Actually the book of Acts is very clear as to how early missions moved forward with such rapidity. In Acts chapter 13, the Holy Spirit (who actually remembered the Great Commission) pushes Barnabas and Saul out of the nest in Antioch and onto the mission field in Cyprus and points beyond. We read in verse 5 that, “when they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Synagogues of the Jews.” Repeatedly throughout the book of Acts, that networking process is repeated. We read of missionaries finding the nearest synagogue, preaching the Gospel and making disciples and friends at every step of the way. In no manner discounting the power of the Holy Spirit, the book of Acts bears witness to the effectiveness of their built-in network of relationships from synagogue to synagogue. 

How fast do you suppose the Gospel would have spread, hypothetically speaking, if Barnabas and Saul refused to go because they didn’t know how to get to Cyprus, let alone find the nearest synagogue? I think at the very least – assuming that they weren’t reduced to ash by a lightning bolt from the heavens – they would be disqualified and unfit for missions service. What do you think?

We would find that heard to believe, but that exact scenario is playing itself out today. The only difference being that weare the called out missionaries and our social network isn’t synagogues, it’s the Internet. What I am talking about specifically is social networking using tools like this ILI site, Facebook and others.

The total US population is about 307 million. And 74% of us – a whopping 228 million people – are on the internet. How’s that for synagogue attendance? The global internet population is now over 1 billion souls and growing. Let’s take a look at current Facebook statistics alone:

•    More than 400 million active users
•    50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
•    More than 35 million users update their status each day
•    More than 60 million status updates posted each day
•    More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
•    More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums,   etc.) shared each week
•    More than 3.5 million events created each month
•    More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
•    Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans

How is that for a fertile mission field? But here is another statistic that is equally eye catching. People (think potential missionaries and mentors) over the age of 45 or 50 are virtually absent as regards internet and social networking site usage as compared to those 35 and under. They can’t or won’t get to the 1 billion global internet users because – just as in the hypothetical case I laid out above – “they can’t figure out how to find it.”  That, in my opinion is at best shocking and at worst it is downright sin. 

So let’s unpack this a bit from the ILI perspective. One of our core values is “Passion for the Harvest.” In truth what kind of passion do these statistics show?  Another value highly integral to the ILI concept is “Multiplication of Leaders”. We have a whole module on Mentors, Coaches and Disciples. Now I recognize that one needn’t be a senior citizen to be a mentor, but a vast percentage of the total available Mentors and Coaches in the US are likely in the 50 + years old category. Based on usage statistics, their potential mentees and disciples are online waiting for the “Leader-who-isn’t there.” How much multiplication can you get when those most knowledgeable and experienced can’t even find the playing field? 

I’d like to get some conversation going here. I’d love your feedback. Am I the only one out there who thinks it’s a sin to overlook social networking? 

Mike Brown