How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
-Romans 10:14
How many of us know that we should be doing something for Christ? How many of us intend to serve, but before we know it, time has gotten away from us, and we find we have done nothing? There can be an assortment of “legitimate” reasons: Time restraints, conflicts of schedules, family issues, feeling that you are not adequate to serve Christ, age, health… The list can go on.
Then there are those times when, probably more often than not, we just put ourselves before God.
In 2008, I graduated from Gulf Coast Bible Institute with a degree in Theology. The night before graduation, there was a dinner, and the students present were asked to introduce themselves and share what sort of ministry they were planning to go into. One graduate (who attends Faith Baptist Church) had an idea: He stated he felt the Lord leading in the direction of prison ministries. Since then, it has been a joy to see him grow in the Lord and see the blessings that have been bestowed.
When my turn came, I didn’t really have an answer. I have been running the church website for some time, so the answer I gave was perhaps serving the Lord through the Internet. I have been blessed that I have been allowed to continue maintaining the church website, and have been given the opportunity to serve with the nursing home ministry, but I will be honest and say that I have not always Gods leading. Some of this was because I allowed “legitimate” reasons to hinder me. At other times it was because I put myself before God.
I can only say that God did finally lead me in a direction. Several weeks ago I remembered my statement from graduation: Serving the Lord with the Internet. I started searching for Internet missionaries. I was surprised to find that this is a growing field. Global Media Outreach, part of Campus Crusade for Christ, is looking for people to be online missionaries/tutors/trainers. They match you up with people from across the world who:
- Are new Christians seeking knowledge
- Fellow Christians who are seeking support (spiritual or growth)
- People who are not Christians, but are seeking answers
- Those who have recommitted their life to Christ
Many of these people live here in the U.S. Perhaps because of health issues, they are home-bound, but would like some Christian fellowship. Some, because of family or peer pressure don’t feel comfortable telling others of their decision for Christ. Others live overseas, in countries closed to the gospel, where it is not safe for missionaries to travel. For these, admitting they have accepted Christ puts their very lives in danger. Their Internet connection may be their only opportunity to converse with a fellow Christian. The Internet may be anothers only chance to hear the Gospel present accurately. I have been doing this now for just a few weeks, but I can say that I have met a few that fall into each of these categories. In some instances you may only hear from that person one time. Others you will slowly start to establish a relationship.
My challenge for those who read this is this: If you are not involved in some sort of ministry at present, or believe that you have some extra time to put toward this sort of work, please go to http://www.globalmediaoutreach.com and either financially support their ministry, or volunteer to become an Internet Missionary. You control how many people you will work with, so you determine how much time you put into this. So far it takes me anywhere from 10 – 60 minutes an evening (depending on how many have responded, how much research I need to do to find an answer, etc.).
Finally, the reason I have put together this blog is for sharing information. Perhaps a visitor to the Church website has a similar question that I answered (maybe even someone from the church itself), or perhaps someone from the church will go into Internet missions. Should that be the case, they might find some of my information of use. And for those who decide to go in this direction, they are welcomed to share the questions they received and answers they gave on this blog.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have in regards to being an Internet missionary. I will be happy to share my experiences.
God Bless
Charles
