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Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God. This month we join with many around the world as we pray about using online digital media for evangelism.
Partners of Create International are Seeing Dramatic Viewership with Online Evangelism
This is the site of Ravinder, one of Create International’s lead actors and a Banjara church planter.
Photo credit: Create International
The Covid-19 crisis has dramatically changed the digital landscape, as billions of people head online to cope with life and to work under the lockdown. Billions seek meaning, purpose, and identity each day. Please join with the YWAM family this month as we pray for online evangelism. Please pray that the message of God’s love will come through, even to those isolated from any other form of Christian witness.
The growth of the internet and digital technologies have made it possible to reach a vast number of unreached peoples. Whether over the Internet, using YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter or through wi-fi, Bluetooth, apps, and SD card distribution, the work of spreading the Good News to those who have never heard is becoming easier and cheaper. Nearly five billion people use the internet with over 3.8 billion people active social media users.
The numbers are enormous and full of possibilities for evangelism. But how do Christ followers use these technologies for maximum reach and effectiveness? Carol Conkey of YWAM’s Create International notes that digital media works best when produced in the local language and packaged in a “way that a particular people group can hear with understanding, and then pass on with accuracy.”
Create International has been producing evangelistic websites for many years. One time, a conservative Iranian Muslim housewife alone in her home searching for halal recipes came to an evangelistic website. She discovered new revelations and truth from the Prophet Isa al Masih (Jesus). She secretly contacted the website hungry to find out more. The people working on the website sent her a Bible and more insights online. Later someone contacted her to arrange for a coffee-shop meeting.
Many YWAMers have been enhancing their ministry with digital media even before the coronavirus pandemic, and they are doing so even more now. One YWAM team in Cambodia has received national media coverage as a result of their social media posts, and some have come to faith as a result.
Other YWAM ministries have pioneered evangelistic initiatives using a strategy called Media to Movements (https://kingdom.training/). As seekers interact with various levels of engagement the eventual goal is to have direct contact with believers. In one case study in North Africa:
- 70,000 Facebook responses
- 686 Facebook inquiries
- 556 agreed to meet face to face
- 350 met face to face
- 118 became believers
- 48 were baptized
- 7 groups and small churches were started
If you have only a few moments to pray, please pray for continued online evangelism so that all peoples will hear and understand the gospel message in their heart language. Thank you for being part of The Invitation. We would love to receive stories from you regarding how you prayed. If you get involved in evangelistic digital media, please send us links. You can email us at prayer@ywam.org.
Digital Usage During Critical Month Of Coronavirus
Photo credit: Hootsuite
Prepare to Pray:
Consider some of the people you are connected to through social media. Are there many among them who don’t know Jesus? Bring their faces to mind, think about their lives – their needs, longings and relationships. How do you feel toward them? Compassionate? Yearning? Wishful? What is the nature of God’s longing for them? Sit for a moment in silence, paying attention to the feelings you have become aware of. Hold these feelings before God as a sort of wordless prayer.
“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).
You are conscious of your desire for your friends to know Jesus, on the one hand, and God’s love for them, on the other. See if you can expand these “wordless groans” to include those in other nations who may never have the opportunity to hear the message of Jesus, except via their access to what Christ-followers post online.
Before you pray, take a moment to read the story of YWAMer Uriah Lyford about how God has used social media to impact the nation of Cambodia.
YWAMer Uriah Lyford (left) and his team from UofN Poipet reaching out to their local community.
Photo credit: Uriah Lyford (Facebook)
“In Poipet, Cambodia we have been passionate about using social media to share the gospel for quite some time. I personally began using my Facebook intentionally to reach young Cambodians a couple of years ago and have had several of my posts and videos go viral with millions of views.
“The impact of these videos and posts has been vast and varied. One young man who had seen me on Facebook reached out on Messenger and through relationship became a Christian. Another time after making a video about our base being robbed and how we forgave the thief more than $10,000 in donations came in to replace the things stolen. Posts about our YWAM volunteer work (including crisis food distribution we’ve done during this pandemic) have received national media coverage and we’ve been featured multiple times in the news.
“We rejoice as another person came to the Lord yesterday, this one through our staff responding to messages that come through our YWAM Facebook page. It’s important for people to know that responding to messages is also key, even if it might seem a little strange to chat with a stranger. We need to consider this our new form of street evangelism.
