquest of the world by the masterly use of human devices and techniques. It is rather the picture of a community experiencing a new (supernatural) reality, the Kingdom of God, to which "the Lord called day by day those who were being saved."

As Michael Green has put it, "In the early church the maximum impact was made by the changed lives and quality of community among the Christians." Changed lives and quality of community, that is to say, faithfulness to the gospel in practical life, do not come through technology but through the Word and the Spirit of God. Technology will never make up for our failure to let the gospel mold our lives!"

Copyright, Arne Fjeldstad. This article is used with permission.

Arne Fjeldstad is president of Gegrapha, which calls all journalists who are Christians—Protestants, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox—at all stages of their career, to pursue integrity and excellence in their workplace, neighborhood, family, and faith community. Arne has been a newspaper journalist and editor for more than 20 years as well as a part-time professor teaching journalism and communications.