USA (MNN) — Doug Hutchcraft with Ron Hutchcraft
Ministries says 2009 is taking a new direction in evangelizing
young people in the United States.
"What we think is exciting is a concept
that will bring lost young people out, who might never have heard of the
biggest Christian band out there. What
they're excited about, at a live event, is coming there, and we take a video
that we post on YouTube later, and we'll actually break a Guiness group record. We'll post it later so they can be a part of
being a star on YouTube."
Web-based evangelism is generally
connected with evangelistic web-pages, which play a critical role in web
outreach.
However, the larger picture of
web evangelism could be compared to the reference section of the library. The up-front nature of chatrooms then came
into existence, which was like the street evangelism. And finally came the social networking sites — the
community and relationship part of evangelism.
Social networking sites like
Facebook and MySpace are among the mos- visited sites on the planet. They are a
virtual meeting place. Users can contact
other people, post blogs, video blogs,and pictures, or discuss issues and
interact in many other ways.
Hutchcraft says using social
networking sites and other technology takes the Gospel to where the youth
are. "We hope to get lost young
people to these live events so they become more the star, and they present the
truth rather than the typical model. We're excited about that, and we're
praying that the Lord will use that model to bring a lot of young people into
His kingdom."
RHM is working on a spring Web site launch that will also encompass a new focus on the business people of
the community. Hutchcraft says the
partnership is essential to the new direction, because the business community
can network and raise funds to support the live events.
The plans for growth, he notes,
need to be covered in prayer. "Pray that
those people who are involved with connecting with the young people would
always stay grounded in the Word of God, and that they would be authentic in their
love for Christ."
