Cyber Church


Considerations on Leveraging the World Media Community for Discipleship and Local Church Planting in Muslim Cities

“The Third Man” on the team- Paul said that he planted and Apollos watered but God gave the increase. (I Cor 3:6) Since the days of Paul we have no substitute for the local, physical church planting team. God has brought more tools to our hands than ever before for the planting and watering among the unreached peoples. Every church planting team of two (ex. Paul and Apollos) of this century should consider this third member from the very beginning: Mass Media. Why is he so necessary today?

I. The Greatest Challenge To Frontier Missions[1]: Muslim Cities and Villages

*One in every five people, or 1.5 billion people in the world are Muslim[2]

*There are 16,348 people groups in the world. 6,647 are unreached. 3,316 people groups are primarily Muslim.  [3]

*694 Million Muslims live in countries with equal to or greater than 95% Muslim [4]

*Roughly 46% of Muslims live in an overwhelmingly Muslim context (at least 95%) meaning they:

-Have no relationships with non-Muslims

-Have no freedom or opportunity to go to or hear from a church

*535 million Muslims (35% of all Muslims) live in countries with greater than 50% and less than 95% Muslim population.

-In these countries there are often high concentrations of Muslims in a certain region that are closed to traditional missions increasing the 46% previously mentioned to possibly 60% of all Muslims or roughly 900 million Muslims living in an un-evangelized context.

*The traditional team of Paul and Apollos are limited in their ability to plant and water.

II. The Unprecedented Opportunity

A. A New Source of Influence

-Old Source: School and Mosque

-New Sources:

“Nothing has shaped the ideas and philosophies more in North Africa than Satellite Television.” -Urgin  Hargrove[5]

“In the two thirds world                        … 40% get their news from TV.
In Europe and the United States            … 60% get their news from TV.
In the Arab world                                    … 80% get their news from TV.”

-Jon Snow, newscaster

“In France only 6% of nationals own a satellite dish… but 42% of Arabic-speaking families in France own a dish.” – Le Parisien

“In the 22 Arab countries, where 150 million adult consumers live, 140 million are TV viewers and 51 million and growing have cable and satellite dishes.” –Sat-7 [6]

“The number of homes with (illegal) satellite dishes in Saudi Arabia grows by almost 100,000 per month.” – PARC Research Data

B. A New Wave of Response

1. More people have come to Christ in the Muslim world in the last 15 years than in all 1,400 years previous.

examples: Iran, Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Subsahara Africa

2. Al Jazeera reported last year that 6 million Muslims in Africa become Christians every year.[7]

3. One media ministry alone in North Africa has received 60,000 requests for Bibles in response to their media outreach. [8]

Considering a process for turning this response into disciples and church plants:

Step One: Planting Through Mass Media Evangelism

Rom 15:20-21 “Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.”

Isn’t TV too expensive?

Isn’t media only for the experts?

Consider how Paul adapted his methods:

Act 14:1  And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

Act 17:22  Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

What kind of TV programming works?

Won’t it take me 5 years to even get anything going?

How do you convert viewers into contacts?

What is the best media? Radio, TV, or Webpages?

Means of Media to consider:

TV Comercials

Facebook

Paltalk

Skype

Blogs

Podcasts

The list will never stop being updated!

What is my first step to get involved?

-Learn the language

-Apprentice

Arabic Bible Ministries Outreach www.arabicbible.com (Arabic website evangelism and correspondence)

Project North Africa www.projectna.com (Arabic follow up of mass media evangelism, Sat. TV programming, evangelistic/discipleship websites)

Macedonia Bible College      www.uttmost.net(Spanish Local TV programing)

Turkey            www.turkishhappenings.blogspot.com (Turkish. Website)

Arabic World Baptist Seminary      www.awbseminary.org (Arabic seminary online training)

Al Bisharah Channel www.albisharah.com(Arabic Sat. TV Channel Detroit)

Step Two: Watering Through Follow-Up

How does a person move from being a “contact” from the web to a born again believer?

1. Initial Contact

2. Salvation Bible study

3. Introduction to Local Assembly

4. Discipleship Lessons

Step Three: Reaping Through Church Planting

How does a believer turn into a baptized, productive member of a local house church?

5. Baptism and Church planting– It is important that new believers being baptized understand that their responsibility is not only to the head, who is Christ, but also his body, which is the church.

6. Ongoing Church Growth and Multiplication

Commonly asked Questions:

Why don’t you use the Camel Method?

Why don’t you use the prophet’s study?

Why don’t you invite them to the church the first time you meet them?

Why do you “endanger” the church by inviting them before they believe?

What is important to do on the first meeting?

How long should this process take?

How do you find a meeting place in a Muslim city?

Should I work with other house churches if they are already meeting in the city?

Question: Can a church be birthed online?

No. It still takes going! Mat 28:19-20

To complete the steps of the Great Commission we need personal, physical connections:

1. Disciple all nations- After a Muslim is introduced to the Gospel through media, they often don’t recognize themselves as Christians until they have meet other believers.

2. Baptizing them- It only can happen by physically present preachers.

3. Teach them to observe all things- This is the growth and discipleship of the local church. We can use mass media to teach about Jesus’ commandments:

1. TV teaching programs

2. Online Basic Doctrine Course

3. Correspondence Courses

4. Online Seminary- ex: www.awbseminary.org

But Mass Media cannot teach people to observe (keep) Jesus’ commandments:

1. One cannot learn holiness alone.  (Gal 6:1)

2. One cannot learn patience alone. (I Tim 3:10)

3. One cannot learn to disciple alone. (Matt 10:25)

4. One cannot learn humility alone. (I Pet 5:5)

5. All things learned alone are imperfect. (I Tim 3:10)

6. One cannot learn brotherly love alone. (Jn 13:34)

But Yes! God is using Internet and television in an amazing way to bring the last dark places in the earth under the light of Christ.


[1] Frontier missions is to be distinguished from domestic evangelism as the mission to cross-culturally evangelize an unreached people group.

[2] www.adherents.com

[3] http://www.joshuaproject.net/

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Muslim_population

[5] Culture Shock Morocco: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette, Hargrove, Orgin

[6] http://sat7.org/en/news

[7] http://www.formermuslims.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=972

[8] Malaga Media Center November 2009 Prayer Report

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