02-12-2007, 09:48 PM
http://guide.gospelcom.net/resources/india.php
Reaching India using the Internet
Web evangelism strategies for Indian Christian outreach
"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."
Psalm 144:1
Please ask your favorite Indian Christian site to link to this page
The Internet is a powerful medium to reach the rapidly-growing generation of computer-using Indians. At the end of 2002, there were nearly 8 million web users in India, which is expected to rise to 40 million in 2005. This may seem small in comparison with the 1 billion total population, but it is more than the total population of many smaller countries, and it is increasing rapidly. This is a huge opportunity which must be taken up: P G Vargis and Vishal Mangalwadi make an urgent appeal for this.
Indian web users are a group not easy to reach by other means â young and educated professional and business people of higher caste, yet who may be often open to outside ideas. Although the majority are English speakers, there is an increasing demand for web pages in Indian languages. The Bible is available online in Malayalam | Hindi. Tamil | Kannada.
Other resources
* India Resources 777
* India Gateway
* Engaging Indian Culture
* India Mail â weekly email prayerletter
* Ethne Magazine â outreach strategy
* Free evangelistic papers in worldwide English for India
* Radio training courses for evangelistic radio
* Teaching computer skills â method of outreach in India
* Pastors resources
* Gospel India Network
* In Search of Peace
* Free church-planting booklet
* Share your faith with a Hindu
However, the Web can only be used effectively when we understand the nature of this medium. Just as TV is not radio with pictures, so the Internet is not just a way of delivering tracts on a computer monitor. Unlike radio, TV and literature â which are "push" mediums â the Internet is a "pull" medium which draws people in â but only on the basis of what interests them.
It is therefore a waste of time merely to create web-pages explaining the Gospel â because most Indians are not searching for such pages. Different strategies are explained in this Guide, which are being already being used to effectively reach millions around the world. In particular, we believe that the 'Bridge Strategy' is the one which can best touch Indian web users, for example, looking at Bollywood films. Sadly, there are very few evangelistic pages written for Indians, yet the potential is huge.
The Internet has become a powerful tool for us to use in evangelism. These resource pages explain strategies for using it - principles of communication which often apply equally to other forms of outreach too. You can also easily integrate these pages into your own site with a few lines of code.
<img src='http://guide.gospelcom.net/pics/graymatrix.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
The lower-left oval shape represents a group of people who are fairly
resistant and lack knowledge. The challenge is to use approaches which
reach down as far as possible into the bottom left-hand corner!
Conclusions from the Gray Matrix
* Effective evangelism is not only about giving people more knowledge. We must help them move from a position of antagonism (or just not caring), to feeling enthusiastic and interested. People will probably not move up the scale, unless they have first moved across to the right-hand side.
* Anything which moves people from left to right, is as 'evangelistic' as something which moves them up the scale. This is very important for groups of people who are strongly against the Gospel. They will usually not be willing to move up the scale until their antagonism is reduced. They will probably also have misunderstandings about the Gospel message, which must be carefully explained. Acts of Christian service and friendship can often reduce antagonism. For instance, on the mission field, educational, medical or well-digging projects often lead to an openness to the Gospel. In a local church situation, mothers and baby clubs, youth groups, or hospital visiting do the same. For some people-groups, apologies offered for the past actions of so-called 'Christian' nations are also healing hurts and reducing antagonism to the Gospel.
* We can define roughly where a person, or group of people, is situated on the scale. This helps us to choose the best approach to reach them. For instance, the oval shape on the left- hand side represents a person or group of people who are resistant to the Gospel and understand little of it.
* Someone who has no knowledge of the Gospel will not understand Christian language and jargon. A big failing of much evangelism is the use of words and ideas which only Christians understand. It is also important to understand what other religions believe.
* Pressures of society and culture, and the strategies of the Enemy, will tend to pull people down towards the bottom left-hand of the scale. God's purpose is to draw people to the top right-hand side by His Spirit, through the witness of his people.
