Thanks for mentioning this topic! I think many of us struggle in the area of evangelism, particularly in the area of methodology. Being Reformed in our theology, we know salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2) and an act of God’s grace (Eph. 2), yet we’re still called to share the Gospel (Matt 28) and do all things for the sake of the Gospel (1 Cor. 9). Based on the topic at-hand, I agree, it seems two general categories emerge with online evangelism (although I think this applies to short-term mission trips and outreaches): pragmatism and skepticism. My personal tendency swings toward skepticism, which you’ll probably hear in my answers.

What are the challenges with online evangelism?

Honestly, I think the first challenge is our theology allows for salvation to take place in a moment and we dare not put God in a box; yet, our hearts break for those who “prayed a prayer” and “made a decision”, but have a religion and not a Savior, Lord, and King.

The second challenge is we often question the motives of the sharer and the understanding of the hearer. Many of us have probably been scarred by “cattle call” approaches and “get ‘em saved” tactics.

The third challenge is there is usually a strong emphasis on salvation and “making a decision”, with little or no emphasis on other tenets of the faith (ie. becoming part of a local church, and repentance as a way of life). We have visions of new believers being eaten alive by the wolves…if only we had been there to save them…

What is the role of using the internet as a tool for conversion?

The Internet is a virtual marketplace, similar to Paul’s experience in Acts 17. Therefore, we must understand our hearers (the culture) and contextualize our message accordingly.

Should or how should it be done?

Clearly, there is freedom in methodology, but if it’s done, it should be done strategically, carefully, cautiously, humbly, prayerfully, lovingly, discerningly, local-church minded, ….(my words fail me).

What would be the best practices if you were to build the ideal circumstances for it to take place?

I hesitate to call the following a best practice, but a lot of thought has gone into development of online resources, particularly related to evangelism. The ministry where I serve, Spread Truth Ministries, is in the process of developing a Gospel resource, called “The Story” (www.ViewTheStory.com). Our primary concern was to address a cultural development often associated with Postmodernism: namely, there is very low biblical literacy due to the rejection of any meta-narrative that attempts to define all of life. We did this by re-introducing a concise framework for the Bible, providing a meta-narrative, which utilizes both biblical and systematic theologies and called it “The Story”. Phase 1, therefore, was to develop the resource. Our next concern was to address another development often associated with Postmodernism: namely, individualism has gone to seed at the expense of community. So, one part of our Phase 2 strategy will be to integrate the online version of this resource into the websites of local churches (essentially making “The Story” look as if it’s part of the local church), providing several opportunities for the reader to connect with the local church through the web, and hopefully make “events” within the church easily accessible to the reader. Phase 3 would take too long to explain, but our vision goes beyond what’s been written.

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The danger of this is that the “convertee” does not get integrated in a Gospel community. The another danger that can arise is that the operators behind the online conversion efforts are isolated from those that they are seeking to serve. In that environment, self-seeking motives can arise stealing those Christians’ hearts away from fully loving God and loving others. I believe that effective online evangelism effort need to no only present the Gospel message but engage the visitors of the site in relationship building that encourages face to face interaction.