The Journey Online

Dear Friends:

A few years ago, a friend contacted me to tell me that he saw another online ministry. His conclusion was, “Mark, they are your competition!” I thanked him for thinking about Network211 and replied that the only competition we have is with the devil. We are in the harvest fields of the Internet vying for the souls of individuals on a global scale.

So, here are some of my thoughts about the opportunities available for the Church to share the Good News of Jesus Christ via the Internet. First, I have always stated that we need thousands of sites online that attempt to share Christ because there are 5.5 billion Internet Users who will not be reached by a few sites only. Second, we need a wide variety of approaches to reach people. People do not all think alike, process information the same way, or communicate in the same way. For example, some are detail-oriented while others are big-picture. What communicates to one individual could be meaningless to another. Third, you have to meet people where they are so that you can take them to where they need to be in Christ. Their starting point is their current reality. It is not where we think that they are or where we want them to be.

Network211 has a specific approach to online ministry as seen in our mission statement: “Network211 uses 21st-century technology to communicate the 1^st century Gospel by helping people discover and grow in their journey with God.” Our approach is that we want to journey with individuals from discovering who Jesus is all the way to Christian maturity.

Our mission statement is revealed in our strategy:

1. 1. 1. Search. People search online for answers to their life dilemmas. We meet them at their point of need for a specific issue.
      2. Present. We introduce the viewers to Christ and share that a journey with Jesus is the Answer they are seeking. We ask the viewer to join us in a prayer to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
      3. Connect. We encourage viewers to write us about their issues. We have Spirit-filled believers in many nations of the world who reply with a personal response, Bible verses, words of encouragement, and more online content as we embrace the viewers in their life journeys.
      4. Grow. We provide online content at JourneyOnline.org to journey with individuals from where they are spiritually to where they need to be in Christ.
      5. Belong. Then we direct those who write to us to a local church in their village, town, or city. As the Assemblies of God has about 67 – 70 million adherents worldwide, we have a global network with whom we can partner.

 

In 2022, Network211 praised the Lord that the strategy produced in the following statistical results:

• • Gospel Presentations (visits)                5,186,186
  • Evangelism Responses                               321,271 (6.19% of visitors)
  • Discipleship Connections                           41,301 (0.8% of visitors)

 

Statistics reveal one side of the Network211 story. The other side is that each statistic represents an individual who stood in the marketplace of the Internet and reached out for help, hope, and even rescue. It is because of your partnership that we are online sharing the transformational love of Christ and joining them in their life journey.

Thank you for all that you are doing!

May God bless you,

Mark

Dr. Mark Flattery

Network211 President