Dear Church Member:
The majority of Adventist churches across the United States and the Pacific Union are horse and buggy churches. In many ways, they still look and feel the same as they did in 1900 when everyone came to church in a wagon pulled by a horse. Nowadays, people arrive at their churches via modern methods of transportation—including the cyber-highways of the Internet.
How to Spot One
If your church does not have a website director updating the site every week, yours is a horse and buggy church. If the web site is not colorful and appealing, interactive and linked to daily information updates, if it doesn’t offer a Bible course or links to other outreach opportunities, yours is a horse and buggy church. If your church doesn’t even have a website, it is time to replace the pastor and all the church leaders! Well, not quite, but please read on and take action soon!
Left Behind?
It all started in 1969 when two computers — one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto — were networked together. It took 36 years for the Internet to get its first billion users. The second billion will probably be added by 2015. As you read this letter, there are 225 million people in North America who regularly get information from the Internet. That is 68 percent of the population. Users cross all ethnic groups who are English-speaking, with more women than men online.
The Adventist church simply cannot afford to miss this opportunity to communicate our message. The web is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Jan Paulsen, our world church leader, said recently: “There is no doubt in my mind that Internet evangelism is going to give us a possibility that far exceeds what we’ve been able to do through the other media. I think that our opportunities in Internet evangelism are virtually unlimited.” And he is right. People have already been baptized as a result of reading material or listening to sermons online.
Simplifying the Complex
The main reason most churches have not developed an up-to-date website is due to the complexity of putting information on the site. Until recently, only advanced users have been able to understand the codes and lingo. But in the last year, some visionary lay members got together, and, building on the dedicated efforts of other lay members who developed Tagnet, have put together a website system for churches that anyone can use. It’s called NetAdventist.
For $35 per month, the cost of a tank of gas, your church, large or small, can have a first class website to communicate with members and non-members alike. It uses the latest technology to update news from various sources in real time without your church doing anything. Other information for your church can be added very easily. There are links to evangelistic media and other information as chosen by the local church. It is also available in Spanish.
The Pacific Union Executive Committee is so excited about this new nurture and outreach opportunity that we have agreed to pay the $200 start-up fee to customize the website, plus three months of the monthly fee to maintain it. This offer is good until June 30, 2006. Some local conferences have added more free months to the union’s offer. See a demonstration online at www.netadventist.org. Make sure your church acts now to reach people that may never be reached any other way.
Your friend,
Tom Mostert, President
Pacific Union Conference
P.O. Box 5005
Westlake Village, CA 91359
