Research papers and studies on the relationship between the Internet, church and evangelism

Wise insightful research is a pre-requisite to action: Nehemiah 2:11-18. A growing number of people have done research into the relationship between the Internet, the church, and evangelism/related subjects. Not all of us are called to either write, or read, such material. Yet the concept of research in the Christian world is very important. Without facts and figures, or understanding of trends, we cannot plan strategy or anything else. Such papers are often in-depth doctoral material. Research is needed for any new outreach.

Need for research

One area in which there has been little or no research: the usability of evangelistic websites for non-Christian readers - not merely in terms of navigation and design, but specifically to avoid annoyance or lack of comprensibility, and how non-Christians handle the information presented to them. This small study on annoyance demonstrates on angle of inquiry. Here's a great college/postgrad research study for someone.

We will be happy to add links to other similar pages - please tell us of any.

A PhD in Religious On-Line Communities
Research by Heidi Campbell - a compilation of papers on relating to religious community, communication, and spirituality.
Communicating Christ on the Internet
In 1997, Rev. Dr. Arne H. Fjeldstad completed his doctoral dissertation at Fuller Theological Seminary's School of World Mission. His dissertation topic was "Communicating Christ on the Information Superhighway". This page is the introduction to his dissertation, and includes much thought-provoking material for researchers.
The Role of Trust in Virtual Community Assimilation
This research article by Mike Morgan follows the conversion of a young woman through the Internet, and her subsequent discipling. It is downloadable as a Rich Text File (106k) - just click on the link and select a suitable place to save the file - on a floppy or accessible place on your hard drive. RTF files are readable on almost every type of word-processing software, but strange formatting errors can occur, and it may look best on Windows Wordpad if you have it. It's a 20-page printout, depending what margin and other settings you choose.
E-vangelism: redefining evangelical identify in online global culture
Maura McCarthy studied Anthropology at New York University and later went to Oxford University (UK) to take an MPhil in Social Anthropology. This dissertation was written as part of her course. Her training and religious background have enabled her to address the subject from a sympathetic yet impartial viewpoint.
Maura's interest is the way that Christians are using the Internet to communicate the Gospel. She analyzes what she calls the 'adaptive' strategy - that is: writing web-pages on a subject of secular interest, and then leading across to the Gospel. The equivalent term used in this guide is the bridge strategy, which is similar to the concept of redemptive analogy. After defining the scope of the study, she goes on to briefly cover the history of Christian proclamation through earlier mediums: print, radio, TV, music, film and video. Then she looks in detail at the 'adaptive' approach, and defines it further as offering a 'trap' and an identity with the reader. Then we see how these sites are a transitional gateway from the reader's interest group to the Gospel. She analyzes in detail five specific evangelistic sites that use this approach. Maura's clear insight into the issues involved will greatly help anyone planning an evangelistic site to see and understand this vital 'adaptive' strategy: writing pages about the things that people want to read. You can also download this thesis as a Rich Text File (242k) - it prints at about 38 pages.
The Use of the Internet in Mission amongst Young People in the UK Between the age 11-16
Richard Bromley, a director of YFC in UK, has written this MA dissertation. It's available in PDF format. (Note that you can save a PDF document for offline reading.)
The Digital Divide
Pew Internet report: Why people move in or out of Internet access. Reasons for non-use. Embarassment. Disability. Racial/gender/age differences.
Cyberspace: A Valid and Effective Evangelistic Medium?
Mike Leggett has produced a study for his Bible college dissertation. It's available in both HTML and PDF. One interesting point he makes is that there seem to be no sites aimed at reaching senior citizens.
Cybertheology
Interesting angles on the nature of the Internet from a Polish Catholic perspective.
How the Internet Affects the Faith and Relationships of Christian Teenagers
Paper by Andrew Careaga, University of Missouri, writer and youth pastor.
A Manifesto for the Future
Paper given at the November 2000 Internet Evangelism Conference on the many opportunties for Web Evangelism which are not being sufficiently exploited, including cross-cultural outreach. This 3600-word article is free for re-publication. Also available as 34k RTF file.
Web Evangelism Thesis, Dustin Williams
Dustin has put together a set of useful bibliography links and books as part of the work for his senior thesis at Concordia University.
Teen use of the Internet
A recent survey of American teenagers underscores the increasing use of the Internet for religious purposes among young people.
'E-lim E-vangelism' - a church website study
Pastor Gregory Kane has written a thesis looking at the effectiveness of the church websites of his UK denomination in reaching out to the unchurched through the Internet. This excellent study will help any church assess its own site critically, or plan a new site.
Cybernauts Awake! Ethical and Spiritual Implications of Computers, Information Technology and the Internet
This new book, also available complete online, is a 1999 report by the Church of England.
Embracing the cyberchurch, by Andrew Careaga
An online magazine article in Next Wave by a key thinker on the roles of the Internet, church and evangelism. The changes which are coming about through the Web are significant and far-reaching.
Radio Programming Roles
This is a very valuable short booklet/long web-page primarily for those in evangelistic radio ministry. It prints out at about 25 pages. If you wonder why it is featured here - it's because there are remarkable parallels between communicating the Gospel online and by radio. And of course radio has many more years experience than we have. This guide is by Frank Gray, FEBC's Vice-President of International Operations and Programming. It also explains the 'Gray Matrix' - a development of the 'Engel Scale' which combines the Engel Scale's vertical axis of knowledge of the Gospel with a second horizontal axis of antagonism or receptivity (closedness versus openness). This is a helpful tool for analyzing any website or other Christian program, or for planning and strategy.
Study: Teens expect Internet to replace traditional church
Interesting item based on research by the Christian Barna Research Group.
Pew Internet and American Life
Secular charitable research center offering in-depth studies relating to Internet use.
Apologetics and postmodernism links
There are a number of excellent sites helping us to understand postmodernism and how to relate to modern culture.
World Christian Database
The World Christian Database (WCD) represents the core data from the World Christian Encyclopedia (WCE) and World Christian Trends (WCT). The WCD includes detailed information on 34,000 Christian denominations and on religions in every country of the world. Extensive data are available on 238 countries and 13,000 ethnolinguistic peoples, as well as data on 7,000 cities and 3,000 provinces. Statistics in the WCD represent a significant update of the data published in WCE/WCT in 2001. WCD is an initiative of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
newWway.org
Vital insights into communicating the Gospel in the modern world.
Media Strategy
Discusses strategy in the use of media to communicate a wide variety of development-related topics within the context of a Christian worldview.
Virtual Research Center
Links for people, culture, population, and more.
Does the Internet make us lonely?
One of the excellent (secular) Alertbox columns raising interesting comments on the interaction of the Web on society, with a link to a major study by Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society
The Wabash Center Guide to Internet Resources for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
Not particularly about the Internet, but a very good compendium of online resources for academic research. See also Finding God in Cyberspace - religious studies links relating to many different religions.
ARDA - the American Religion Data Archive
Comprehensive data on religion surveys for USA and Canada.
ADRIS
Newsletter and archived material with comprehensive links to a range of useful resources.
Redemptive Analogies
In a culture, there is frequently some practice or understanding which can be used to demonstrate the Gospel. Here is a page of useful links about this concept.
Eyetracking Study of Web Readers
This is one of the excellent series of Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox articles on issues relating to usability and communication on the Web. He often cites research studies to back up his conclusions.
UCLA 2001 report on the Internet - 95-page highly detailed report on the use and effects of the Internet within USA.
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies 'Scholarship.org' links
Many missiogical resources.
Cross-cultural mission links
Christian Research - UK-based issues on the UK church, statistics, and social trends. Offer UK-based seminars, plus Lausanne Conference for Christian Researchers in Cyprus in 2005.

