NRB member The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), a non-profit Christian outreach organization that promotes multimedia evangelism, conducts evangelistic crusades, and engages in disaster response by proclaiming the Gospel throughout the world, just marked its tenth year of Search for Jesus, the internet evangelistic ministry of BGEA.
Launched in 2012, Search for Jesus impacts website users with the truth of the Gospel and relies on a network of over 1,400 trained volunteers who interact with users and answer live questions. With a mission to reach those hurting and in need, Search for Jesus utilizes the accessibility of the internet to reach places otherwise closed to the Gospel.
Using these digital tools, more than 300 million people have indicated a decision for Christ and received follow-up through the internet ministry. To date, the PeaceWithGod.net websites have welcomed over 100 million online users. With messages in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, American Sign Language, and Russian, Search for Jesus has been able to expand globally and cross language and accessibility barriers.
“This is significant because we’re following Billy Graham’s legacy of spreading the Gospel across the globe using every opportunity we have. The average person spends nearly seven hours a day on the internet, so we want to meet these people where they are,” said Mark Appleton, director of internet evangelism for BGEA, in a press release. “Search for Jesus has given us the chance to spread the Gospel like never before.”
In addition to presenting the Gospel, Search for Jesus offers digital discipleship courses designed for new believers with an online church locator tool to help users find a local congregation to deepen their walk with God.
“We started building this ministry one step at a time, taking steps of obedience and faith in God,” said Appleton. “These people aren’t just numbers, but real, hurting men and women who finally found hope.”
NRB applauds the Search for Jesus initiative for using digital media to effectively spread the Gospel with an emphasis on areas where access is limited. To see the work that BGEA’s internet evangelism ministries are doing, visit SearchforJesus.net and PeaceWithGod.net.
