Don't forget to tune in tonight to watch ABC's Diane Sawyer in a primetime interview with Mel Gibson.

Last week you found out how to connect your family and friends who see The Passion of the Christ to the gospel. But what about those people who walk off the street to view this movie because Mel Gibson's name is attached to it, or because of the buzz and controversy swirling around the film? How do they get connected to the gospel?

Welcome to the Online Community

It is a fact of life: people go the the Internet to get information, to express themselves, and to interact with others. For years, TruthMedia, the Internet ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ,Canada, has been drawing millions of visitors every year to their evangelistic and discipleship websites. Recently they developed a website, www.thelife.com, dedicated to those who want to "explore the passion".

Visitors to this site can:

• Read movie reviews
• Find out more about the cast
• Go over the passion narratives in scripture
• Delve into Mel Gibson's motives for producing the film as well as other background information
• Revisit scenes from the movie to better understand them
• Learn what it means to have a relationship with Jesus
• Read the personal stories of others who have placed their faith in Jesus
• Invite Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior and indicate their desire to be followed up

Interactive Elements

• Discussion Boards allow people to express their thoughts, read comments of others, and react to what they read. This is an opportunity for Christians to respond to the legitimate views of others and express the truth of the gospel and what it means to them.
  
  
• Online Mentoring provides opportunities to ask questions and get replies from online mentors. We are training hundreds of people across the country to join in helping people overcome the obstacles that are keeping them from a relationship with Christ.
  
  
• Monitored Chat Rooms are set up for people to voice their questions and offer their opinions in a real time setting. Chat rooms accomplish in live settings what discussion boards do over an extended period of time.

Opportunities For Involvement

We have budgeted thousands of dollars to market www.thelife.com in theatres and online. We have produced web cards that can be handed out to people at the theatres or in private conversations after the film. Ordering info >>

We need hundreds of people to sign up as online mentors and chat room hosts/participants. And of course you can help drive traffic to the website in many creative ways. More evangelism ideas >>

A Final Word

Ultimately, online relationships can lead to meaningful personal contacts for future growth. Our desire is to match inquirers with mentors on a geographical basis. Our hope is that people who find Christ on the internet, or move towards developing a relationship with God, will end up in churches over time.

Take for instance the case of my friend Karen. One day she met a woman named Laurie in the chat room who had come in through the PowerToChange.com website. Karen asked Laurie where she was on her spiritual journey and eventually told her about Christ. As they conversed, they learned that they lived within a few miles of each other in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

Karen led Laurie to faith in Christ and invited her to come to her church. Laurie did that and eventually became a member there. Over the next several years, her husband and two children came to know Jesus as their Savior too. Today Laurie and her husband are involved in the same church that Karen and her family attend, where they all share a common faith in Jesus Christ. Laurie has in turn led others to the Lord through the online ministry.

How will you be involved in the online ministry?
Click here for opportunities to tell others about Christ >>