“I want to encourage you that using social media is one of the greatest and easiest ways to share the gospel in this modern age. Pray and ask the Lord for creative ideas of pictures, videos, or other means you could use. Try to think beyond posting a scripture verse or simply saying “God loves you.” How can you present a visual message or story that will connect with people’s current situation? Consider using various platforms. God can use anything: Instagram, TikTok—anything! Please be praying for us here as we continue to do the same.” (See more abut Uriah’s ministry on his blog: http://uriahlyford.weebly.com/?fbclid=IwAR0mB36xzeAlO19MYoAAsWx2L-grDz9NeYXGtQaVmKWbpd4U9hW4MAC9W2Q.)
Even before Coronavirus global digital growth grew from January 2019 to January 2020.
Photo credits left to right: Hootsuite
How To Pray – Online Evangelism
- Pray for all of us to have a passion to reach the lost and to use “all possible means” to see many come into the Kingdom. Pray for each of us to find our place using digital media for evangelism.
- Pray for more indigenous and locally produced evangelistic media using locally popular sites and venues.
- Pray for unreached people to respond to the online messages of the Good News. Pray for more workers to be able to follow up and meet those who indicate they want to know more about following Jesus.
- Pray for open doors to be able to meet seekers face to face or to make personal contact to pray and dialogue with those who show genuine interest.
- Pray for Uriah and his team’s social media outreach to Cambodians. Pray for effectiveness of all YWAM evangelistic digital platforms.
- Ask the Lord for direction regarding digital outreach activities for your location.
Photo credit: Create International
Take Action:
- Create International has been a pioneer in Internet evangelism. Explore what they are doing and seek God for direction regarding your digital activities:
- Since 1997, Create International has promoted internet evangelism through some of the first web evangelism seminars, evangelistic websites, and sites for free film downloads. See
- https://www.globalmediaoutreach.com/
- Over 700 evangelistic (as well as mobilization/prayer films) are available on the Create International app: http://createapp.mobi/
- Evangelistic websites attract the Hindu looking for the sacred light and coming to our Ashram of Light website where he can download his style of music in bhajans, Hindi poetry, and finds out about following Jesus (known as Sadguru Yesus). Or the Buddhist fearful of evil spirits and longing for true peace finds answers through indigenous music videos and animation in their Thai styles on our Facebook sites and evangelistic Lotus of Life website. Workers proficient in Thai are following up inquires on these sites. If you would like to know more about our websites and the URL, contact us at: creategcrc@gmail.com
- YouTube Downloads: Over the years, millions have received a culturally relevant gospel witness. Over 40,000 visits per month and tens of thousands of downloads. Over six hundred gospel films and 1300 Audio Bibles are free to download on http://www.indigitube.tv/
- Our films share a tailor-made gospel presentation in over 300 languages with over 40,000 views per month.
- http://www.indigitube.tv/
- Share the films, animations, music videos from http://www.indigitube.tv/ on your Facebook or local social media sites in the language of the people in your area.
- Provide ways for seekers to ask questions or discover more about the message presented through online and offline communication (email, messenger, what’s App, signal, etc.).
- Develop relevant and inspirational Facebook posts, Google Ads, or short videos to reach out to seekers.
- Research the languages spoken in your area and find out multi-language resources to reach out to people with their heart language (both oral and written resources).
- Learn more about Media to Movements through free training at https://kingdom.training/
- Download films to your mobile phone to easily share with people you meet through the free Create International app: http://createapp.mobi/
- Find out more about disciple making movements and reaching out to unreached peoples through resources and on-line training at ywamfm.org.
- Check out Create International’s blogs and resources and upcoming online training: createinternational.com.
- Please contact Create International for more information on resources mentioned here. Email Carol creategcrc@gmail.com
- For further reference:
- Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, post a picture and add a comment about how you prayed.
- Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
- Send an email to prayer@ywam.org letting us know how you prayed and what God revealed to you. Please include links to digital media sites that you use.
Thanks to online tools, the body of Christ has the ability to plant churches in every unreached people group with less expenditure of resources than ever. This is one of the greatest moments in the history of the church for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Mark Gauthier, Cru Vice-President
How We Prayed:
May 2020 Coronavirus – Part Two: Global Outreach at a Time of Coronavirus
- YWAM Quilotoa, Ecuador heard clearly from God in Luke 9:13 that it is their responsibility to feed people on the streets. They now provide breakfast every day and there has been no lack and many miracles of provision.
Wow! Over 2 million views!
Photo credit: Uriah Lyford (Facebook)
Future Topics:
- July 9: Seeking God
- August 13: Series: Spiritual Principles from YWAM’s Early Days
Fear of God (Ramona Musch) – 4 of 4 in the series - September 10: YWAM’s 60th Anniversary
Don’t Miss The Invitation:
- Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
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- Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook page on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hashtag #praywithywam. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
- You can now listen to The Invitation as a podcast. To sign up or listen to past episodes, go to: ywampodcast.net/prayer.
- If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.
