Douglas Yeo is a Bass Trombonist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Faculty, New England Conservatory of Music, Boston University College
of Fine Arts.
Doug has used his musical background to create a Bridge Strategy
evangelistic site in which his faith blends naturally and with integrity into a
comprehensive site which is genuinely useful at a musical level. He has
kindly written for us an explanation of the ethos and scope of his
outreach site.
These insights are very valuable to anyone planning any type of evangelistic outreach.
While the Internet seems to be a ubiquitous force in the lives of a
growing number of people, it was not always so. In 1996, Stan Oakes,
then President of Campus Crusade for Christ's Christian Leadership Ministries,
challenged me to develop a website which would combine
excellence in my field, music, with my Christian faith. At that
time, the Internet was still relatively new and there were few
models to work with. But with my experience writing articles and
books, the support of CLM and the help of a talented graphic
designer, I caught on to the possibilities of the internet, realizing
how powerful a force it could be in reaching people with the Gospel.
My site has far exceeded expectations and
has grown to be my primary teaching tool, with over 350 pages of
articles and resources which are viewed by thousands of people a day.
While the site has evolved over the years, its success can be
attributed to fidelity to the guidelines explained below.
Purpose
The Internet has two kinds of websites: end points and intersections.
I wanted to be a place where people went to get information (end
point), not just another site which simply pointed people to other
sites for information (intersection). Links are an important part of
any site, but it is concrete information which will keep people
coming back for more. Because my site is an endpoint, hundreds of
other sites on the web link to my website because people know they
can get what they want when they visit.
Credibility
I have often told people that the fact I play in the Boston Symphony
does not guarantee people will listen to what I say, but it does mean
I often can get people's attention. What I do in the first minute of
that attention is critical. When setting up my website, I let people
know on the home page who I am and what I have to offer.
Focus
You can't please everybody. If you try to be all things to all
people, you may end up diluting your message and getting off-topic.
My target audience is young musicians (age 16-30) who want to do what
I'm doing - play in a symphony orchestra or teach other musicians.
My writing style is direct but neither overly intellectual nor
talking down. I keep my audience in mind at all times, talking to
people regularly about what they would like to see on my site and
making adjustments as needed.
Design
My overriding design goal is to be sure anyone with any browser will
be able to view my site. We must keep in mind that not everyone has
a cable modem and a high resolution monitor. My site has no frames,
no java, no animations, no pop-up ads. Instead, it has a clean,
clear look, graphics which load quickly, and a site-specific search
engine. Making sure people can actually find things they are looking
for is a key element in successful design.
Information
Practical information is what draws people to my site. I talk at
length about how I got where I am today, give tips on taking
auditions, how to practice, how to choose an instrument and such. I
have free, downloadable MP3 files from my recordings, free PDF files
of music, and many photos. People download information from my site
in record numbers - if you offer something for free, people will keep
looking for more. In the process, they keep being confronted with
your message.
Integration
I do not want to hit people over the head with the gospel. Instead,
I want to integrate my Christian faith throughout the site, drawing
readers into my message through the information they want. My lead
article,
The Puzzle of Our Lives,
is the story of my spiritual journey but it begins by talking about
how I got started in music.
And, because reports from my server showed I was getting a high
number of hits from Japan, I had that article translated into
Japanese
as a way to let those readers I feel it is important for me
to have something on my site in their own language. Readers find my
faith woven into many articles on my site in a natural way, as I
would in conversation. I want readers to understand that my
Christian faith is not an "add-on" to my life but it is integral to
my being. I tell people, "Trombone is not who I am, it is something
I do. My Christian faith is not something I do, it is who I am."
Pluralism
The life of the aspiring musician can be overly goal-oriented which
leaves many young artists without a balanced life. Throughout my
site I add things to encourage readers to have a more pluralistic
life. I speak of my own personal fascinations with things outside
music, such as the sculpture of
Daniel Chester French
and French gothic
cathedral architecture.
Each of these subjects show readers that there is more to my life
than music and that a balanced life can provide better communication
in music. Non-musical topics also give me opportunities to further
the integration of my faith into the site; for instance, within the
text accompanying photos of Daniel Chester French's statue of Harvard
University founder (Rev.) John Harvard, I make mention that French
has portrayed the Puritan minister resting his right hand upon a Bible, and
that Harvard's well-known motto,
Veritas ("Truth") is an abridgment
of the University's original motto,
Veritas pro christo et ecclesia
("Truth for Christ and his church"). Informative, natural flow,
powerful.
Access
I encourage people who visit my site to email me. This is a huge
commitment, but I manage to keep up with the high volume of email I
receive because it has proven to be one of the unique things about my
site and it makes a difference in people's lives. Most other sites
put together by musicians and professors do not encourage email
contact. By soliciting contact, I make myself more personal to
readers, and can interact with people in depth. I regularly receive
messages from people who are earnestly seeking to know God, and
others who are confused or even desperate. Email can be an
impersonal format if you treat it that way, but it can also be a
lifeline for people who have nowhere else to turn. I also
participate regularly in several music related email listserve
groups. This takes time, but it has proven to be a critical way of
letting people know I am accessible, and my website URL appears on
the bottom of every message I send. I can often respond to listserve
queries by simply pointing people to an article on my website.
With the Internet being an ever-growing cesspool of garbage, sites
which offer something helpful, interesting, thought-provoking,
challenging and uplifting are all the more important. The integration
of academic excellence with the Christian faith as I have done on my
site is a way to reach the seeking, post-modern person who is looking
for information on how to get ahead and may actually discover how to
get a life."
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