In New Testament times, the Roman Road system was strategic in God's plan. It enabled the spread of the Gospel throughout the then-known world. In the same way, the Internet today is a worldwide network which can facilitate effective Gospel communication.

Now fast forward some 2,000 years. They call the Internet the "Information Superhighway." It has opened up the whole world for the instantaneous exchange of information. For believers and followers of Jesus Christ and His Great Commandment in Matthew 28 to "go into the whole world" and tell others about him, the Internet is a huge opportunity.

So huge that April 26, 2009 has been designated Internet Evangelism Day - a worldwide focus day which aimed at empowering churches and other groups to use the Web to spread the Good news of Jesus Christ.

The outreach is sponsored by The Internet Evangelism Coalition (IEC) - an umbrella group of evangelical Christian organizations who share a vision for online outreach - is backing the IE Day and facilitating its promotion. Among members of the coalition are the American Tract Society, the Billy Graham Center, Campus Crusade for Christ and Evangelism Explosion.

By using free downloads from the InternetEvangelismDay.com website PowerPoint, video clips, music, drama scripts or handouts - churches can demonstrate to their members the huge potential of the Web for evangelism.

Their website also carries a wide range of pages explaining how best to build church websites, write blogs, create video clips, and interact in many other ways with the worldwide web community, to share the gospel. But this isn't just for churches.

Anyone who is serious about evangelizing and sharing theit faith needs to understand the amazing opportunities the Internet creates for evangelism. Web evangelism is for anyone, not just the technically gifted. "There are many ways to share your faith online, without any technical background at all," says IE Day Coordinator Tony Whittaker.

Web evangelism gives believers opportunities to reach people with the Gospel right where they are, just as Jesus and Paul did. The Web is an open window to the whole world.

The Web's explosive growth has been remarkable.

In ten short years, it jumped from being a minority hobby for computer enthusiasts to a communication medium used by over 1000 million people worldwide. If your visit to this website lasts ten minutes, in that time interval 460 people will have used the Web for their very first time.

The world impact of the Internet and the digital revolution will be as far-reaching as the invention of the printing press.

To use the Web effectively, we must understand its nature as a medium. Each time a new means of communication is developed, people initially think of it in terms of a previous known medium. Thus, TV began as radio with pictures, but was soon viewed as a different medium in its own right, as people learned its potential.

What this means to the church and Christians is... the whole world... the whole World Wide Web... can now be reached... really reached... with just a few mouseclicks.

How should your church use the Web?

Here are five suggestions:

1) Make sure your church Website reaches out to non-members and non-believers. Share the gospel message and clearly present the steps to salvation.

2) Implement blogs on your church by your senior pastor and other key leaders. Blogs are hugely popular and offer great ways to tell the stories of faith in action.

3) Invite readers to church. Make it easy for them to know how and when you meet for worship, what kind of child care is there. Put up pictures and maps.

4) Read your church site and get rid of "Church-ese," the special words that non-believers may not understand. Instead of saying someone "gave their life to the Lord," say "became a Christian." A "love offering" should simply be "donation." Don't let language create barriers and make the non-churched feel they need to master the lingo before attending.

5) Offer a resource area on your Website with links to online Bibles. Offer to send someone a Bible and a free introductory kit about your church. Better yet, make a downloadable file that people can access right away if they want to know more.