Millions are still suffering from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear event in Japan last March. Now, a new Internet evangelism effort has launched to bring hope and healing to the Japanese people.
In a move to lead people to Christ and connect them with a local church, Jesus.net Japan has rolled out a series of seeker-friendly “stepping stone” web sites in Japan. The effort is an extension of Jesus.net, a global alliance of Internet ministries that operates Christian evangelistic websites in more than 20 languages worldwide.
In anticipation of the one-year anniversary of the disaster, Jesus.net Japan partnered with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) for its “Celebration of Hope” event in Tohuku and will support Philip Yancey’s speaking tour in Northern Japan March 7-11. It also will be involved in four BGEA events in Japan in 2013. Other partners include Samaritan’s Purse, Campus Crusade for Christ and CRASH Japan.
“The disasters last spring and the continuing economic upheaval here have people wondering what life is about more than ever before,” says Christian Zebley, former missionary to Japan and U.S. spokesperson for Jesus Net Japan. “The Japanese are a very private people and do not talk about religion easily. Many already use the Internet to answer questions or find information about topics considered too embarrassing to discuss in person.”
According to ABC News, 2 million people around the world “look for God each day” online, said Zebley. Searches are on topics about the supernatural or on the big questions about life and the future.
“We want to give people an opportunity to get answers and hope where they spend a lot of time—on the Internet—and connect them with other Japanese who have satisfied the longings of their hearts in Jesus,” Zebley says.
Jesus.net Japan’s initial website, Hope for Living introduces visitors to survivors of earlier quakes or other traumatic experiences. Their stories illustrate how they have been strengthened by faith in God, or how they got to know Jesus in the midst of their turmoil. The site also contains prayers and words of hope to encourage those who are afraid, tired, lonely or going through difficult times.
Jesus.net Japan recently rolled out a second site to complement Hope for Living: Knowing God, which introduces inquiring users to the gospel.
A future website, Why Jesus?, will be an interactive course that connects seekers with Japanese Christians online. These “e-coaches” will assist those who are seeking answers, over the period of a five-week online course, at the end of which they invite them to a gospel meeting and help connect them to a local church.
Jesus.net’s vision is to share, through interactive websites, the good news of Jesus Christ to Internet users of the 35 most-used languages on the Internet. In the next 10 years, the goal is to expose 250 million people to the gospel and help 25 million people come to Jesus as a result of this effort.
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