How the Gray Matrix helps us with online evangelism
* We must assume that people have zero Christian knowledge. We therefore need to avoid using Christian jargon words. "Most Christian literature... begins too far along the evangelistic process; it assumes that the reader has at least some basic knowledge of Christianity and biblical concepts," said the director of a very effective literature outreach recently in Interlit magazine. We live in a post-Christian culture. Since most people have never attended church, been to Sunday School, or learned anything of the Bible in school, they have a complete lack of knowledge or understanding, and no biblical framework in their minds. Any 'spirituality' that people have, is usually shaped by New Age ideas.
* For people who may be antagonistic or uninterested, we must work hard to identify with their feelings. We must avoid a 'preachy' approach, and instead place ourselves at their level, in their shoes, relating to their interests and language. This is sometimes called "contextualization". It has nothing to do with compromising or watering down the Gospel. Catherine Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army, said,
"God forbid that I should ever teach any adaptation of the Gospel. But I contend that we may serve it up in any sort of dish that will induce the people to partake of it."
Contextualization is important to communicate with those of other faiths or none. "You never know till you try to reach them how accessible men are; but you must approach each man by the right door."�(Henry Ward Beecher)
* Sites which are obviously 'Christian' in style, language and graphics, will mainly reach people who are already seeking, who have some knowledge and enthusiasm and probably a church background. This is one of the biggest barriers which prevents sites from fulfilling their true potential and touching people who are 'un-churched'. It is possible to express most Christian truth without using any Christian words other than 'God', 'Jesus', 'Bible' and 'heaven'. Better to use 'God' than 'the Lord', and 'Bible' rather than 'the Word of God' because these terms are more neutral.
* Almost every other Christian word or concept can be expressed in non-religious words. If it is essential to use a religious word, define it. When Words Get in the Way explains this well - every Christian writer should print it out.
<b>
* Christian organizations involved in online evangelism may be wise to choose a different name to brand themselves for a non-Christian readership, than that they use for their Christian supporters.</b>
* Of course, even a site which is written entirely for Christians (as is this one) should still offer an explanation of the Gospel for non-Christians who happen to visit. See the meaning of life link in the contents menu, which is also available for you to link to if you wish.
Reaching India using the Internet
Web evangelism strategies for Indian Christian outreach
"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."
Psalm 144:1
Please ask your favorite Indian Christian site to link to this page
The Internet is a powerful medium to reach the rapidly-growing generation of computer-using Indians. At the end of 2002, there were nearly 8 million web users in India, which is expected to rise to 40 million in 2005. This may seem small in comparison with the 1 billion total population, but it is more than the total population of many smaller countries, and it is increasing rapidly. This is a huge opportunity which must be taken up: P G Vargis and Vishal Mangalwadi make an urgent appeal for this.
Indian web users are a group not easy to reach by other means â young and educated professional and business people of higher caste, yet who may be often open to outside ideas. Although the majority are English speakers, there is an increasing demand for web pages in Indian languages. The Bible is available online in Malayalam | Hindi. Tamil | Kannada.
Other resources
* India Resources 777
* India Gateway
* Engaging Indian Culture
* India Mail â weekly email prayerletter
* Ethne Magazine â outreach strategy
* Free evangelistic papers in worldwide English for India
* Radio training courses for evangelistic radio
* Teaching computer skills â method of outreach in India
* Pastors resources
* Gospel India Network
* In Search of Peace
* Free church-planting booklet
* Share your faith with a Hindu
However, the Web can only be used effectively when we understand the nature of this medium. Just as TV is not radio with pictures, so the Internet is not just a way of delivering tracts on a computer monitor. Unlike radio, TV and literature â which are "push" mediums â the Internet is a "pull" medium which draws people in â but only on the basis of what interests them.
It is therefore a waste of time merely to create web-pages explaining the Gospel â because most Indians are not searching for such pages. Different strategies are explained in this Guide, which are being already being used to effectively reach millions around the world. In particular, we believe that the 'Bridge Strategy' is the one which can best touch Indian web users, for example, looking at Bollywood films. Sadly, there are very few evangelistic pages written for Indians, yet the potential is huge.
