How to Share Jesus with the Online World

Last week I shared reasons why every disciple should be a missionary online. This week I will share specific ways of engaging in such mission, with examples.

What I mean when I say sharing Christ with the online world is opening up the world of your Catholic faith up in a way that beacons others to come take a look.

And being willing to talk about it when they do!

Ok, ready? Here are my top 6 ways to share Jesus with the online world:

1. Revealing that you are an actual believing Christian

That one seems kind of easy, doesn’t it?

Perhaps for you it is, but I’ve heard from passionate Catholics who fear the labels that peers might attach to them if word gets out that the are a believing Christian. Well, this is square one if you do indeed want others to come to know Jesus through you.

One way to get over this hump and let your faith show is to mention something that has inspired you- a Bible quote, for example. Or something that Pope Francis said. Or something you felt God was saying to you when you were praying. But a key is, tell why it speaks to you. Be personal rather than preachy.

And if you have something funny that happened in the context of living your faith, that’s a good share!

"God doesn't want you to be a muppet!" --English-second language priest at Mass (I think he meant "puppet"). :)

— Sr Helena Burns, fsp (@SrHelenaBurns) January 24, 2016

2. Sharing your personal testimony

I’ve written about why you should and how you can share your testimony with someone. In a nutshell, a testimony is a personal story of a journey: a journey that involves being touched by the love of God and coming to believe in Jesus his Son. And, what impact this has had on your life.

You can share that online, you know.

One of the best ways is in a blog post (see 5 Reasons Every Disciple Needs a Blog), but isn’t it just as easy (maybe easier?) to do so on Periscope? Or even in short form in a Facebook post?

I’ve been Periscoping for just over a couple of weeks and I’ve found my testimony popping out based on questions people ask. You can also share it in the context of a topic like prayer, relationships, career discernment, etc.

A testimony of your personal journey in coming to Christ is like a great wine: it is best shared often and with friends new and old alike.

3. Inviting people to something “religious"

WHENEVER there is a major Christian holiday coming up, I try to think of ways to extend an invite. Christmas and Easter are the times when people who stopped going to church might pop in for a bit. It may be a time when people who have never been to church are a bit more curious than usual.

This is a great time for a Facebook post inviting anyone who doesn’t have plans to meet you to experience a service together. This is what I post:

"Hey, if you've never been to a Christmas service before you are most welcome to join me tomorrow night (Christmas Eve) in North York. Msg me!"

Now I’m not saying this is a replacement for an invitation given in person (those are key), but it is a good way to cast a wide net.

Also, rather than just waiting for the big holidays you can organize events that are aimed at the un-evangelized. For example, instead of doing a parish picnic (exclusive), organize a neighbourhood fair, hosted by your church (inclusive!).

Or do what we do, and run Alpha. When we do Alpha we do announcements, personal invitations, and online invitations using promo videos like this one.

These are in-person events, but many people hear about it through online invitation.

4. Sharing the kerygma

“Kerygma” is a word that means “the preaching,” and it refers to the preaching of the core Gospel message.

It is the message that we have all been created in love by God, who desires relationship with us. That the intended harmony between God and people was ruptured by sin, and the rupture was one which could not be bridged by human effort alone.

But God in his awesome love sent his own Son, Jesus, to bridge the gap, and he did so by dying on the Cross. And this opens up a whole world for us, a world of renewed relationship with God as his sons and daughters. A relationship that is eternal.

And it’s up to each person whether they want that, or not.

I know that many people don’t know that this is the heart of Christianity, and I know that this is sharable online (for example, I just did). It’s shareable in a conversation, like the impressive Marco Rubio did last week.

Jesus died out of love for us. He desires that all of us receive the mercy he offers. We can share that with others in a myriad of ways, online and off.

5. Creating art

Are you an artist? A writer? A poet? A blogger? A film maker?

We need to find “new expressions” to share the message of our faith. One extremely powerful and poignant example is in the YouTube video #fallingplates.

Not so artsy yourself? That’s ok, you can always refer people to the beautiful art of others. Like how Pope Francis quotes Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in explaining God's mercy:

"The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes”

6. Responding to the expressed needs of others

I am finding the people do express difficulties online sometimes. In these moments there is the possibility to be an agent of mercy.

One time someone I knew tweeted out something about being deeply discouraged. It was vague, but it was apparent that she was struggling with something. 

I private messaged her that I hoped everything was ok, and I felt moved to share a couple of Scripture verses with her. I didn't know if they would connect or not. 

The next day she came to me in person and asked if she could share something with me. She told me that she had in fact been feeling deeply discouraged, and she didn't have any sense that God was present to her. She had even gone to a youth conference recently where it seemed like everyone was being moved by the Holy Spirit. But not her. 

When she got my message, she looked up the two passages. The first one did not connect in any deep way. But when she read the second, she was overwhelmed. 

She said to me, "Josh. I felt the Holy Spirit."

I would say that seeing her, she was aglow with the Holy Spirit. And I marveled that He used something as simple as a message on Twitter.  

Evangelization’s aim is to convert hearts to Christ, by means of introducing them to an encounter with the real Christ. Though there is no substitue for in-person evangelization, there are new avenues being opened up by social media that we must pay attention to and be intentional in. 

Pope Francis said this week:

"Emails, text messages, social networks and chats can also be fully human forms of communication. It is not technology which determines whether or not communication is authentic, but rather the human heart and our capacity to use wisely the means at our disposal."

Let us put our human hearts into every means of bringing Jesus to the world. 

Note: If this seems overwhelming, don't stress! You don't have to do everything at once, and you don't have to be perfect. Try starting with one thing above. 

Question: What avenues have you discovered to share Jesus with the online world? What have you found challenging in doing so?