Rapha777,
I want to commend you first on asking. Too often I have seen Christians just jump in without really thinking about what they are getting into.
First and foremost, Prayer is needed. I have a test I always run before I do anything. I ask myself "What is my motive?" Is this something I want to do, or is this something God is laying on my heart. My first impression is that this could be something you are being led to do. But continue to pray about it. God will usually give you a passion along with the ministry He is calling you into. If you are doing this because "you" would like to do it, that might be the wrong reason. Check your motive. If it is of God, and pure, then I would say proceed to the next step.
If someone wanted to go to ... say ... to Ghana to be a missionary. What would we do? Would we just put him on a plane and say "see ya later?" ... No. Mission work involves a certain amount of training. Let me explain better. Some will say "That's not true, we are in the mission field every day of our lives." I would agree 100% with this statement. But what you are outlining is different. It is not just simply living your life and showing Christ through your actions and letting Him come up in casual conversation. You are talking about a purposeful, targeted ministry. I believe to be successful, you have started on the right path. Inquire to what others have done. Gain knowledge so that you may succeed where others have failed. Find resources out there and educate yourself. God asks us to prepare ourselves and He will guide us as we seek His will.
Let me give you a few other peices of advice. Take it as you will ....
1) Don't use hit and run tactics. Don't jump into a board and post a bunch of "repent or go to hell" posts. That does not show Christ and it NEVER NEVER NEVER works.
2) Read the threads and refrain from posting for the first week. Learn (by reading) who the people are, there, and gleen what they believe. Identify the hostiles and those that are peaceful. Learn the lay of the land, before you ever post your first post.
3) Join one board at a time. Invest time there. If you join too many boards, you will find yourself pulled in too many directions. If this is going to be a long term ministry, join a board for say 2-3 months before moving on. Sharing Christ is about building relationships. This cannot happen overnight.
4) Which leads me to ... make friends. Take time to get to know them. Do not off handidly dismiss their ideas. And do not 'force' your ideas on them. As they get to know you, let them ask you questions. Don't preach "at" them, but listen and discuss "with" them. You don't have any right to ask them about their relationship with God and judge if it is healthy if you know nothing about them.
5) Which leads me to .... be very patient. You don't know them and you will not understand some things they say. You may assume one person hates God just because he wants to live an immoral life, but then later find that his mother is dying and withering away as he watches. You may find that even though he doesn't admit it, he is really just gotcha8ed off at God. Everyone is dealing with crap in their lives. Everyone. Be gentle and patient. Get to know them. But, do not push too hard. Let them come to you. If you are kind, and peaceful, and honest, and your motives are pure, they will come. Let God use you.
6) Which leads me to one of the most important points ... Show love ..... always!!! If you join a board and someone says that you are #$@%@ who deserves to die. You will find some that call you incredible names and question your integrity, your salvation, God, your morals, etc. They may do it in the meanest possible way. You must make your mind up NOW, ahead of time, how you will react. The great thing about boards, is that you can re-read your message and edit out the parts that are sarcastic and mean. Show love all the time. Think of their rants as waves beating against the shore. I went to Hawaii on business this spring. I noticed they had breakers put up along the beaches to protect the swimmers and calm the ocean (in that small place). Think of yourself as the breaker. Let them come at you. And Come. And come. And Come. You take it and NEVER attack back. You show love that can only come from Christ. That is how you witness. Anyone can attack. You will not be unique if you do that. But we are called to be different, to be Holy, set apart. Show love ... always. I'm asking you to be the calming spirit there. Even if you are the only one.
7) Remember that you cannot convert anyone. I don't know if anyone has ever told you that. But it is completely impossible for you to convert anyone. You are powerless. You are a tool in God's hand. He may use you to impart information and to help remove stumbling blocks, but it is God that is using you, it is God that is convicting them, and it is God doing everything in the middle. Go into the board with the attitude of making friends and "sharing" Christ. If someone comes to know Christ, then Glory to God, but you have no power in that. Concentrate on your part and leave God's part to Him. Trust me, if God's hand is in this, He will be convicting the unbeliever. Trust that God is doing His part.
Don't always discuss stuff out in the open. Let people know that they can feel free to talk to you in private via PM. This isn't about a public forum all the time. Sometimes people just need to be alone with you. Some stuff is too private to tell the world.
9) Just be a friend. I've mentioned this before, but it is important. I'm not talking about a phoney friend, motivated by "converting". People are smart, they'll pick up on that. I'm saying be their friend whether they come to know Christ or not. You should not hinge your friendship on the qualification that they come to Christ. Accept them where they are at. You be you, and let them feel that they can be themselves without fear of being judged by you. As they become at ease with you, and see that you are not being phony, and that you are going to be on their board for more than a few days, they may start to let their guard down and let you in a little. Take it easy, and be real. Never be fake. These are real people with real feelings. Be careful. You would not want someone to fake a friendship with you and then trounce on it when you let your guard down. Think about what you are saying and be gentle as you would someone you truly care about.
10) BEWARE!!!!!! If you are going to a hostile board to Christianity ... beware. First, be prepared to be attacked. These people are not stupid and have seen the likes of us many times. They are prepared for any subject and they have worked out answers ahead of time. They have a very thought out world view and you will not change that with a few posts, or a few hundred posts and probably not with a thousand posts. Unless God is calling there, I wouldn't go. It will be very negative ... all the time. I would make sure you are rock solid in your faith. Some will play nice and some will not. They all have one motive in mind though ... to "deconvert" you. They will pull out every trick in the book. Be prepared for the attempt to be deconverted. Some are very sly and tricky. But have your guard up. The problem is that it will be hard to make friends with your guard up. This is the hardest of places to witness. Many have gone to church in the past and many can argue the Bible with the best of them. Of course their interpretations are always twisted, but to the uneducated Christian, it can be confusing. Again ... if you're going here ... know your stuff and watch your back. Also be aware that many here will not be converted. They are just looking for debate. They are in it for the debate. My experience says that no one has come to God through a debate. Try and stear clear of the debators. They will eat up your time and take you away from you mission. Try and find the people on the fringes. Those that are not so dogmatic against God. Look for those who are willing to talk and discuss, and stay away from the debators.
Well, I've got a little more I can say about this, but I'll let this sink in first. I'll stop for now and see if you have any questions.
Sharing Christ is more than just quoting some Scripture. Paul would spend months in a town. Working right next to them ... getting to know them personally. Sharing Christ comes from sharing yourself. Letting them see Christ working in you. If you say you are a Christian and quote a few verses ... and then get angry and mean at the first person that razzes you, then you have shown that you are no different than any other person. Don't use the old line "I'm not perfect, I'm just forgiven." I want you to rise above that. I want you to show Christ. Show love. Before you ever press 'post', no matter how small the post ... read it again and again. Make changes, take out anything that might even be considered mean or condensending or sarcastic. It is not easy. It never is. But really think about how you are coming across. Even if you never help bring anyone to Christ, remember that there will be E-Vangelist behind you. What you don't want to do is turn them off against the next one that comes after you. If anything, plant the seeds for the next one to water. You don't have to save the world over night. There is a Body of Christ out there working. Feel confident in that. Feel at peace with what God is asking you to do.
I hope this helps.
Grace and Peace and Love to you.
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