Advice about Internet Ministries for the Great Commission teaching

I believe the internet brings many possibilities to share our faith. I have many opportunities in FB for example.

For a course next semester, I am going to be creating an on-line course. The purpose will be evangelism and discipleship, group spiritual formation.

Sadly, there is a real disconnect with getting new believers saved, and then into caring and teaching churches, after salvation.They are justified, but then a lifetime has to be spent in sanctification.

However, this kind of obedience to the Great Commission needs to be done in the context of someone, or people who are firmly grounded in a church, with oversight by the elders, and a solid knowledge of Scripture, and people who love their church family.

There are no lone rangers in the kingdom of God! Without the support, both in prayer and encouragement, an outreach ministry is headed for failure.

I will also add, sharing the gospel is a long process on the internet, only destined for an individual with great patience and love of God and his people!

Wait a minute to both of you. Nothing I said was slander. Both of you need to learn the definition. What I said stands and if the shoe fits, you're wearing it. It is shameful that there is an accusation of slander then I am slandered myself. Look up the. Word. ANY person slamming the church is no preacher.

Jesus said go out into the world. There's a reason for that.
Scripture poses the question.....how will they hear unless one is sent?
God gave his only son.....he could of done this spiritually....but then again not.

Q and A sure go for it......ministry no way. Afraid to be out of your comfort zone? Then don't bother. Maybe you think you can reach more people? The math that has been done in that study says no.
"The called out" that's what you are.
Brother I'm not trying to be mean or cruel but just a brother.
Get your hands dirty, get your boots muddy, get your brow sweaty for the kingdom that where it's at.
Ministry is hands on and nothing less, meet , greet, cry, laugh, weep, and do it all over.

4000 yrs from direction from a cloud.......vrs ..........3yrs of public ministry..............you decide.

Now i am so curious, please

Please don't think I am being contentious. I am just seeking to understand.
Do you believe we can't be used by Him online? I do agree that we need to get out face to face as well. I need the leadership of the church I attend and I think we need to serve others, all for His Glory. I do not think you were being ugly or cruel in your response at all. It just has me pondering, to be honest. I suppose because I like to believe we can serve Him online too.

***I agree totally. A lot of violations of that is in these forums and that grieves me every time. The slandering is horrible! That is supposed to be illegal even and people have gone to jail for such.

Slander is a very specific thing which doesn't occur on this forum.

1. Slander is a type of defamation which takes the form of verbal speech, and everything in this forum takes the form of written speech... so as a starting point, we'd be talking about libel and not slander.
2. Libel has to CAUSE actual damage to someone's reputation, and that damage must be measurable and verifiable.
3. Libel must occur with the express INTENTION of damaging someone's reputation, and that intention must be verifiable.
4. I don't know HOW you could possibly damage someone's reputation in a forum where everyone has an anonymous pseudonym... this would be a real stretch.
5. As far as I know, defamatory libel, in the U.S., is a civil rather than a criminal matter, so people are sued for monetary damages rather than receiving a jail sentence. So basically no, you don't go to jail for libel.
(There may be some weird exceptions going back to older or seldom used laws. So please consult an attorney in your state of residence before attempting to jail your brothers and sisters.)


There is no slander on the forum.

Slander is a very specific thing which doesn't occur on this forum.

1. Slander is a type of defamation which takes the form of verbal speech, and everything in this forum takes the form of written speech... so as a starting point, we'd be talking about libel and not slander.
2. Libel has to CAUSE actual damage to someone's reputation, and that damage must be measurable and verifiable.
3. Libel must occur with the express INTENTION of damaging someone's reputation, and that intention must be verifiable.
4. I don't know HOW you could possibly damage someone's reputation in a forum where everyone has an anonymous pseudonym... this would be a real stretch.
5. As far as I know, defamatory libel, in the U.S., is a civil rather than a criminal matter, so people are sued for monetary damages rather than receiving a jail sentence. So basically no, you don't go to jail for libel.
(There may be some weird exceptions going back to older or seldom used laws. So please consult an attorney in your state of residence before attempting to jail your brothers and sisters.)


There is no slander on the forum.

Can we all just calm down?

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Saint not as a ministry,......no. Paul would of had carple tunnle in both hands if this were so. Interaction is a ministry. I can't express this enough.
Moses said it best ......Lord I want to see your glory. What is stopping you from doing this???
Your reaction to the pros and cons of ministry are so important for all to see. Joy or shame happy or sad.
My Lord cried, my Lord laughed, my Lord sang, my Lord was troubled, my Lord spoke softly, my Lord got angry, my Lord healed, my Lord loved, how do I know this? Because I read it in a book? No because I do too. But 2000yrs ago there were people who saw it first hand..
How do we know Jesus was moved with compassion? That he was troubled in the garden? Angry in the temple? They saw it.
They could touch him, he touched them,.
Remember the leper that Jesus touched and healed? Jesus was probably the first person to touch him in yrs. Can you imagine, yrs.

