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evangelism help

Follow-up counseling

Giving help and mentoring

Any evangelistic site is likely to receive email inquiries on many subjects, often urgent requests for personal advice. Receiving such email is one of the big encouragements of operating an evangelistic outreach, but it can be challenging.

You will need a strategy for getting answers back to people quickly. A larger site will probably a small volunteer team of people who can reply to questions from inquirers. This page is designed in a small way to equip such helpers. Previous experience in mentoring, or training in counseling are very valuable qualifications for such volunteers. The ability to come alongside people, display empathy, and understand how people think, is not always easy to acquire.

Retired missionaries or pastors could have a fulfilling role in this. Delegating key tasks to others is a vital aspect of multiplying Christian work, yet is it often practiced? Any time we are getting too busy, we should go back and read Exodus 18: 13-26 – Jethro's wise advice to Moses.

If need to restrict the number of emails you get by making your email address very hard to find, you should ensure that your site has clear links to other sites which do offer email advice.

Discipleship and follow-up

There are a wide range of sites which fulfil the needs of discipling new Christians, and attempting to help them find local fellowships in their areas. Read how the Polish outreach team stress followup and discipleship in their outreach ministry.

Any media outreach, using radio, literature, or the Web, has to face the problem of helping inquirers and converts who may be at a long distance. However, the Internet does have the advantage of rapid email communication for online fellowship and encouragement. For converts who live many kilometers from a church, online fellowship and mentoring may be a very big help to them. Even in parts of Europe, there are huge areas with very few good churches. In the Middle East, it may be even harder for a new Christian to meet together with others. Ongoing online fellowship can be a lifeline to such people.

Life problems

"Pity is feeling sorry for someone; empathy is feeling sorry with someone. Empathy is fellow feeling for the person in need – his pain, agony, and burdens." Martin Luther King

Obviously, in many respects face-to-face counseling and follow-up is better than the limited contact offered by email. However, many people value the anonymity of email, and it has been well-documented that people share problems more easily online. (I use the term counseling to mean "offering a listening ear, and giving common-sense practical advice, including sharing a Christian angle to the problem", not "attempting to provide amateur psychological therapy, or analysis.") But many people are living lives of "quiet desperation", and will seek advice online when they might not seek help elsewhere.

Counseling guidelines

Here are guidelines for counseling including links to many other pages that may help contacts with problems.

If you have training and experience in counseling, you can have a permanent ministry on the Internet. So many people are looking for help. Either by building your own web-site, offering your help to other web ministries, or finding contacts by making tactful contact through mailing lists, you will quickly find many you can minister to. Counseling is probably the wrong word. It is certainly difficult to offer in-depth counseling by email in the sense that a professional would do. That really does demand face-to-face contact. The approach is rather just a hand of friendship, and if necessary a shoulder to cry on. It is also important to be aware of the best online resources, so that you can point people to them.

Suggested approach

If you have an evangelistic site, many people writing to you (possibly in distress) will not be Christians, or have any knowledge of the Bible. We cannot therefore use the same approach that we might in advising, for example, a church member.

Do not launch in immediately with Christian words and concepts, and lots of Bible quotes. We need to start from where they are at.

The art of counseling is often not to give lots of answers or tell them what to do, but suggest a framework for people to make their own decisions. A gentle listening approach is needed. Try to identify with as many of their stated feelings as you can.

Resource sites

Here is a selection of resource pages. If any are no longer available, please report this using the report button on the top of each page. You can no doubt find many more by searching within DMoz and Zeal.com/

General Christian Recovery Directories These Christian recovery sites carry a large range of helpful web-sites and email support lists – some Christian, some secular.

Depression Suicide Domestic violence Sex Abuse Pregnancy Crisis Counseling Post Abortion Trauma Alcohol and other addictions

Disabilities and illness

  • Anxiety
  • Shyness and social anxiety Debt counseling

    Understanding cults

    If attempting to help someone in a cult, make sure you understand what they really believe, not what you think they believe.

    Sensitive to other cultures

    When writing to people of other religions, take care to avoid saying anything which might insult or be misunderstood. For instance, many Jewish people prefer 'God' to be written 'G-d'. A Muslim will appreciate you using 'Isa Masih' instead of 'Jesus Christ'. Learn more about other religious beliefs.

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