The first ever Worldwide Internet Evangelism Day (IED) will take place on 24 April 2005, and the event has ignited a new hope for mission in many unreachable countries. For missionaries, many countries are still closed to Christian mission – however, this new initiative aims to promote a new path for evangelists – the internet.

Tony Whittaker, the coordinator for the Day said, "Christians as a whole have not used the web very much for real evangelism. There are thousands of [Christian] websites out there, but the vast majority were written for Christian readers."

This is something that Whittaker is aiming to change via the IED, and he said that it was to "demonstrate to the church at large that the internet is a powerful tool for evangelism [and] to explain the nature of the medium and strategies that work."

All people are invited to visit the IED website to find out more and a free PowerPoint presentation is also available to help organisations promote the day to others.

The day aims to bring out a new hope to all congregations that it is possible to spread the gospel using the world wide web and that this is in fact a powerful tool that has not yet been used to its potential.

The day is being endorsed by the Internet Evangelism Coalition, and its members have expressed their desires to help facilitate the development of IED resources.

Dr Sterling Huston, who is the Chair of the IEC and also Director of Special Ministries for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, told how Internet Evangelism Day could potentially "inspire many more Christians to utilise this dynamic media to extend and enlarge their witness for Christ."

Huston continued and emphasised further how the internet "offers churches, Christian organisations and individuals an amazing and rapidly expanding opportunity to share the ‘Good News’ of the gospel with a world in need."

Rev. Ted Haggard said incredible technological breakthroughs mean that "evangelical Christians must take advantage of this information superhighway. Internet Evangelism Day will help focus our efforts on effectively using this tool."

Haggard also encouraged "all evangelical leaders to take advantage of this initiative and explore their options for using the web to win as many as possible to Christ."

Churches and ministries can take part in the IED by making use of the event web site, which includes downloadable video clips, drama sketches, a PowerPoint presentation and stories of people who have come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through online ministry.

Many well-known individuals and organisations have given their full backing to the initiative. The International Director of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation, Dr Tetsunao Yamamori has said that he believes the day will enable online outreach to be advanced and is an innovative response to today’s hi-tech world. He said, "It is possible to evangelise one billion people through this medium."

In addition Karen Schenk, Managing Director of TruthMedia Internet Group – a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in Canada – testifies how cybermissions can change people’s lives. She said, "We see an average of 1,000 to 1,500 people receive Christ each month."

Schenk also records that up to 850,000 visitors enter TruthMedia’s 22 websites every month, and 7,000 people join the chat rooms. She says, "Our goal is to put people together with others who can walk them through their spiritual journey. Where there is no one else, there's the internet. I call it a high-impact ministry on tap."

Others endorsing the day include the Evangelical Alliance UK and Youth With a Mission. The website can now be seen by clicking www.InternetEvangelismDay.com