What are you going to do if someone falls apart over the utube camera send them a hugs gif?
Or if someone needs to eat or drink send them bits? Someone's sick let's pretend were laying hands.
Someone get angry at you do you put them on ignore?
W Hat about the ones that don't have internet are they just out of luck.?

Want to be a good minister what about your neighbors next door or across the street. Sam at the grocery store, your boss and co-workers, hubby ,wife, kids. That creep no one likes........start there😁

What you are missing totally here, is that the internet reaches people no one else reaches. I run an on-line bipolar forum as a ministry. there are a number of Christians in the group. But, because of various reasons (excuses?) they do not go to church. Depression, anxiety, self-care, lack of transportation, the stigma of mental illness, coupled with physical illnesses, mean these people do not attend church. I have desperately encouraged them that they will find a good church better than the internet, but none of them seems capable of pushing themselves out the door on Sunday morning, let alone any other times. They do not talk to their neighbours, and are terrified of striking up a conversation with anyone.

For those people, the internet is a life line! The other day, one Christian woman was complaining about how alone she was. Another Christian lady told her she needed to go to church and make friends, although she could not make it herself. The first woman at least has some virtual shoulders to cry on, to say nothing of my preaching in pms! (I don't preach in the main forum, which has atheists and people of other faiths, although I do mention often what God has done for me in my personal posts!)

Yet, you would deny these people the only contact they sometimes have with other human beings? You would claim that a hug gif, is not good enough, when it makes their day?

I also have physically disabled friends, and the issues are similar. Regardless of the reasons, some people in our society are not able to go to church. It is sad, in many ways. But what a blessing God has opened up the internet door for people to connect and be helped online. I have one man in my group who was totally isolated and alone, except for occasionally talking to his mom, and his therapist. He was in the group for over 2 years without posting. I had to check sometimes to make sure he was still in the group. Then one day, hurting badly, he took a chance and posted about his cutting. The group was non-judgmental. He was so happy to finally have shared his worst issue, and that he was still accepted. His therapist, he said, was delighted he was getting support. Then a while later, he went to the grocery store and bought ingredients and made a virtual meal for the group. He had been a chef before becoming mentally ill, and he was so joyful that he was finally cooking again.

Of course, this is where your point, Potter's Clay, is true! It was nice looking at the pictures of his meal, but no, we couldn't actually eat it. We will have to leave that for real life! But, Michael is actually beginning to recover, which he would not have, without the group. I am 100% behind the need in our postmodern and disaffected society to use the internet for outreach and encouragement, but also for teaching. I hope your heart can understand that for some people, the internet is all they have!

I was lied about with wrong exaggerations and false assumptions. My reputation in this discussion was trashed. The accusers were not being Christ-like. I am 71-years-old and I have a lot of understandings about the many kinds of people, especially those I have attended with in church. I am not an idiot. I am living for what ever God wants me to say and do. I started this discussion to find out about others' ministry successes using the Internet. Is that such a sin. I have had many ministry successes using the Internet. In LinkedIn.com, almost 20,000 people have sent me friendship requests because of my spiritual postings. I was told that some of my e-mails were forwarded to 74,ooo people. To God be the glory for Holy Spirit guidance. I will take credit for my mistakes. But I didn't make the mistakes that I have been accused of. And those in this discussion might try the logical indenting of Scripture I call ETRSFing (Easy To Read Scripture Format). I have learned every time I do it. I also have learned from doing similar for other spiritual and secular documents. It is free to learn from the 2 websites in my signature. Try it you may like it. All free to do, but it is best to be guided by the Holy Spirit instead of one's guesses.

There is no such thing as an online church.

Bill,
My posts above regarding slander weren't meant to disparage you or your ministry.
My first post was dealing with the legal issues of slander, and my second post was just silliness.

Because you brought up words like "slander", "illegal", and "jail", I just wanted to deal with the legal side of slander before the whole thread deteriorated into complaints about how unfairly everyone is treated, or worries about jail sentences. Here in America we have quite a lot of free speech, and slander is generally only seen it's in civil version... although it isn't the same in the countries of many CC members. There are countries where the police come to your door if they don't like what you've said on the internet... and they don't show up because a Christian has been offended.

Anyway, I think that if you're reaching people for Christ on the internet, that's fantastic.
We should reach people wherever we can, and however we can.
We should all do whatever we can do.

That by all means I might save some:
1Co 9:19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
1Co 9:20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
1Co 9:21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
1Co 9:22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

"That by all means I might save some"... I think that includes the internet.


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