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MinistryNet: Budapest 2005 - The Story

Sixty-seven people launched into a resounding applause as Austin finally entered the room.  Like a desperate contestant on The Amazing Race, Austin Okomowho was determined to make the trek from his West African home in Ghana to Hungary in Eastern Europe.  Encountering visa trouble he went from Ghana to Lagos, Nigeria to Abuja, Nigeria back to Lagos, then to England, and finally two weeks later arrived in Budapest.  All that time and effort to attend a 4-day conference which was half over by the time he arrived, seemed a little ridiculous.  But when asked why he was so committed to being there he answered,

“I have the distinct sense that God has something big in mind in regard to internet ministry, but I have no idea what it is.  This conference is the key.  It is the beginning of something huge.”

With Austin’s arrival the official attendance of MinistryNet: Budapest 2005 was 68, from 27 different countries and 5 continents.  Helping Campus Crusade staff effectively launch and grow internet ministries around the world has been a long time dream of Keith Seabourn, Chief Technology Officer for Campus Crusade for Christ, who started planning this event almost a year ago.  The first gathering of its kind, MinistryNet: Budapest 2005  sought to help a variety of people understand the use of the internet in ministry. There were people who knew nothing about the internet and those with several years of experience.  According to Keith, the only requirement for those attending was to have a heart for ministry.

“The key ingredients are ministry skills and a heart to see people’s lives changed.  When it comes to internet ministry most think they have to know a lot about technology, but that’s not true.  Today the technology is simple enough and Campus Crusade has provided a good, rich tool set that anyone can use.  The cookies are on a very low shelf.”

Sandu Onu from Moldova is taking advantage of that low shelf, gathering as many cookies as he can carry.

“I joined staff in 1996,” he said, “but I’ve never done anything with the internet.  I came here with a clean slate and now have a lot of ideas, direction and vision.  I’ve learned that the tech part is easy and that the internet can have a vital role in helping reach the 100,000 students on our campuses.  If I didn’t come here, we would not be able to launch this year.”

Those with no experience like Sandu benefited from the collaborative sharing that took place from countries such as France, Spain, the United States and even the Middle East. 

Eric Celerier was a pastor for twelve years without any knowledge of running an internet ministry, but with a heart to reach French speakers with the love of Christ. He launched his evangelistic site, topchretien.com in 1999, and it has since become the number one Christian portal for French speaking sites.  With a vast network of nearly 2000 volunteers from 40 countries, Eric’s web ministry sees an average of 15,000 people visit every day.  Since March of 2002, over fifteen thousand have indicated a decision to receive Christ as their Savior.

WorldLinc, a ministry of Campus Crusade based in Orlando, Florida, introduced ARC (Assist Response Center) that helps follow up those who come to Christ over the internet.  Conferees were able to see how it works and adopt it into their own ministry.  The sophisticated system forwards “decisions” to trained volunteers anywhere in the world to personally reply to new Christians, helping them grow in their relationship with God.  The program makes it possible for German speakers to follow up German speakers, or athletes to respond to athletes, or any way a ministry chooses to set it up.  If a volunteer can only handle one new person a week, then they only receive one email a week.  It’s an amazing tool being used to help minister to the thousands of people finding God via the internet.

“Internet ministry is limitless!” became a repeated phrase as excitement about reaching the unreachable grew.  News about a website for Arab students indicated that 298,100 had visited since November and 3,200 of them had become Christians.

Yvan Pinto from Spain summarized an interesting pattern among young people, a trend that seems to be true across cultures.

“We have a generation that thinks with their hearts and listens with their eyes.” 

Several at the conference agreed with this, recognizing that teenagers in their respective countries are turning to the internet as their primary source of truth.  That makes internet ministry necessary to effectively reach the young people of today.

 At the beginning of the conference Keith Seabourn asked,

“Are you just building a website or are you reaching the world?”

During these four days, coaching was provided in the areas of design, marketing, branding, and technology. At the end of the conference, Toni from Albania commented,

“I didn’t want to come here.  I thought, ‘Why do I have to be there?  I know nothing about the internet.’  But now I know.  It’s not about high technology and great design.  It’s about our call to go and make disciples of all nations.”

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