The Internet has become a powerful tool for us to use in evangelism. These resource pages explain strategies for using it - principles of communication which often apply equally to other forms of outreach too. You can also easily integrate these pages into your own site with a few lines of code.
<img src='http://guide.gospelcom.net/pics/graymatrix.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
The lower-left oval shape represents a group of people who are fairly
resistant and lack knowledge. The challenge is to use approaches which
reach down as far as possible into the bottom left-hand corner!
Conclusions from the Gray Matrix
* Effective evangelism is not only about giving people more knowledge. We must help them move from a position of antagonism (or just not caring), to feeling enthusiastic and interested. People will probably not move up the scale, unless they have first moved across to the right-hand side.
* Anything which moves people from left to right, is as 'evangelistic' as something which moves them up the scale. This is very important for groups of people who are strongly against the Gospel. They will usually not be willing to move up the scale until their antagonism is reduced. They will probably also have misunderstandings about the Gospel message, which must be carefully explained. Acts of Christian service and friendship can often reduce antagonism. For instance, on the mission field, educational, medical or well-digging projects often lead to an openness to the Gospel. In a local church situation, mothers and baby clubs, youth groups, or hospital visiting do the same. For some people-groups, apologies offered for the past actions of so-called 'Christian' nations are also healing hurts and reducing antagonism to the Gospel.
* We can define roughly where a person, or group of people, is situated on the scale. This helps us to choose the best approach to reach them. For instance, the oval shape on the left- hand side represents a person or group of people who are resistant to the Gospel and understand little of it.
* Someone who has no knowledge of the Gospel will not understand Christian language and jargon. A big failing of much evangelism is the use of words and ideas which only Christians understand. It is also important to understand what other religions believe.
* Pressures of society and culture, and the strategies of the Enemy, will tend to pull people down towards the bottom left-hand of the scale. God's purpose is to draw people to the top right-hand side by His Spirit, through the witness of his people.
How the Gray Matrix helps us with online evangelism
* We must assume that people have zero Christian knowledge. We therefore need to avoid using Christian jargon words. "Most Christian literature... begins too far along the evangelistic process; it assumes that the reader has at least some basic knowledge of Christianity and biblical concepts," said the director of a very effective literature outreach recently in Interlit magazine. We live in a post-Christian culture. Since most people have never attended church, been to Sunday School, or learned anything of the Bible in school, they have a complete lack of knowledge or understanding, and no biblical framework in their minds. Any 'spirituality' that people have, is usually shaped by New Age ideas.
* For people who may be antagonistic or uninterested, we must work hard to identify with their feelings. We must avoid a 'preachy' approach, and instead place ourselves at their level, in their shoes, relating to their interests and language. This is sometimes called "contextualization". It has nothing to do with compromising or watering down the Gospel. Catherine Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army, said,
"God forbid that I should ever teach any adaptation of the Gospel. But I contend that we may serve it up in any sort of dish that will induce the people to partake of it."
Contextualization is important to communicate with those of other faiths or none. "You never know till you try to reach them how accessible men are; but you must approach each man by the right door."�(Henry Ward Beecher)
* Sites which are obviously 'Christian' in style, language and graphics, will mainly reach people who are already seeking, who have some knowledge and enthusiasm and probably a church background. This is one of the biggest barriers which prevents sites from fulfilling their true potential and touching people who are 'un-churched'. It is possible to express most Christian truth without using any Christian words other than 'God', 'Jesus', 'Bible' and 'heaven'. Better to use 'God' than 'the Lord', and 'Bible' rather than 'the Word of God' because these terms are more neutral.
* Almost every other Christian word or concept can be expressed in non-religious words. If it is essential to use a religious word, define it. When Words Get in the Way explains this well - every Christian writer should print it out.
<b>
* Christian organizations involved in online evangelism may be wise to choose a different name to brand themselves for a non-Christian readership, than that they use for their Christian supporters.</b>
* Of course, even a site which is written entirely for Christians (as is this one) should still offer an explanation of the Gospel for non-Christians who happen to visit. See the meaning of life link in the contents menu, which is also available for you to link to if you wish.