Dear Family and Friends:
“Mike, your skills and interests put you right in the sweet spot of where we think growth is going to be for the next few years,” Mark Weimer, Global Media Outreach’s C.E.O. told me over dinner last Monday. By this, he meant experience in new media and interests in writing and discipling new believers.
We’re increasingly confronted with the need to develop more engaging and sophisticated resources for the encouragement of online community and spiritual growth.
For the first quarter of 2008, we totaled over 3 million visitors and those visitors indicated a total of 546,000 decisions for Christ. We’re so excited about the harvest we’ve been participating in, and we recognize the need to care for those we introduce to Christ. True to Mark’s responsible leadership, he wants examples of methodologies which produce measurable results. A few recent responses I’ve received illustrate the need for help:
“I have been close to God and have followed all his commandments yet at times I feel all abandoned, I feel my prayers are not answered. I feel God doesn't love me. Why do I feel this way? Why do I undergo suffering in my life and why is my life in crisis on all sides?” —E., Kuwait (4stepsToGod.com)
“Does Christ blame us for sin?” —A., Uzbekistan (4StepsToGod.com)
“I got a friend that is smoking and drinking that I wanna save but I want to do that scriptural. How do I do that?” —L., South Africa (GodSoLovesTheWorld.com)
“I am a Christian; I was born in a Christian family, but sometimes I have doubts. That is my nature. I am not completely believer.” —N., Egypt (Jesus2020.com)
Our new iChristianLife site is conceived as a way to bring measurability and computer-assistance to the discipleship process. I’ve been part of the team working on this site since September, and some exciting things have been happening for it:
Josh McDowell contributed several of his foundational talks for the site.
A large Christian media ministry contributed numerous professionally recorded video testimonies of dramatic conversions to Christ.
A pastor in Texas recorded a video series, “10 Things Every New Believer Needs To Know.”
A local Christian radio station will allow us to broadcast Christian music in our audio player.