Have you seen your teen tapping on the computer late at night, surfing the Web? Has your phone line been tied up by online “research” interspersed with the dings of instant messages being sent back and forth?
Well, now there is a way to use the Web to encourage students to do more than surf and chat.
It’s called Connect, and it encourages students to use the Web to share their faith and grow in their relationships with Christ.
Developed by state Baptist conventions and the North American Mission Board (NAMB), Connect combines a Web site with four emphases on connecting with God, connecting with a friend, connecting that friend to God, then connecting that friend to a local church.
“The idea of ‘I need to be a witness’ is an enormous idea,” said Mike Nuss, director of the office of collegiate and student ministries for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM). “Connect gives students a way to use their lives as a witnessing tool.”
Central to Connect is the Web site, www.connectwithgod.com, said Keith Loomis, who works in the areas of junior high and high school students for the SBOM.
The site is set up for students to go online and access resources such as e-tracts they can e-mail to friends, an online journal, tools to create their own Web page to display their personal testimony and much more. “Connect is an umbrella of evangelism tools,” Loomis said.
He explained that when students register for the site, they receive access to their own home page. The page has links to the various resources, as well as a place for students to receive news from NAMB, the SBOM or their own church, if the church is registered.
Loomis stressed that Connect is more than an emphasis or strategy that can be learned in a few sessions. “It’s a lifestyle,” he said. “It creates a community that says this is all about challenging kids to share their faith.”
Although students can register on their own, Loomis encourages churches and youth leaders to register as well.
NAMB provides a kit for churches that want to use Connect as an emphasis in their youth groups. It contains a DVD with video sessions by speakers such as David Nasser and Thomas Young and other leader materials. Registration also provides access to downloads of PowerPoint presentations and message outlines.
Loomis noted that registering as a church and encouraging the church’s students to register creates an online community that allows students to stay in touch between weekly meetings. Youth leaders can post news that will go directly to the home pages of registered students, and youth can chat with other Christian youth.
By posting their testimonies to their Connect page, youth can also send the link to friends and witness in a medium many are familiar with. “It’s a way for students to network with others,” Loomis said. “It gives them tools to be able to encourage others and share their faith.”
This year’s Youth Evangelism Conference will teach students and youth leaders about Connect, as well as use Connect’s four emphases in the sessions, Nuss said.
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