Whenever I talk with a church leader about Internet evangelism a common question is, “How does discipleship take place in a virtual world?” Jesus said, “Go and make disciples… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) So, it aways strikes me as a really important question.
Internet evangelism, like all effective outreach models, must continue beyond evangelism to helping the new believer become a completely devoted follower of Christ. A leader in the world of Internet evangelism is putting this into practice.
Since its inception in 2004, Global Media Outreach (GMO), the Internet ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, has led the way in developing cutting-edge online tools used to win people to Christ and to build them in their faith.
I’ve written previously about the innovative work of the ministry here, here, here and here.
I am still blown away by the staggering number of spiritual seekers GMO reaches. In 2009, GMO had 66,971,497 visitors to its websites. 10,502,641 people indicated a decision to accept Jesus. 1,943,585 people initiated discipleship follow-up with GMO Online Missionaries (OM).
On a pace to exceed those numbers in 2010, it’s awesome to see what God is accomplishing through GMO and its Church Partner Program. And they are very serious about bringing evangelism and discipleship together online.
GMO BREAKS NEW GROUND IN INTERNET DISCIPLESHIP
GMO is totally committed to using the Internet to help young believers grow in their walk with Christ and their understanding of the Bible; to monitor their spiritual formation; and to equip them for the work of ministry, wherever they might be in the world.
To that end, they’ve developed three exciting new discipleship tools.
1. Follow The Path (www.FollowingthePath.com) is an e-learning tool designed to help a young believer move through six core areas of discipleship (Knowing God, New Life, Prayer, Bible, Community, and Share).
2. Discipleship Dashboard is an administrative tool that enables GMO OM’s to see how those they’re interacting with are using the materials. The system also automatically stores a complete historical record of all e-mail communication, shared prayer needs, and resources exchanged between the OM and their contacts.
3. Skype for Discipleship, in pilot phase, utilizes the software application to deepen bonds between the OM and the person they’ve been ministering to. The most powerful aspect of this approach is that it can help the OM invest into the believer’s life on a one-to-one basis. It can also facilitate sharing stories of how Christ is changing lives.
Example of Skype for Discipleship: Watch this amazing story of Laddha, a woman from Southeast Asia who came to Christ through GMO. Laddha is living with a disability and was inspired through the Spirit to share Jesus with orphans, changing their lives.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z25zkLTcLY[/youtube]
Dallas Willard defines a disciple as a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do. They’re not a person who has things under control, or knows a lot of things. They’re simply people who are constantly reordering their lives to carry through on their decision to follow Jesus.
Global Media Outreach is demonstrating what it means to train disciples and send them out to make disciples of all nations … in a virtual world.