IN THIS EDITION

• IEC Annual Meeting
• The Future of Web Evangelism
• GodBlogCon
• Bridging the Gap - ACTS International
• Internet and Culture News & Trends

The Internet Evangelism Coalition will hold its annual meeting September 14-15, 2005 at the Westin Hotel in Chicago, IL. While speakers are still being confirmed, topics will include:

• Internet Evangelism and Legal Issues
• Privacy Policies
• International Internet Evangelism
• Online Internet Evangelism Training and Churches

More information will be soon available online at www.webevangelism.com, so please save these dates on your calendar!

On October 13th-15th, Christian bloggers from around the United States will gather at Biola University in La Mirada, California for the first ever GodBlog Convention, or GodBlogCon.

GodBlogCon (GBC) was instigated (as so many blogging movements have been!) by the mind of Hugh Hewitt. In late January of this year, Hewitt criticized a blogging conference at MIT for not having a Christian presence. In his post, he wrote: "And Rick Warren, or some other far seeing pastor with a big facility and conference organizing experience ought to convene a conference on blogging and the Church, and invite all the God bloggers and interested pastors and parachurch workers to meet and confer on the new communication platform."

Within minutes, Dr. Andrew Jackson of SmartChristian.com volunteered to organize the conference and within 24 hours there were some 35 people signed up. That number grew to over 100 within days. However, Dr. Jackson's facility in Arizona decided they were unable to host the conference and it went in to limbo. At that point, the Torrey Honors Institute of Biola University formally offered to host it.

GBC has undergone a few changes since Hewitt first had the idea. The target audience has narrowed a little to bloggers. The blogging world is built on trust, so we wanted to maximize the networking opportunities. I've been to a couple "blogger meet-ups" now, and each time I have seen my reader-base increase and have begun reading the blogs of the people I meet regularly. As a result, the meals are rather long and there will be a "bloggers corner" with refreshments for bloggers who wish to simply sit and chat.

GBC has developed as a conference that is about the whole Christian blogging community, not just Christian political blogging. We'd like to expand the horizons of bloggers a little and expose them to some new possibilities, both with technology and with content. The conference will also attract non-bloggers, however people familiar with the medium will be given the first opportunity to register.

GBC hasn't been without its challenges. Immediately after the name was announced, bloggers from other faiths began challenging the name. Also, the nature of the event raises difficult questions about the prospects and limits of ecumenism. Because we wanted all Christian bloggers to be able to attend, we aimed at the sort of "mere Christianity" that C.S. Lewis outlines in his book of the same name.

Fundamentally, GBC is about the role of communication within the Church and between the Church and the culture it lives in. The Gospel has always gone forth in the medium of the masses, and blogging is quickly becoming that medium. GBC wants to increase the unity of Christian bloggers and to help Christian bloggers become better at their craft, with the goal of more effectively communicating Christian truths to a lost and dying culture.

Registrations for GodBlogCon had been limited to people who are able to supply a blog url. Now however, registration is available for anyone who is able to affirm the historic and Biblical Christian faith. There is a $100 registration fee to attend, which includes four meals. However, all travel to Biola and lodging must be provided by the attendee. In order to register for the conference, please visit www.godblogcon.com.

ACTS International (A Christian Teaching Service) is a non-profit church service organization whose purpose is to bridge the gap between the church and the non-church community which, because of the Internet, has become a much closer worldwide community.

Based on the words of Jesus, "Do you want to be made whole?" ACTS' goal is to apply the gospel and Christian message to the needs readers feel, and help people not only to find Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, but also to grow towards wholeness and maturity.

For the first three decades, ACTS majored in literature evangelism, publishing more than 40 million Encounter outreach brochures. These were distributed by several thousand churches, military, prison and hospital chaplains, other organizations, business and lay personnel in a number of countries. U.S. Military chaplains have used them on ships, aircraft carriers, submarines and on bases around the world. While ACTS Australian and New Zealand offices continue publishing printed literature, the E-mail and Internet outreach is conducted from the California office.

From the Internet we are currently seeing an average of 7-10 people a day record a salvation response with more than 1200 being received in the past four months. Our main gospel message is, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" with the sub-title: "To find and know God without having to be religious." To see this article go to www.actsweb.org and click on the Know God link.

Every salvation response is followed up with an encouraging email message, a copy of "How to Grow," and the link to our follow-up site www.actsweb.org/living with ten practical articles to help in their new Christian life. Three of the articles are, "What a Good Church Can Do for You," "Jesus Christ: Is He God or Man?" and "Is the Bible the Word of God?"

Via E-mail: Daily Encounter is a popular weekday devotional with messages that are brief, practical, and apply the Christian message to the everyday issues of life. Weekend Encounter is a weekend e-zine providing brief articles on tips for better living, quotable quotes, a touch of humor, and helps for building better relationships. Combined, they have over 40,000 subscribers worldwide. Both have also become effective tools of evangelism with links to the gospel message. See http://www.actsweb.org/devotionals.php.

Besides ACTS main website in English, we also have gospel sites in French, Spanish, Hebrew and Finnish. Currently all of the articles in English are now available for syndication by churches, other organizations, and individuals.

For further information check the ACTS web site at www.actsweb.org or contact Dick Innes at acts@actsweb.org.

IEC ENewsletter Information
Questions and comments regarding the Internet Evangelism Coalition ENewsletter are welcome. Email iec@webevangelism.com. To submit content for possible inclusion in the IEC ENewsletter, please email Naomi Frizzell at naomi@webevangelism.com. The IEC reserves the right to refuse or edit any submitted content.

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If you have been forwarded this email and wish to subscribe to it, send an email to newsletter-subscribe@webevangelism.com with "ENewsletter Subscribe" in the subject heading. To Unsubscribe: If you think you have received this email in error or wish to be taken off the distribution list, please send an email to newsletter-unsubscribe@webevangelism.com with "ENewsletter Unsubscribe" in the subject heading. Contact the IEC by mail: Internet Evangelism Coalition, Billy Graham Center, 500 College Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187.