Books
Here are some books on the subject - maybe your library will order them for you:

Media in Church and Mission by Viggo Søgaard (ISBN 0878082425) offers a unique insight into the theories and techniques of Christian communication. Anyone who is involved in any type of media communication needs to understand these vital issues.
Søgaard's book Research in Church and Mission (William Carey Library Pub; ISBN: 0878082719) is apparently just about the only book for Christians on how to conduct such research.
Dying to Live - The 21st Century Church by Thomas Hohstadt: a general overview on how the digital world in general, and the Internet in particular, will impact the Church and its mission.
Eministry by Andrew Careaga: this insightful book (and newsletter) analyses the changes that the Internet is having on secular culture and Christian communication. It is an essential read.
Give Me That Online Religion Brenda E. Brasher, Pub: Jossey-Bass (A Wiley Company) ISBN 078794579X. Brenda Brasher is assistant professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Mount Union College, Allian, Ohio, USA. She has been documenting and analyzing websites of traditional and alternative religious groups since 1990 - a time when most of us had barely heard of the Internet. This book is full of interesting insights from a detached and vastly knowledgeable observer. Brasher follows other commentators in suggesting that the Web will dramatically transform society and the practice of religion, just as did the invention of the printing press. The book avoids technical or sociological jargon, but it is a concentrated and closely-reasoned read. Brasher claims there are some million religious websites. She could have looked at more of them in detail, explaining what strategies they use. Her one focus on an (untypical end-times) evangelical site betrays a lack of objectivity which she retains elsewhere.

Research Papers and Studies

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